You’ve seen the Reel. A wobbly, jelly-like pancake floating in a jar. “OMG — is that a placenta?!”

Nope 😅. Meet Hetty, my kombucha SCOBY — a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. She may look odd, but she’s the secret to turning sweet tea into fizzy, low-sugar kombucha.

Hetty is a SCOBY. A SCOBY is like a little “raft” made by bacteria. It floats on top of sweet tea while it’s fermenting. The bacteria weave it out of cellulose — basically a jelly blanket — and it gives a safe home for both bacteria and yeast.

Here’s how it works:

• The yeast eat sugar and make tiny bubbles (CO₂) and a bit of alcohol.

• The bacteria turn that alcohol into tangy acids (like vinegar acids) and weave the jelly raft.

• Together, they drop the pH (make it sour), which keeps bad germs out and gives kombucha its refreshing taste.

Think of it like teamwork: the yeast bake the cake, and the bacteria frost it. The SCOBY is their little bakery kitchen.

Scientists have looked inside SCOBYs under microscopes and found the same key groups again and again.

• Bacteria:

  • Komagataeibacter — the superstar that makes the jelly raft.

  • Acetobacter and Gluconobacter — cousins that also make acids.

• Yeasts:

  • Brettanomyces, Zygosaccharomyces, Saccharomyces — these eat sugar and make bubbles.

Different SCOBYs can have slightly different mixes depending on the tea, temperature, and where they’re from. That’s why every SCOBY has its own personality. Hetty in my kitchen won’t be exactly the same as Hetty in yours — and that’s part of the magic.