Holiday season! How to store the sponge while lying on the beach?

It’s April! It’s raining outside! Summer is around the corner! We can’t wait to go on a vacation, to travel or just lay under the umbrella on the beach. What’s better than that? But, what do we do with our pets? The cat will be fed by the neighbors, the fishes too. The dog may be coming with us. What about the Kombucha sponges? However, thanks to them throughout the year we enjoy our favorite and enjoyable drink. What to do?

To be sure when you come back from the vacation, that your SCOBY cultures will be waiting for you on stand by and good health you can choose from between two approaches.

First option:

1. Boil new tea as you have done so far.

2. Put the sponges in a jar with a lid (glass jar or plastic kitchen container), and cover it well with boiled, sweetened and COLD tea.

3. Close the jar and put it in the fridge.

This is a way to keep your sponges on stand by for a long time. Note, that I say on standby. Due to the low temperature, the activity of the sponges decrease and it will take some time to activate once you decide to boil Kombucha again. This is done by taking them out of the chilled environment; put them in the usual way of production, but in a smaller amount of starter liquid. Give them 7-10 days to “wake up” then you can push them to work.

Second option:

1. Put all your sponges in one of the jars in which you produce the kombucha. Boil tea, cool and sweetened it. Add it. In this method, it is very IMPORTANT to predict larger amounts of tea because its level will decrease for the period of your absence. The reason is that it evaporates.

2. Cover the container with gauze or whatever you use to cover.

3. Put it in the usual place where you hold it.

Through this method, on your return you will have active crops and almost ready vinegar. While you’ve been resting, the sponges have made you vinegar for salad for “Welcome”.

In industrial production, sponges are stored in a similar way. There are feeding procedures that you do not need to do at home.

If you know other ways to successfully store SCOBY crops, we will be happy to share them with us.