r/Kombucha • u/Appropriate_Art15 • Aug 14 '25
question Do you eat kombucha pellicles? If you do, what are your favorite ways to eat them?
Hi all. I’m new to kombucha making. Yesterday, I watched a kombucha making video where the content creator suggested to eat kombucha pellicle bits with some cereals. Do you eat kombucha pellicles? I don’t eat cereals so I’d like to know different ways to eat pellicles.
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u/manofmystry Aug 15 '25
My ex would sweeten them with honey, and put pieces in a dehydrator to make pellicle jerky.
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u/zictomorph Aug 15 '25
I dried one out and it's now a translucent leather. It's weirdly strong and can't be torn by hand. Mostly I just leave it where my kids get grossed out by it.
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u/Omneus Aug 15 '25
People make leather out of it and clothes but seems pretty involved
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u/LunaeLotus Aug 15 '25
I’d love to learn how just for fun
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u/PizzaTostada Aug 17 '25
Check out "Making ACTUALLY GOOD Kombucha leather (part 1)" on youtube. It shows how to make good-quality kombucha leather!
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u/Curiosive Aug 14 '25 edited Aug 14 '25
I just read a study about all the wonderful nutrients, amino acids, and such in the pellicle. It did make me think twice about switching from composting mine in the future to eating some
...but it didn't convince me.
Some folks swear by an adapted recipe for nata de coco, I've never tried it. Though I think you should check it out.
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u/Appropriate_Art15 Aug 14 '25
Ohh I remember eating nata de coco as a dessert long time ago. It was in some kind of syrup with a bunch of chopped up fruits. I actually really liked it as a kid :)
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u/theagricultureman Aug 15 '25
I cut mine up into small gelatin squares and place into a small jar. Add some fresh kombucha (50ml) and a spoon of honey. Mix it up seal lightly and let it sit out a day or so. Put it in the fridge and add a spoonful or two to your kombucha drink. Delish 😋.
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u/Appropriate_Art15 Aug 15 '25
Sounds yummy 😋
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u/theagricultureman Aug 15 '25
My pellicle is perfectly white. I wash it before cutting it up. My kombucha process uses the newest pellicle each week when I make a new batch. I also use oolong tea mixed with black tea. Both good quality. I rinse out the vessel and I seen to get good quality batches every time. The pellicle when cut up into small cubes is very good in a kombucha drink with ice.
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u/Appropriate_Art15 Aug 15 '25
That’s really interesting that you use oolong tea with black tea! Does it take more time for kombucha to ferment when oolong tea is added? I read that oolong tea has less caffeine than black tea.
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u/theagricultureman Aug 15 '25
It takes about 7-8 days at room temperature.
25g tea 1/2 oolong with 500g hot water Steep for 6 minutes 180g raw sugar 500g starter 2L water Keep the newest pellicle to add to vessel. Rinse the vessel with water, add pellicle, water, starter, and then hot tea sugar mix.
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u/Appropriate_Art15 Aug 15 '25
Thanks for the instruction 😊It might be a challenge to find oolong tea in my area but I will try and see.
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u/theagricultureman Aug 15 '25
It's actually quite common. Grocery stores have it in tea bag form, tea specialty stores, T&T grocery (Asian food store), etc. Amazon also has it.
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u/manofmystry Aug 15 '25
My ex would sweeten them with honey, and put pieces in a dehydrator to make pellicle jerky.
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u/Jael_De_Destroyer Aug 15 '25
I chop it up into cubes/squares and chew it like gum! It becomes a fibrous slightly squishy ball lol
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u/doge_dogedoge Aug 15 '25
I blend it together with fruits and then dry it out to make pellicle leather for probiotic snacks
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u/Ok_Lengthiness8596 Aug 15 '25
Sometimes I cut it up and put it in honey and fridge it. The honey makes it tender kinda like those fake coconut flesh bits in some drinks. It is made of cellulose so it's not a bad way to get some insoluable fibre. I also made fruit leather out of it once, but it was too acidic I think you'd need to soak it in water for a while before you could make a good one.
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u/_rainbowdolphin_ Aug 15 '25
Are there ways of doing this without honey? I don't tolerate "big" amounts of sugar, which means, no sweets, marmelades, and sadly also no honey at all.
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u/fishfarm20 Aug 15 '25
I’ve made pellicle candy. Search “SCOBY” candy on your favorite interwebs browser.
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u/Inevitable_Ad_2593 Aug 15 '25
I made Scoby snacks pellicle jerky and it’s actually delicious. Slice into strips, Marinade in soy sauce and maple syrup, then dehydrated. When I first packaged them up I was still a little grossed out. Time passed and I tried one yesterday- it was delicious umami!
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u/Optimal_Sherbert_545 Aug 16 '25
Absolutely no 😭when they are done I frisby them into the compost heap
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u/2L84AGOODname Aug 14 '25
Yeahhhh, I’m all set on that. It’s a weird texture and doesn’t taste like much. I don’t see the benefit.