Look at What Our SCOBY Has Become!

If we're not careful, this SCOBY will soon overtake our office. 

Remember our cute little SCOBY of weeks past? (There he is, above right.) 

Well, after months of fermenting the sweet tea and getting transferred from jar to jar, he has multiplied. Where there was once one SCOBY, now there are many (too many to count, and you can even see a new one growing across the surface!). 

  

While Amanda Hesser has said that the SCOBYs make her nauseated and resemble a piece of art by Damien Hirst, she's tolerated their existence at the editorial desks. And personally, I think they're beautiful—a wonder of the forms of life (yeast and bacteria) that we often ignore but that are crucial to life on the planet (and to cooking, eating, and digesting!). 

What do you think about our SCOBYs? And can you tell us what to do now that we have so many? 

First photo by Bobbi Lin; all other photos by author

Tags: My First Time, Long Reads, Tea

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