WHAT DOES A HEALTHY SCOBY LOOK LIKE?

At Cultures for Health, we are often contacted by customers who are worried about the health of their kombucha cultures. While it is possible for a scoby to become contaminated by mold or insects, or to die, in most cases a scoby is quite robust and will maintain its health for a long time.

Since a kombucha scoby is an accumulation of bacteria and yeast, the appearance can differ quite a bit from one culture to another. We took some photos of healthy scobys that our staff are using to make their own kombucha, and also asked customers to submit pictures of their kombucha cultures, both pretty and ugly!

Click to download our Kombucha Guide and Recipe book today with tips and tricks to learn what a healthy SCOBY looks like. Our guide will help you identify a healthy SCOBY and start your kombucha brewing journey.

Here are a few healthy scobys outside of the brewing solution. Notice that some are smooth, some are lumpy or have holes in them, and some are ragged and mis-shapen. All these scobys are producing quality kombucha and healthy baby scobys.

A scoby in the brewing solution can sink, float, or hover. Often it will produce strings of yeast that hang down into the solution.

A new, developing scoby (baby) will expand to fill the surface of the brewing container. It can be smooth or lumpy, and even have dry patches.

A moldy or dead scoby is quite distinctive, and there is no mistaking it when you see it. The mold will be white or colorful, fuzzy and dry. It can appear as spots on the scoby, or cover the scoby altogether. A dead scoby will be black.