Where did the first kombucha SCOBY come from?
I haven't been able to find any information on this online. Kombucha recipes always suggest to either get a bit of the starter from someone else who makes kombucha or to grow the scoby from a storebought bottle, but both of these presuppose the existence of someone else's kombucha.
Some research:
- The SCOBY Wikipedia page does not give any history
- Neither does The Kombucha Wikipedia page
- This answer is related but suggests you need a lab to do it which I find unsatisfying
How did someone make the first batch of kombucha? Is it possible to make from scratch?
Best Answer
I work at a large kombucha brewery and my wife is the head brewer(13 yrs combined experience).
As with vinegars and sourdoughs, the kombucha cultures(yeast and bacteria) are generally present in most environments. They can be created "from scratch" under the right conditions. It's much easier to start a vinegar from nothing, as the variety of yeasts and bacteria is smaller.
No one is quite sure of the exact origin of kombucha, but it is likely that it was created by accident or casual experiment involving sweetened tea and an existing vinegar ferment. The microbes that ended up thriving evolved or were selected for their ability to utilize the caffeine and other components present in the tea, and were then propagated forward.
Most folks find it easier to pitch kombucha from an existing set of microbes that to select gradually over time for the flavor and microbial content, as there are many wild yeasts and bacterias that create funky, not so fun flavors and smells, like "foot" or "body odor".
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Quick Answer about "Where did the first kombucha SCOBY come from?"
Where ever the geographic location might actually be, chances are an insect landed in a cup of sweet wine or tea and left behind some acetic acid bacteria that colonized with some yeast and began the first kombucha ferment.How was the original SCOBY made?
SCOBY is the commonly used acronym for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast", and is formed after the completion of a unique fermentation process of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), acetic acid bacteria (AAB), and yeast to form several sour foods and beverages such as kombucha and kimchi.What was the first kombucha?
The exact origins of kombucha are not known, although the most likely place of origin is the Bohai Sea district in China. The drink was consumed in Russia and from there entered the rest of Europe. Its consumption increased in the United States during the early 21st century.How old is SCOBY?
Each individual scoby can brew for around 6-9 months depending on how it is used but in reality you generally use the newest scoby you have so you will have switched to a new baby well before then.Who invented kombucha?
But in the mid 1990s, 15-year-old George Thomas \u201cGT\u201d Dave, was purposely growing fermented bacteria in 5-gallon glass jugs around his room to brew his own kombucha \u2013 and it spawned a nearly billion-dollar business.The Cloudy Origins of Kombucha
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