Is my Scoby dead? Help!

[Karyn]

Hi
I've just started a new batch of kombucha with a scoby that had been in a hotel for 3 months. It looked healthy, however when I put it into my tea it sank to the bottom. The internet suggested this would not be a problem as a new one would form on the top - however this has not happened. Is my scoby dead? Do I need to get another one from somewhere or can my old one be rescuscitated somehow? And if its not dead, how can I tell if my tea is fermented or not?

 

[ericbw]

Taste it. Smell it. How long has it been? If it tastes like booch, then it's working.

I had this happen to my current batch. I think it's fine. I think the tea was warmer than it should have been.

 

[Karyn]

It tastes and smells like normal. Its been 9 days. The tea was room temperature - same as the scoby hotel. Was wondering if I did something wrong in using the hotel tea as the starter tea in this batch?

The mother is very thick, and I have lots of little brown tendrils formed underneath it, maybe it just blocked the bits from getting up the top? Might need to separate it out and use a thinner layer next time.

 

[55x11]

It tastes and smells like normal. Its been 9 days. The tea was room temperature - same as the scoby hotel. Was wondering if I did something wrong in using the hotel tea as the starter tea in this batch?

The mother is very thick, and I have lots of little brown tendrils formed underneath it, maybe it just blocked the bits from getting up the top? Might need to separate it out and use a thinner layer next time.

what you call "SCOBY" is actually cellulose byproduct of actual SCOBY, which is the yeast and bacteria contained in the "starter tea", the liquid part. The cellulose SCOBY can float sideways or even sink, and it's all fine. As long as you don't have mold, black spots or weird smells.

Next time you can even throw out the entire "SCOBY" - the mushroom - as long as you leave some starter tea, it will grow right back.