Is my Jun SCOBY moldy Please help
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Jeremiah Allen
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Looks yeasty, which isn't abnormal. I don't see any mold. Mold will be fizzy.
Looks fine to me, though I'm no expert. Not mould anyway.
Thank u this is my first time making Jun Kombucha which they say takes 3 to 5 days but the pic I posted is after 11 days which made me think something is wrong
Jeremiah Allen
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Hmmm....Doesn't look like much SCOBY growth for 11 days. How does it taste? What is the pH and what temperature are you keeping it?
I've attached a couple pictures of my SCOBY growth on my new jun setup. This is day 6, first batch with new SCOBY. I keep my jar wrapped with a seed mat to keep it at around 80*.
I've attached a couple pictures of my SCOBY growth on my new jun setup. This is day 6, first batch with new SCOBY. I keep my jar wrapped with a seed mat to keep it at around 80*.
I've only made a couple of kombucha but I make a lot of beer. Thing to remember is it's like farming more than science. They are alive and do what they do. Perhaps the conditions weren't ideal, but the best way of seeing what's happening is a wee taste. Nobody has ever died from fermenting as far as I know, unless you count getting too into the home brew...
Wow thanks for ur pics I know my temps are not even close to 80 it is around 67 to 70 and I do hv seed mats that I can wrap it in before I started I had read that the temps didn’t need to be as high as making regular Kombucha to make jun this is why it’s best to talk to people who are doing it and I really appreciate ur input on helping me out
Ok thank u as from what another member is telling me it seams my temps are no where in the range it should and I’ve tasted it it’s not sweet and not vingeary it’s like it’s neutral
Strange. The sugar must have turned into something so I guess alcohol, but yeast prefer warmer temps too. Unless the honey didn't mix properly. Another possibility is that it wasn't a proper Jun Scoby and the antibacterial properties of the honey killed the bacteria and left the yeast to turn it into booze. That's my guess.
Jeremiah Allen
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While I too have read that jun can tolerate a lower temperature than standard kombucha, the key word there is "tolerate". Especially if this is the first batch with a new SCOBY, you want to try and keep things in their optimal parameters. All kombucha SCOBYs, including jun, prefer a temperature within 75-85. Once you have a mature culture that you've run through a couple batches and a good amount of strong starter liquid then you can probably get away with the lower temperatures, but even then, I wouldn't recommend letting it drop below 70 for extended periods.
If, worst case scenario, you end up having to toss the batch and start over, here are a few things I've done to try and ensure success. Note: take a look at the thread I started "Help! My Jun is Mead!" I had to start over because all my first culture produced was alcohol, it never converted the alcohol into acids. On my second attempt, with a new SCOBY, I made sure that as many conditions as possible were in the ideal range. I used a full 1cup of honey, not 3/4. The kit I started with had less, I think, maybe 1/2cup...but I didn't measure it. Make sure that you use raw honey, that's what jun SCOBYs are designed to work best with. Only add the honey to cool tea(less than 90*), otherwise you will kill the bacteria in the honey that are part of the reason for using raw honey in the first place. For 1gal use 3tbsp of plain green tea, I use Numi Organic Tea Gunpowder Green from Amazon. And again, as above, try and keep it between 75-85. My second attempt turned out great! Hopefully yours will too!
If, worst case scenario, you end up having to toss the batch and start over, here are a few things I've done to try and ensure success. Note: take a look at the thread I started "Help! My Jun is Mead!" I had to start over because all my first culture produced was alcohol, it never converted the alcohol into acids. On my second attempt, with a new SCOBY, I made sure that as many conditions as possible were in the ideal range. I used a full 1cup of honey, not 3/4. The kit I started with had less, I think, maybe 1/2cup...but I didn't measure it. Make sure that you use raw honey, that's what jun SCOBYs are designed to work best with. Only add the honey to cool tea(less than 90*), otherwise you will kill the bacteria in the honey that are part of the reason for using raw honey in the first place. For 1gal use 3tbsp of plain green tea, I use Numi Organic Tea Gunpowder Green from Amazon. And again, as above, try and keep it between 75-85. My second attempt turned out great! Hopefully yours will too!
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