new to HBT, and New Bucha brewer

[medicmoore]

So i just started my first full batches on kumbuncha, and i would like to know from you some of you pro's. How do i mellow the taste of my bucha. my black/oolong tea bucha is very tart...sweet...but sour and acidic. Now mind you this is the tea off of my very first SCOBY. So would that be why it was so tart? Because i also did a yerba mate batch, and it was just as mellow as it could be? Any info would be appreciated.

 

[gnomebrew]

You did a batch with with just yerba mate and it was less tart? That's interesting. I routinely use yerba mate for flavor/secondary ferment, but I never use it as a base for feeding the culture.

It's not uncommon for a batch to turn out a little more sour than you'd like. There are different things that can cause that. The simplest things might be to harvest a day or two earlier, or alternatively, reserve less starter tea for each batch.


What ingredients are you using and how much of each? What is the storage temperature, and what is the temperature of the tea you add? How long to you let it ferment?

 

[medicmoore]

Well

the mate tea was 2 cups of yerba mate, tsp of sugar, 2tsp of vinegr, high contry yerba mate. the black tea was same. they were both left for 1 week at 74. Now can someone tell me how mold looks on this stuff..got some flaky look crap on my SCOBY

 

[gnomebrew]

You should be safe to skip the vinegar after your first batch or two. The culture will maintain its own vinegar.

You might also try upping the sugar - for 2 cups of water try about 2 tablespoons of sugar. The finished product won't be near that sweet. It's also good to experiment to find the right balance for your culture and taste.

Mold is fuzzy. White or green or black fuzzy dots. I've actually never seen any form in my kombucha, but I've seen pictures. Blobs and strings are normal for kombucha. Not sure about flakes though. Do you have a picture?

 

[medicmoore]

I do have pictures but currently on my phone with no way to load them up to the forum. But I will tell you this, i decided not to throw it away just yet, but to wait just a little bit to see. I wanna make sure i am not panicing and it might be the SCOBY forming is top layer. As when i peer into my fermenter and look at the very surface, it looks more like a bubbles than anything. But time will tell.....What is the best way to clean the fermenters as i used vineger, but might not have done the best of jobs cleaning it. I want to perfect my bucha, as i plan to make bucha wine, and also other lactofermented drinks so i wanna be sure i dont have crap floating around that could kill me or contaminate other mixtures/drinks that i might have

 

[Leah]

My SCOBYs are full of bubbles. I have never had one that was beautiful and white yet. It's like an active mess when it's forming..

 

[medicmoore]

well all has been well my last too brews have been wonderful....a little on the strong alcohol side but awesome.