Question on a first time Kombucha brew.

[Draagro]

I just started my first ever Kumbucha brew from a SCOBY that I got off of Craigslist. Seems to be the right color and looked healthy though a bit thin. my real question is two:

1. I used this Tea as I thought it would be interesting and then after I had it done saw that using tea with other ingredients other than green or black tea can cause problems, especially for a first time brewer. I started this on saturday and seem to see a baby starting on top. Of course I'll give it more time and see what happens, but any thoughts on this tea?





2. the temp in my house right now is dropping to about 68 dgs at night and warming up to 70+ during the day. Will that drop below the optimum 70 - 95 dg temp range make much of a difference in brew time?

Thanks

 

[Pdid84]

Temp should be ok, I brew mine in my studio in my basement and my temp ranges are the same, 6-9 days is what you are looking at for brew time, maybe more depending on taste your going for, but start tasting it around six days. If it taste watered down then on next batch add more sugar. As far as the tea goes, you'll have to wait and see, sometimes the scoby doesn't do well with teas that have flavors in it, mostly do to the oils, but some people get lucky and the scoby is a beast and the flavored teas don't harm it.

 

[Draagro]

Thanks for the reply. I'm at four days and it appears that a scoby is forming so I'm hopeful!

 

[Pdid84]

If its forming a new layer then you should be good. I've noticed on mine that when my mother produces a daughter they have been thin, so if the new one that is forming dose not seem to get thick don't worry. I'm about 6 batches in and my daughter has gotten several layers to it. Watch out for fuzzy white or black spots(mold)-brown spots or stringy deposits are ok

 

[Draagro]

So this Mango black tea batch turned out great. I think my temps required me to let it sit a bit longer than 7 days, but it was good. Just not quite as sour as I would have like and the bottle conditioning is taking a bit longer too.

But, I used the scoby from that batch to make a new batch of just plain black tea kombucha. I'm about 2 days in and I'm getting white spots on the top of the batch. the scoby sank and it seems that a new one is forming with it at the battom. I'm assuming I've got mold. anything to do about it?

I also made a smaller batch with the Mango black to that seems to working out great again the Mother sank, but the new scoby is forming on the top.

Thanks,

 

[Pdid84]

The sinking is due to the scoby being at a different temp then the liquid your putting it in- that's ok in a day or two it should raise to the top.....if it white and fuzzy then yes mold, dump it and wait till you get an extra scoby to try again. Otherwise a transparent white milky blob( like snot) could be a baby forming on the top, the mother and daughter don't always have to form together especially if you have a stubborn one that stays at the bottom for awhile, do you have a pic??

 

[Draagro]

looks like scoby and white mold to me. So can I save the mother at the bottom after pouring off the mold and liquid?

 

[Pdid84]

No I wouldn't try to save the mother, if you have another one growing just wait and use that one, and trash the moldy one. I have good luck cleaning my containers with vinegar,- even go as far as lightly rinsing the mother in vinegar to help clean her off,the acidity helps reduce mold, you could also add a little apple cider vinegar to your next regular batch- helps keep that cider flavor and keeps the batch acidic enough so mold can't take hold

 

[Draagro]

I don't want to risk it, but do you think the mold could get to the sunken mother or is the risk that mold would stick to the sides of the container and come into contact with the mother when you take it out?

 

[Pdid84]

The bacteria could come into contact with the mother when removing It or the mold could be floating in the liquid as we speak coming in contact with the mother!!!!....... If i really didn't want to trash the mother I'd wash the **** out of it with distilled white vinegar make a small batch and see if I still got mold........

 

[Draagro]

I think I had some bad tea bags. Each time I used them I got a moldy batch. I've now been using Jasmine green tea and everything is works flawlessly!!

 

[boocha]

View attachment 204870

View attachment 204871

looks like scoby and white mold to me. So can I save the mother at the bottom after pouring off the mold and liquid?

This doesn't look like mold to me. I'm not wearing my glasses though. Is it fuzzy? I'd be said if it's really mold

 

[jaeshoes1]

When I was a first time kombi brewer I had the same issue. I contacted Lion Heart and asked them what to do. They said that the scoby I bought from Craigslist wasn't as beefy as it should be but after about 3 batches it'll be buff enough to make a good brew. I bought my starter kit from them back in November after asking them and taking a class. As a recent transplant to Portland I wanted to know more about the city and it's quirky Kombucha obsession. If your starter tea was not acidic enough or it was not mature enough in the original batch, you'll have a skinny scoby. Another helpful thing to try is to bump up the sugar and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a gallon batch. Then if you have a shelf above your fridge, you'll have a perfect temp usually. My shelf above my fridge is at a stable 74 (on the low end of their happy temp). I've since been growing my own scobys and using the one I got from them. I also bought a couple from a local feed store here in Portland, Ludemans. They have some very strong ones that are great for starting with. To note there is the option to build an incubator. I've done two types, an indoor and an outdoor. They both work well and very cheap to make.

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

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

 

[jaeshoes1]

So have you ever heard of vinegar eels? Looks like you have some eggs floating on the top there......