starter kit scoby slow to grow??

[ScoobyDude]

getting back into kombucha making here.

i went to the natural foods store and picked up a kit. made the sugary green tea, opened the bag containing the scoby started (maybe a square inch or two) and its juices and dumped that in. done..

so, after nearly 2 weeks, the scoby is still small and sitting on the bottom of the glass jug. looks kind of grimy at that.

it's been a while since i've done this, but recall the scoby taking form up top in this same jug.

it smells like kombucha But is this working, or is there cause for concern? thanks.

 

[kyt]

The starter SCOBY will typically sink, but you should have formed a new one by now. Should be roughly 1/8" thick or so. If it's fermenting but not creating a pellicle and acetic acid, then your starter did not contain enough viable acetobacter. You'll be making alcoholic tea instead.

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[calebhanson]

Hey ScoobyDude (have I seen you on Subaru forums too?), kyt is right. You should definitely have SCOBY by now. First off, did you use tap water? The little amount of chlorine in tap water will impede SCOBY growth and really trip you up. You need to let it off-gas for a day or so before using it.
If not, then I would blame the starter and SCOBY. They're resilient and last a long time, but if it's languishing in a fridge for 4 months in a brew store, it's not going to grow. If it looks old and yellowed and is really tough, it's probably dead. If it's white and rubbery, you're in pretty good shape.

Where are you based out of? The best bet is either to hit up kombucha brewery for some starter and SCOBY (we have more of it than we know what to do with) or get some fresh booch (the unfiltered stuff, not backblended with juice or whatever) and use a few bottles of that as starter. It should pop a SCOBY in no time if you add a little sugar to it.

Best of luck!
Caleb
co-founder and head bottle washer
BCJ Beverage / Upstart Kombucha
Boulder CO

 

[ScoobyDude]

Sorry Caleb, must be a different scoobydude. I used filtered tap water, which I (partially) boiled.

At any rate, I may stand corrected. I based my original post off of what I saw when looking at/into the jug. This morning I peaked under the cheesecloth on top and there is a gelatinous membrane on top (hardly looks even a cm thick). Is this the pellicle?? It's pretty transparent, not white. But it's not moldy or anything. Am I on my way??

So for store starters, a new scoby forms up top on its own while the starter chunk sits on the bottom feeding the brew?

 

[ScoobyDude]

Here is a pic

 

[kyt]

Yes/no
Your pellicle/SCOBY looks fine, a little thin but that should be expected from a culture that came from a store. You'll want to let that get a little thicker before you make your first batch with it. Should be between 1/8-1/4" thick, this will indicate a viable acetobacter population. Then use all of that liquid as the starter for the new batch.

For the "no" part, the old SCOBY doesn't "feed" anything. It will slowly disintegrate over time, but it is not a food source for the yeast or bacteria.
With a strong starter solution, the old SCOBY is virtually useless. You can discard the sinking one at your own discretion.

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[ScoobyDude]

That pellicle is forming on top of a gallon of tea. Do you mean to say I should not consume this first batch? I am only planning on making a gallon at a time, so I'm a bit confused when you say to "use all of that liquid as the starter for a new batch". Thanks for the advise btw

 

[kyt]

Oh. From the picture it looked like a smaller vessel. You can totally drink that batch!
That explains why it took you so long for the scoby growth.

Have you drawn a sample yet?

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[calebhanson]

Yeah, that looks like it's going to take. I'm guessing there was a little chlorine left in the water, just enough to inhibit the SCOBY growth, but not kill your batch entirely.

If you want to speed it up, I would recommend getting an unfiltered raw kombucha (GT's Trilogy should work, and is widely available) and add that to it to bring the pH down a little and add more helpful bacteria / yeast to kickstart the process.

Good luck!

 

[kyt]

ScoobyDude, have you taken a pH measurement yet?

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[ScoobyDude]

Hi kyt. No, I have not. I forgot about needing to measure the pH. It's been years since I last made kombucha. I can go pick up strips tomorrow. What am I looking for with the pH? I have not tasted yet either. I was thinking I could plug up a sample in a straw to taste. Do I need to sanitize the straw first? thanks.

 

[kyt]

You could Star San a straw if you felt like it, or a rinse in distilled white vinegar would be sufficient. I prefer using DWV because it will not kill my microbes I want to keep, and it will dissolve residues from the item. You wouldn't want extruder lubricant (or who knows what else could possibly be on them) in your fermentor.
You're looking for a pH around 3.0. I harvest mine ~3.0-3.2.
Some people like theirs as low as 2.5. We don't like it that vinegary.

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[ScoobyDude]

finally picked up pH strips.....but they are the wrong ones; wrong range (4.5-8). My only hope is to order online b/c it took 5 tries to find these in a store (and in my experience I was shocked to learn how few people know what pH test strips are or are for... sad state, man). Anyway, the stripped looked lighter in color that the 4.5 color....so I'm guessing it's hit the 4 mark or lower. Frustrating to not know for sure. But it tastes good, like jasmine green tea with a vinegary bite. ....think I'm good to bottle? It has been just shy of 3 weeks on this starter batch. Given that it's the first batch, maybe I should let it go to a month?

On a side note, there have been two fruit flies in the head space under the cheese cloth on two separate occasions (1 per time). Any cause for concern with that? I'm thinking when I bottle in the next day or two (with any encouragement from you all) I'll let the SCOBY sit submerged in a jar of ACV and Kombucha. The extra dose of ACV should clean up the SCOBY, right?

 

[kyt]

I wouldn't let it go any longer. If it's good now, harvest it.
Yes fruit flies are most certainly a concern. They will lay eggs in your kombucha and you'll have larvae swimming around in it. You'd have to toss the whole batch. If there's no larvae in the liquid now, you may be able to toss the SCOBY and be fine. I don't think we can see the fly eggs tto be sure. This is why you never use cheesecloth. The weave is too loose. I use paper coffee filters, a piece of T-shirt or pantyhose works fine too.
Use distilled white vinegar, or if you have to, ACV that is NOT raw. Raw ACV could greatly offset your balance. You're better off trashing the SCOBY and starting over than trying to save it.

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[ScoobyDude]

I should toss the SCOBY?! dangit.

Well I bottled the KT. Sketched out on drinking it now though. Is there a risk to drinking this stuff? I've been searching online for info, but not considering my situation as an "infestation" with only 2 flies, I'm a little torn. I'd hate to toss it all, but don't want to do any damage to myself.

 

[kyt]

If there were flies inside, there's probably eggs on it. You could keep it and wait and see if you get any larvae swimming around in there. The larvae would probably be cleanish, not sure how much nourishment they'd provide you if you drank them. The really nasty part is, what other rotten and or moldy food waste/garbage did they land on before they flew through your cheesecloth?
It's your call, you may get lucky and not get an infestation at all!

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[calebhanson]

Fruit flies!!! Ugh, they're the worst. I agree with KYT, toss the scoby and watch the batch.

In the future, one good way to help keep them out of your batch is to point a fan at the top of the bucket / jar, so that there's a breeze blowing across the top. Double up your cheesecloth so it's 2 or 3 layers of cloth. Make sure there's no fruit, moisture or standing water around that they can breed in.

 

[ScoobyDude]

Alright, I guess I'll toss the SCOBY. Weird thing is it was in my office, with no other food around.

Caleb I'm not sure what you mean by "watch the batch". I bottled it this morning. In a few days when I open one up, is there a way to tell if it's safe to drink? I've got a taste for sour/vinegar, so I'm not even sure what I would be tasting for? Expect mold? Or a bottle of flies you mean?

I appreciate the info from everyone. After this batch, hopefully I'll get it going right on the next one once I find a SCOBY. I don't think I'll go the starter kit route again as it was $13 and largely a hassle. I want to pick up a healthy baby. All I'm seeing on craigslist is people charging $5-20 for a SCOBY which, IMO, is ridiculous as I'm sure they are having to toss one out every week or two if they are truly brewing. Sorry for the rant but I was shocked by this. I used to not be able to give mine away!

 

[kyt]

You can get a new culture from Kombucha Nation on Facebook for the cost of shipping.

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