SCOBY is an acronym for ‘Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast’ and is an ingredient used in fermentation and production of kombucha tea. You can grow SCOBY at home, purchase from an online or a health store or even get it for free from a friend or an acquaintance.

Once you get started with making kombucha at home your SCOBYs will start to multiply and you will come into a situation to have excess SCOBYs. You’re probably wondering what to do with all excess SCOBYs?

Is it safe to eat SCOBY?

You might be wondering if SCOBY is safe to eat. SCOBY is nothing but a probiotic rich by-product of the fermentation process. Simply said it is a mixture of good bacteria, yeasts and cellulose. If you can successfully brew the kombucha tea and drink the tea, you can eat the SCOBY.

What to do with excess SCOBYs?

If you can’t eat all the SCOBY you have left over, there are so many other ways of using excess SCOBYs. Here I am sharing 10 simplest ways of using your SCOBYs:

1. Share them with your friends and acquaintances

Sharing is caring. My first SCOBY I got from a friend of mine a few years ago. Support your friends and people in the community by encouraging them to start their own kombucha brew.  There is always plenty of takers as people are keen to try something new and different.

2. Create SCOBY Hotel

Place all your excess SCOBYs into a big glass jar and ensure they are all covered with kombucha tea. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and a rubber band. You can store them like this for several weeks with no maintenance. Ensure to keep the jar at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. Don’t put the jar in the refrigerator as SCOBY is always kept at the room temperature. You can use SCOBY’s as needed or add more SCOBY’s to the jar.

3. Experiment with different flavors

Experimenting with your kombucha flavors is always fun. I’ve tried many different flavors like lemon, apple, blackberry, lime, black cherry and mint, apple and cinnamon. As I’m a big coffee lover I enjoy making kombucha coffee – coffee brew with the tartness of kombucha. SCOBY used for making kombucha coffee shouldn’t be used for making other batches of kombucha so ensure to discard it.

4. Make Jun Tea

Jun tea is a delightful ancient fermented drink made of mother culture, green tea and honey. Its mother culture is different from the kombucha SCOBY however, you can still experiment and make Jun tea from SCOBY.

5. Make Jerky

If you have multiple SCOBYs and like sour treats, it’s worth making jerky by cutting SCOBYs into small chunks then marinating them for 24 hours in your favorite sauce. Using dehydrator dry them on 80°-90°F until they reach the consistency of jerky. Eat them as a treat or add to a salad. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a year.

6. Make candy

Use your excess kombucha SCOBYs to make delicious, yummy and probiotic treats for your family. Cut SCOBY into 1-inch chunks then coat the SCOBY pieces into sugar.  Place into a pot and bring to boil for about 15 minutes. Let them cool on a baking paper before consuming. You can also make SCOBY candy with honey instead of sugar.

7. Use as a face mask

There are a few different ways of using SCOBY as a face mask like mixing it with essential oils, kaolin clay or just using the whole SCOBY. Simply place the whole SCOBY on your face and let it sit for about ten minutes. It will pull circulation to the face which regenerates skin cells. Note: if you have sensitive skin, test on a small section of skin before applying to your face.

8. Add SCOBY to smoothies

Don’t we all love smoothies? They are easy to make and are often our go-to-go breakfast. SCOBYs will make your smoothie extra thick and creamy and more importantly won’t change the taste of your smoothie as SCOBYs don’t have much of a flavor.

9. Add SCOBY to compost

If you have a garden and/or plants, you can add your excess SCOBYs to compost. If you have a garden but no compost, you can still add excess SCOBY to the soil of the plants.

10. Make treats for your pets

Pets love their treats. You can simply treat them with dehydrated SCOBY. Cut fresh SCOBYs into strips them dehydrate them on 80°F in the dehydrator. Store them in a closed container for up to a few months.