What causes mold and....

[Rachelle]

Hello, I am new...to the forum and brewing.
I recently grew my own scoby from a bottle of store bought successfully. I then make black lipton tea and added 1 cup of sugar. I made sure tea and scoby starter tea were the same temp then add the scoby and started tea to the said black tea. I sat it on the counter, covered it with a napkin and then watched it mold. That I am aware I never touched the scoby, I used plastic utensils.
What causes mold? Also can I do my second ferment in the fridge or is the temp a problem for that? I made 3 scoby's all together with the bottle of store bought so I have 2 healthy scoby's to try and get my first batch done.
Help, I have had good health improvement the month I have drank the store bought tea. I would like to drink more, but simply can't afford to buy that much.
Thank you in advance!!
Rachelle

 

[maffew222]

Mold is everywhere. It grows because the ferment is not yet acidic enough to prevent the mold from growing. If you have a SCOBY and some Kombucha that you saved from the last brew, make sure you add some Kombucha liquid to your new brew along with the SCOBY. This will help acidity the liquid and prevent mold.

Also, if the "2nd ferment" you talk about is in bottles and you want them bubbly don't put them in them in the fridge. It will just slow down fermentation.

 

[Rachelle]

Thank you Maffew,
I think what I referred to in my original post was misspoke. I was referring to adding the scoby to boiled tea to actually make a drinkable batch not a second ferment to add flavor. But thank you the info you gave will help when I cross that bridge. new to the process and the lingo...sorry.
I researched it a little last night and I don't thing I used enough scoby tea...the tea that grew the scoby.???
Can I use a bottle of store bought plain Kombucha along with my starter tea to add to the boiled tea to make my first brew? That should be more than enough acidic tea to keep the mold at bay...right?
Thanks again,
Rachelle

 

[maffew222]

Yes, you can and should be using some of the Kombucha tea each time you make a new batch. If you do not have any, you could use a small amount of vinegar.

And you can use store bought Kombucha to start a batch, just be sure you buy "raw" or "plain". Just nothing with extra ingredients.

 

[Rachelle]

Great, thank you for the answers maffew.. When I get a brew done successfully, I will post.
Rachelle

 

[mChavez]

Using the standard cleaning & sanitising procedures might also help.

For cleaning, while the scoby is out, soak the brewing bucket & bottles in oxyclean for at least 15 minutes. Give it a good rinse.

For sanitising, I'd use starsan as I doubt that it is going to do any harm to the scoby (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!). Don't fear the foam!

 

[maffew222]

I have never had mold issues by making sure I had a starting acidity and good culture. And other than hot water and a scrub, I've never needed to sanitize or use PBW/oxyclean. YMMV

 

[zipper8650]

be careful sanitizing or using anything antibacterial, you don't want any hanging around in your brew, I wipe all of my jars out with vinegar prior to filling, the mold cant live in the acidic environment

 

[TxBrew]

Great sanitation, making sure the cloth is secure and starting with a solid SCOBY is key.

Are you sure it's mold, the SCOBY can get pretty funky from the spent portion.

 

[compadre]

I read on the cultures4health site that not allowing the brewed tea to cool down enough before you put it in the jar and then drop the Scoby in is what sometimes causes mold. Although I have never had a problem with mold.

 

[maffew222]

It would cause that because it greatly hurts the lacto/etc cultures being dropped at high temps killing the good stuff, allowing mold to set in. Cool it sub 80F and you should be golden.

 

[skadalajara]

Since I've never had a batch not grow mold, this time I used more finished KT and cold brewed my tea. Been 5 days and no mold yet. Crossing my fingers.
The only non-alcohol fermentation I've had be mold free in this apartment is my first sauerkraut. It's nearly done and mold free.

 

[uglyamerican00]

I find good sanitized equipment with attention to sanitizing anything out of the boiled tea is important! Everything that goes in the pot to boil will need to be at at least 140F for five minutes to help the KB have a fighting chance against other bacteria. After your tea is around 80F +/- 5F poor your scoby in, cover the top with a sanitized cloth and try and keep the temp around 80F.

I read an article saying 95% of mold can be avoided by keeping your temp just above 80F. I'm sure the other 5% is sanitation.

Hope this helps!

 

[skadalajara]

11 days and no mold. Mothers 1/8" now. I think I got it figgered out.