Slow Fermentation

[vjekob]

My Kombucha jars (each is 5l) sit on the kitchen cupboard covered with cloth.
The jars have a wall behind them, are near the window , but with no
direct sunlight and the cloth covers a large part of the jar.
For this last batch, I filled the jar more than usual - approx. 2cm-3cm to the top of the jar.
I had unfortunately damaged the SCOBY before putting it in the new tea while removing
the top layer (a piece of the top layer was removed) and I didn't pay enough attention to
which layer was facing up (was a late night). The SCOBY sank to the bottom and
a new one (very thin/transparent) formed on top. After a few days, I took a sample to
test the ph. I did this with a stainless steel spoon and half of the new SCOBY
folded downwards. The Kombucha was very sweet, so I didn't even try taking a ph
reading. Now it has been sitting for 19 days , there is a new SCOBY over the entire
surface but the ph is still 4.0 (I use a ph paper which measures 0.5-5.0 in 0.5 increments) -
what should I do, what have I done wrong (or right ) ?

 

[hottpeper13]

The lower the temp the longer the ferment. I get my best tasting booch when between 23c and 26c, and don't let it get lower then 20c. I have an insulation wrap and an instant read thermometer with a 5 watt heater. My house is 16c - 17c and the tea is at 22- 23c. Every time you disturb the SCOBY it stops growing and a new one starts, I have vessels with taps on the bottom so I only get one split SCOBY when I bottle, the original and a new one on top. The come apart very easily. At this time of the year the batches take about 21 days, I don't even sample(very easy with spigot) until I smell vinegar when I walk by , kinda like cooking, when you smell it ,time to check. In the beginning I did a ph test when it was delicious , and it was 2.85. I checked it once more and was 3.0 so now I just go with taste. I bottle when I can just taste the TEA pare of the flavor profile,after a second ferment in the bottle( at 27c ) for 4 days it gose in the fridge (little salty beer humor) and just like beer it tastes awesome at 4 weeks conditioning.

 

[vjekob]

OK thanks - I don't have a flow through system, so I can only taste by disturbing the top scoby - I just got worried that something was wrong, guess will have to be patient.