As the Kombucha industry expands its reach, more attention is placed on the microorganisms that create the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Recent research has shown that there are some microbiological features of the SCOBY that are conserved- every SCOBY possesses at least one acetic acid bacterium and one fermentative yeast. Despite this shared feature, there are differences in the SCOBY culture from hand-to-hand, based on i) the type of bacteria and yeast ii) the abundance of bacteria and yeast iii) the presence and absence of lactic acid bacteria. In this talk, we discuss the practical impact of Kombucha microbiology on fermentation dynamics. We aim to discuss some of the influences that different types of bacteria and yeast have on the base fermentation.

Keisha Rose Harrison, OSU PhD Candidate

Keisha-Rose Harrison, MS is a PhD candidate of Fermentation Science in the Food Science & Technology Department at Oregon State University (OSU). She received a BA in Cell Biology & Biochemistry from Rice University and a Master of Science in Nutrition from the University of Houston.

Keisha’s love of microbiology and home brewing led her to her current field of study at OSU. She joined Dr. Chris Curtin’s lab to combine her love of Kombucha and Molecular Biology. She aims to develop a categorical system for Kombucha by first assessing the level of microbial diversity that varies from SCOBY to SCOBY. Currently, Keisha is collecting samples from across North America to identify the bacteria and yeast that live within our commercial breweries. She believes to get at the heart of Kombucha, we have to get better acquainted with it first!

Included Assets

• Webinar Recording (stream online)
• PDF of slides