A SCOBY is the gelatinous bacteria colony central to making kombucha. But did you know there are four different types of SCOBY? Scientists at Oregon State University spent the past four years researching the microorganisms that contribute to the tea fermentation that produces kombucha. The results of their work were published in the journal Microorganisms.
SCOBY is a challenging mystery to many kombucha brewers. Little is known about how SCOBY impacts flavor. The OSU scientists aim to help kombucha brewers make a more consistent product.
“Without having a baseline of which organisms are commonly most important, there are too many variables to try and think about when producing kombucha,” says Chris Curtin, an assistant professor of fermentation microbiology at OSU. “Now with this research we can say there are four main types of SCOBY. If we want to understand what contributes to differences in kombucha flavors we can narrow that variable to four types as opposed to, say, hundreds of types.”
Curtin and doctoral student Keisha Harrison used DNA sequencing to evaluate the microorganisms in 103 SCOBYs used by kombucha brewers (primarily ones in North America). The four SCOBY types each use different combinations of yeast and bacteria.
Read more (Oregon State University)