Need serious advice regarding my kombucha/scoby results (pics).

[Thump]

Hi Guys.

I was a given a small scoby from a guy at a health store (free) and have made 2
batches.

First batch:
I was given the scoby in a cup of his kombucha (which was extremely vinegary)
and accidentally threw away the liquid.
I had it brewing for 2 days in the tea without any kombucha or vinegar before I
found out the mistake I had made.
Upon finding out, I added a cup of vinegar and 5 days later had a thin baby
and kombucha which tasted pretty good (though that was the first time I had
ever had kombucha).

This batch was brewed with a total of 6 tea bags (the type you usually dunk in individual cups), and 1 cup of sugar. -- In 2 liters of tea.


2nd Batch (x2)
After that batch I bought another large jar and decided to make 2 batches (using the thin baby for the other).
For both batches I had about 1 cup of the former kombucha, then realizing how non-vinegary that tasted (compared to actual vinegar) thought I better add a little vinegar to each (I added about 1/3rd a cup to both).
In this batch I added only 3 teabags for each of the 2 liters. - I would like clarification on how many to actually use per batch.

Results:
Both the jars had paper-thin scobys (though with a fairly large surface area) and both were a transparent/white color. There was definitely no indication of mold on either of them, however both smelt like rotting fruit (bad but not horrible). In absence of visible mold I slowly drank a cup.
It tasted very strange and nothing like the first batch. It tasted bad and most notably neither sweet nor sour (which I found very strange). I thought perhaps this is what kombucha brewed from kombucha starter tastes like (as opposed to vinegar) and finished the cup.

This was about an hour ago and I am feeling a little sick (a little dizzy and bloated). ***Hopefully won't get worse.

I pulled out the 4 scobys and looked at them closely (as something was clearly wrong). The baby I used from the first batch definitely looks wrong, and I would like to know thoughts on what happened and what I need to do from here. NOTE: I didn't drink the cup from the batch with the obviously screwed baby. - I did have 1 mouthful though and it tasted the same.

I have discarded the screwed one and have the other 3 sitting in pure vinegar (a site I found said to do this for 1 night if you suspected contamination).
Separately, I am also thinking I shouldn't have used such a thin baby as a mother.


PHOTOS:
The photos in order below are:
1) The scoby I was originally given. This is the same size as when I first got it and it appears to have gotten slightly more brown.

2) A photo of the screwed baby from the first batch. Of note with this are the brown speckles (which are in the actual scoby) and numerous holes (it had a couple of very small holes when I put it in ). - The really dark specs are is just bits of tea.
***The 2 paper thin ones are scrunched up next to it (in the pic).

3) A photo of the paper thin scoby from the 2nd Jar (the one with the bad baby-mother).

4) A photo of the paper-thin scoby from the jar with the original mother.



Advice appreciated.

 

[hunter_le five]

It sounds like you are trying to overcomplicate things. Kombucha brewing should be very simple.

Here is my process for a 1-gallon batch:

*8 single-serve tea bags (I do half black, half green)
*1 cup white sugar
*1 gallon water
*8-16oz starter tea from previous batch ( I usually get 8x16oz bottles per batch. Drink 7, use one for starting the next. If this is your first batch, use a bottle of unflavored/unfiltered/unpasteurized commercial kombucha)

1) bring 1/2 gallon of water to a boil. Reserve other 1/2 gallon in fridge to chill.
2) stir in sugar to dissolve, remove from heat.
3) steep tea bags in water for 5-10 minutes, remove and let sweet tea cool
4) while tea is cooling, bottle previous batch to clear fermenter. Reserve last 8-16 oz for starter tea. If this is your first batch, disregard and use a bottle of unflavored commercial kombucha instead.
5) remove Scoby from fermenter, if there is one. Pour tea and cold water into fermenter. The cold water should finish the cooling process. If you do not yet have a SCOBY don't worry, one will magically appear in the fermenter in the next week or so.
6) once tea is at room temperature, pour in starter tea. Add Scoby, if applicable.
7) ferment seven days, repeat process weekly.

SCOBYs will take on a variety of different shapes, colors, and appearances. If you don't see mold on it and the tea tastes fine, I wouldn't read too much into what the SCOBY "looks" like. It will start off thin and translucent, but will get thicker with age.

Keep in mind most of the fermenting bugs will come from the starter tea, not the SCOBY itself. There is a lot of misinformation out there and an inordinate amount of attention paid to the SCOBY, for some reason.

And quit using vinegar. The only thing you should be adding to the tea is sugar and starter tea (kombucha).

 

[ChefRex]

What Hunter said, I brew a full gallon and let it cool overnight, nothing complicated about it.