Growing my first Scoby from scratch.

[RandyBaton]

Hi,

A bit worried mt first attempt has gone awry. This is after 9 days, temperature probably just below 20c over night and ~22c during the day (65-72f), so i was expecting it to take a longer than normal time to pass first fermentation. (I have a heat belt on order!)

I used store brought natural Kombucha as a seed.

The 2 photos are with and then without a flash. There are a couple of patches in the 6-9 o'clock segment that look a bit different to the rest They show up white with the flash but have a very slight green tinge to them in normal light, but aren't fuzzy.



What do you guys think, scrap it and start again (I'll probably just buy a Scoby)? Or leave it for a few more days? The liquid is still sweet.

 

[Seamonkey84]

What did you use to start your culture and how much tea?

 

[RandyBaton]

What did you use to start your culture and how much tea?

2 cups of bottled water, 2 tea bags 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 bottle of store brought natural (no flavours) kombucha. It said live cultures on the side.

It was Lo Brothers Lo Bros Organic Kombucha Original. I put in about 450 ml - this is their blurb.

'Each batch of Lo Brothers Kombucha is Slow Brewed over three weeks to create a vibrant, Refreshing and uplifting elixir with more than 100 million gut lovin' Bio-Cultures†
†Colony Forming Units (CFU's). Count taken at time of manufacture.
Certified organic, Bubbly with living cultures, Locally brewed, Living & unpasteurised, Naturally low in sugar, Living kombucha drink, Vegan'

 

[Seamonkey84]

That may have been too much sugar. It’s usually a cup of sugar to a gallon of tea. 1/2c in a pint comes out to 4c in a gallon!
ETA I started my first SCOBY with 2 cups tea with 4 tablespoons of sugar.

 

[RPh_Guy]

ETA I started my first SCOBY with 2 cups tea with 4 tablespoons of sugar.

ETA?

I agree, less sugar is needed. Use less than 50 grams (approx 1/4 cup) per 1 US pint.

.... Using a commercial kombucha to propogate isn't growing a scoby "from scratch". It contains all the microbes you need, same as any other scoby you would buy.

 

[Seamonkey84]

ETA = Edit To Add, prob not used much these days lol.
Using a commercial product as a starter tea to grow a scoby is closer than buying a scoby. Though from what I’ve read, having a good strong starter tea is more important than having a scoby that is already formed.

 

[RPh_Guy]

The pellicle/snot pancake is irrelevant. The yeast and bacteria are floating around in the liquid. As long as they're healthy, it's all good.

 

[RandyBaton]

This is the guide I was following.

 

[RPh_Guy]

This is the guide I was following.

It's very common for these types of random guides on the internet to contain false information or poor practices, especially kombucha guides.

It's well known by brewing scientists exactly how much sugar is best for yeast propagation. The amount I stated above (50g per pint) is perfect (s.g. 1.038).

Some other corrections to the video:
The solid part is called a "pellicle", that is not the "scoby". The yeast and bacteria are microscopic. Having a "scoby hotel" with a bunch of pellicles is pretty silly.

Swing top bottles do not release carbonation. They will explode if they over-carbonate. You don't want to find that out the hard way.

Cheers.

 

[RandyBaton]

It's very common for these types of random guides on the internet to contain false information or poor practices, especially kombucha guides.

It's well known by brewing scientists exactly how much sugar is best for yeast propagation. The amount I stated above (50g per pint) is perfect (s.g. 1.038).

Some other corrections to the video:
The solid part is called a "pellicle", that is not the "scoby". The yeast and bacteria are microscopic. Having a "scoby hotel" with a bunch of pellicles is pretty silly.

Swing top bottles do not release carbonation. They will explode if they over-carbonate. You don't want to find that out the hard way.

Cheers.

That guy was charging £150 to access his details videos and webcasts fit his kombucha university. Needless to say when the survey came round asking why I didn’t sign up. I lol’ed a little.

I was going to burp the bottles each day and not leave them sealed. I’d picked that up from other videos.

What’s the consensus, should I just presume I have a good enough starter and just go for it?

 

[RPh_Guy]

What’s the consensus, should I just presume I have a good enough starter and just go for it?

I would generally recommend you let taste be your guide, however with that much sugar in the starter, the yeast are probably struggling.
If you want to give it a fair shot, add another 2 cups of water.

I was going to burp the bottles each day and not leave them sealed.

If I were bottling kombucha, I would use 2-liter pop bottles. Plastic won't explode, and it's easy to gauge the level of carbonation just by feeling them.

I have a heat belt on order!

By the way, it's a good idea to use a reliable thermostat/controller...
You're in luck! Inkbird is having a sale:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HXM5UAC/

 

[RandyBaton]

I’m in the uk. But thanks for the link

I’m definitely getting carbonation and it’s also tasting less sugary and more vinegary. So I guess I’ll just go for it at the weekend.

 

[lump42]

I’m in the uk. But thanks for the link

I’m definitely getting carbonation and it’s also tasting less sugary and more vinegary. So I guess I’ll just go for it at the weekend.

View attachment 646519

Here's a uk link to the itc-308. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Regulator/dp/B018K82UQU

I use 16 or 20 oz soda bottles to bottle. I add 1 teaspoon (5ml) of heavy syrup (2 US cups of cane sugar to 1 fl. cup of water) to each bottle and let them stand for 4-6 days to add more carbonation.

I've actually been making mine with 3/4 cup sugar per US gal. with 8 tea bags