[ValentineC]

> My understanding is that kombucha is a symbiotic mix between those threads (it's actually Yeast fungus) and bacteria in the liquid. Liquid does contain some parts of fungus, of course, so you can throw out the entire slab and new slab will grow eventually, but you're throwing lots of yeast and its protection.

On the other extreme: if one has an old enough continuous ferment, a lot of yeast will settle at the bottom, potentially affecting the end result.