New brew

[NorBooch]

Hi I’m a noob and just wanted to see what people thought of this mix I’ve started today. Any advice is really appreciated. I have a feeling I’m going to become obsessed with this

4,5 L total liquid (all water is distilled)
150g of coconut palm sugar (boiled)
3 large table spoons of wild honey (Spanish)
4 x black tea bags
1 x green tea bag
2 x ginger tea bags
1 x lemon tea bag
Plus some cinnamon and allspice in my own teabag.
80ml apple cider vinegar
1 x dried scoby (Kombucha starter kit)

All ingredients are organic. The liquid is very dark atm but can see the Scoby at the bottom of the jar when I look closely.

Am I doing this right? Will be left on my shelf in my room so I can keep an eye (no touching)


My friend has one which got me interested. I tried a small drop of his and it cleared my sinuses and made me sneeze for a bit. I actually felt quite energized after too for some reason. It tasted almost like cider. Pleasant though.
His Scoby is ginormous though. I think it’s been sitting for a veeeeery long time just growing and growing. It honestly takes up most of the jar (same size as mine). Is that good? I’ll try to get a photo soon.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I'm surprised you didn't get your SCOBY from your friend.

I actually felt quite energized after too for some reason.

Caffeine!

Hopefully the sneezing isn't mold/allergy related....

The size of the pellicle (the solid) doesn't matter. Nothing to worry about. You can trim it down to make more room for liquid, if you want.

Cheers & welcome to HBT! Best of luck!

 

[NorBooch]

So i got a pic of my friends one. Let me know what you think of the thing please? looks like layers of really healthy scoby to me but i dont know much.

Ive come back after a week away and mine seems to have mold growing up top already. Not sure what i should do about it?
Any help appreciated.

Pics below

 

[RPh_Guy]

The third photo clearly shows mold.
You should dump that.

Is the green area in the first photo something growing?

 

[NorBooch]

maybe its been too cold which is why it grew mold?
Can i use the same scoby for the new batch? it's just laying in the bottom with a lot of sediment.
Can you recomend a way i avoid mold?

the green might just be something in the background, cant see any green in the tub he has

 

[RPh_Guy]

Too cool a temperature may contribute to mold growth. Cold slows down yeast growth and yeast growth/fermentation is what inhibits mold.

To avoid mold, pitch a healthy SCOBY culture into a reasonably-sized batch (smaller may be better) and maintain adequate fermentation conditions (temperature, nutrients, aeration) to encourage yeast growth.

Your dried SCOBY might not have been healthy enough.

My advice:
If you can, get a little liquid kombucha or a bit of the pellicle (solid part) from your friend and make a small batch (like 1L) to get it started.

Can i use the same scoby for the new batch?

As I said, I would dump that batch.
Mold is dangerous and not worth the health risk.

FYI:
The solid byproduct (pellicle) of SCOBY fermentation is completely irrelevant. Bacteria and yeast are microscopic; you can't see them. They live throughout the liquid.