Is this a healthy scoby?

[Suri]

Hey everyone, I've brewed kombucha a couple times before and the scobies usually came out being somewhat thick and white. This one took me by surprise when it started forming very wide and thin. There seem to be a lot of little bubbles on it as well and due to lack of experience I'm just never sure if the scoby is good or not (they always seem to come out different). Does this look like a healthy scoby?

Update: I tested the batch (which has been brewing for 14 days now) and it doesn't taste one bit fermented. No carbonation. Tastes like regular tea. Did I receive a dead start scoby in the mail or is it just taking a lot longer to ferment for some reason?

 

[hopstupid]

you are supposed to lower the ph before you throw in your new scoby. Either with Kombucha or vinegar

 

[Suri]

you are supposed to lower the ph before you throw in your new scoby. Either with Kombucha or vinegar

There was kombucha in the packet with the scoby that I threw in. Maybe there wasn't enough..

 

[Suri]

Now it just looks like this. What's going on here? Is this normal?

 

[boocha]

Did the temperature in your location change? It could be the temperature that caused the scoby to grow slowly. It it doesn't look like mold, it must be the temperature.

 

[Suri]

Yes, some days it's pretty hot and others not. We usually have the A/C on, which can be in the mid 70s during the day and go down to 68 at night. Should I try to keep it in a warmer location or cooler location?

 

[jaeshoes1]

Your Scoby needs to be at a temp range from 74-89 F. If it's not at that range your scoby can get sick or even die. lower or higher can cause infection so to speak. Mold is the number one killer. It looks like your Scoby maybe in the beginning stages of mold. You can't save it if it's mold. To be safe, since I can't see enough detail, would trash it and start again. Otherwise your health is at risk to drink it.

Keep your scoby at 79. that is the ideal. I've created some incubators and I'll post a link to those. They worked great when I had an ice storm and my heater wasn't keeping the temp effectively. The space heater wasn't worth it.


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f167/step-step-481710/#post6239703

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f167/step-step-481710/#post6239713

Here is my step by step part 1: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f167/step-step-481710/index2.html#post6242772

Here is my step by step part 2: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f167/step-step-481710/index3.html#post6242783

Results from growing my own:

 

[jaeshoes1]

http://www.kombuchabrooklyn.com/kombucha-brew-faq
I've been doing some further research since so many on here are concerned about mold. According to this brewer it looks like you have mold.