Does this look right?

[pctech101]

New to kombucha.
I got a s.c.o.b.y.
made a half gallon of green tea with 3/4 cups raw sugar.
Threw into 1/2 gallon jug, covered.
After stuff started growing on top I decided to I wanted to increase my batch size.
I put 2/3 of liquid from 1/2 g jar and put into 1g jar and added 1/2g of fresh green tea with 3/4 cup raw sugar.
I added some green tea back to the original jar that still had a 1/3g left in it.
I just want to verify everything looks okay so far.
Pictures are from the top side of both jars.
Is this how it is supposed to look?

Note: I used a flashlight to make pictures more visible as certain areas appear dark but under light the dark just looks a creamy color.

 

[FromZwolle]

looks fine. kombucha in general looks nasty while fermenting.

The only good visual sign of trouble is fuzzy mold growing on the surface.

 

[pctech101]

The only good visual sign of trouble is fuzzy mold growing on the surface.

Does mold come in all colors or is there a certain color to be aware of?
And thanks for your response, much appreciated

 

[FromZwolle]

Does mold come in all colors or is there a certain color to be aware of?
And thanks for your response, much appreciated

Just about every color or the rainbow. Green and grey are the common aggressive molds.

You can easily keep them at bay ny keeping your scoby wet. Just give the container a little gentle rocking every couple days so that the liquid splashes onto the top layer.

 

[Yooper]

It is so hard to tell from the photos, but it does look like mold and not like a new SCOBY from what I can see.

Green tea is usually not used for beginning a kombucha, as there isn’t enough nutrition in there for a SCOBY to start (you can slowly acclimate it litte by little in successive batches), and in addition you need to have a low enough pH for the beginning, to avoid unwanted microbe growth. In general you want at least 1 cup of very strong starter (with a low pH) to ferment a 1 gallon batch. I think you jumped the gun and are not going to have success here, but I hope I’m wrong!

 

[FromZwolle]

It is so hard to tell from the photos, but it does look like mold and not like a new SCOBY from what I can see.

could be, could also just be scrum from the green tea and a bad pic. you can always scoop out the scoby and dump it. a new one will be along shortly.

 

[pctech101]

 

[pctech101]

I have a new scoby growing in each. Looks similar to a plastic bag. As suggested I swirled the kombuchaso that the scoby went under the liquid. Both jars smell slightly vinegary with no foul smells. Thanks for y'all's words. Hopefully these pictures help make better opinions

 

[pctech101]

I think the darker danglies are yeast if I understand what I have read. Please confirm. They only look dark because of lighting. You can see a danglie thing in one of the side photos is actually a tan/light brown

 

[pctech101]

It is so hard to tell from the photos, but it does look like mold and not like a new SCOBY from what I can see.

Green tea is usually not used for beginning a kombucha, as there isn’t enough nutrition in there for a SCOBY to start (you can slowly acclimate it litte by little in successive batches), and in addition you need to have a low enough pH for the beginning, to avoid unwanted microbe growth. In general you want at least 1 cup of very strong starter (with a low pH) to ferment a 1 gallon batch. I think you jumped the gun and are not going to have success here, but I hope I’m wrong!

I took my starter scoby with liquid and put in the half gallon jar with cooled GT & raw sugar. Left for 6 days and a new scoby was growing on top. I then took that and through into gallon jar and taste tested. I left about a cup in .5g jar and added more tea (3GT and 4 Peach Tea bags (has black tea in the Peach Tea)). I also added back .5g GT sweetened in the 1g jar. They both are growing scoby. The scoby is clear mostly with creamy tan like color in certain areas.

 

[FromZwolle]

I think the darker danglies are yeast if I understand what I have read. Please confirm. They only look dark because of lighting. You can see a danglie thing in one of the side photos is actually a tan/light brown

most of the pictures look perfectly normal for a scoby. it's the lighting where is looks a bit like a greenish clump of wet slime, which is what mold looks like when you submerge it in liquid.

give it a taste. if there was mold that grew on one of the early skins, you'll taste the subtle yet unpleasant mildew flavor.

 

[pctech101]

most of the pictures look perfectly normal for a scoby. it's the lighting where is looks a bit like a greenish clump of wet slime, which is what mold looks like when you submerge it in liquid.

give it a taste. if there was mold that grew on one of the early skins, you'll taste the subtle yet unpleasant mildew flavor.

I just taste vinegar sweet tea
Appreciate your time.
Blessings

 

[pctech101]

Hopefully this isn't against the rules. I found this site that has a great set of photos of what normal is like and what mold is like: Kombucha Mold/Not Mold Photos plus Brew Safety Info - Kombucha Kamp