Starting over - can I use old scobys?

[spazgirl]

I got a kombucha mother over the summer and made a few batches. I have the original mother and all the babies (about a dozen or so) sitting in some kombucha in a jar in the back of my fridge. Can I use these to get started brewing again? Do I need to do anything special to them to get them going?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Javan]

I experianced a loss of my mother's during a painful move not too long ago, so I understand where you're coming from here.

To answer your question, yes, you can.

You can even use some kombucha from a bottle of the commercial stuff from the supermarket, i.e. GT's or High Country. That's how I got mine going again.. I just looked for a bottle with alot of culture in it, drank about half of it, poured the rest into a half gallon jar, filled it up about 1/4 the way with the usual tea, covered it with a cloth and rubberband and let it go..

Kombucha is extremely hardy. I've even left a little, maybe a half inch worth, in the bottom of a jar on the kitchen table, exposed to sunlight, no cover, and had it form a mother on top before drying up..

One thing to note on using the "from the bottle" method, you can get some interesting strains this way.. I originally used a mother passed down from various friends, which was great with Earl Grey, but the one I'm using now has a destinctly different flavor, and comes out bitter with the bergamont.. It also has a distinctly peppery taste for a few days before it really starts to mature.. Wierd, but great with green tea.