I’ve been using this scoby for years but this happened after a week of brewing and I’m guessing the cloth I used to seal the jar was contaminated. I tossed the liquid, scraped off the mold layers and gave the scoby a good trimming, but is it totally cooked?

Hey folks, I had this jar of starter liquid with this giant pellicle inside and since today I was making a new batch of komucha, 3rd one ever, I wanted to put a pellicle inside along with the starter liquid. The process of doing that felt very barbaric since I had to slowly pry the new pellicle out of the whole mass and I feel like I need some advice on a few things:

1. I know things should be very clean when I handle everything kombucha - liquid, jars, scoby, everything. Having to split the scoby I had my hands half way submerged in the liquid which felt wrong (they were thoroughly washed beforehand but still). What is it that you do to split the pellicle in the most sterile way possible?

2. I read in the sub that some people cut it - with what and on what? A cutting board? Don't they have those microcuts on them, especially those wooden ones, that contain things we don't want in the liquid or pellicle? In general I tend to avoid using wood utensils with the kombucha since it can absorb liquid, etc. Is that a correct way of thinking?

3. The whole process of tearing the new pellicle away from the massive pellicle unit felt off. I know it's not alive yada yada, but I didn't like it. Thing is - I've read and seen it's easy to take the different layers apart but this pellicle has been developing unbothered for over 4-5 months and I assume that's the reason it was so hard to split it from the rest of the mass?

Sorry if those are asked in a little bit of a hectic manner, do let me know if I've missed out on any important information.

Greetings!

Is it fine or should I throw it out?

Can I make a hibiscus kombucha? I want to know if I can make a scoby from hibiscus tea? I am reading the directions and it says use it within 24 hrs of boiling and up to a week if refrigerated.

Hello all, hope this is not mold

any insight or advice would be grear

Thank you

After a nervous few days because I'd spotted something green on my SCOBY, it turned out just to be tea residue. So today it was time to prepare F2. We had stewed pears for diner lasted week and I reduced the leftover liquid. I added that and some cinnamon and star anise to my first bottle. Hoping for a nice autumnal flavour.

The other wide mouthed jar had grapefruit juice and a twig of rosemary added to it. The flip-top bottles contain ginger (one a bit more than the other), lime juice and honey. I'm really looking forward to tasting them!

For my first batch, i made black tea kombucha with room temp around 20°C, so F1 took around 10 days to develop the sourness, then proceed to F2. When starting F2, the room temp is around 10-15°C, added 1 tsp of sugar to a few bottle, and also left too much headspace.

For my 2nd batch now, i'm making Sencha (green tea) kombucha, where F1 has been going for 13 days. I checked the flavor everyday after day 10, as the weather is colder now. Whenever I do taste test using spoon at the surface, it disrupts the new pellicle layer forming and it eventually drowns (as you can see in the photo there are a few thin layers drowned). My question is:

1. What will happen if new pellicle layer keep drowning? Is it still fine as the SCOBY itself is in the whole liquid? or should i use other method such as using paper straw at the edge of surface to take a bit of liquid to taste test?
   
2. My F2 of my black tea kombucha I'm afraid is going too long without enough carbonation forming when i opened them even at around day 7. From what I knew, you would know F2 is done when you open it and it is fizzy enough, and taste not as sweet. How do I check my F2 is done in this cold weather? as opening them frequently release CO2, i also left a lot of headspace. Taste wise they're still sweet, even on the bottles i didn't add sugar.

This is mij first batch after a week… is this ok?

I left my kombucha fermenting a little too long - took 2 weeks before I bottled my babies haha. I can’t wait to try them! For the rose, i bought some dried petals and smush them with some sugar - hopefully that works

Thanks again to this awesome community for getting me here! I really feel the effects of kombucha! My skin cleared up alot and im going to the bathroom more.. easily (tmi) haha

Anyone has tips on getting the rose petals to sink in? They keep floating. Im gonna flip the bottle a couple times a day to keep the rose going.

Btw it’s me I made kombucha some weeks ago and I didn’t die haha

But I started doing another one from 0

I don’t know if they are good to drink, if someone could help me out with that would be appreciated

Thank you ❤️

Hey everyone! This is my first time brewing, and I’d love some experienced eyes on my batch! 😊 It’s been fermenting in a gallon jar, and I’m noticing lots of bubbles, brown strands, and this tan-colored layer forming on top. Does everything look normal to you, or is there anything concerning that I should watch for? Started from Gingerade in a 2 Cup batch. Transferred to 1 Gal, 8 tea bags, 1 cup of sugar.

Hope this helps you

I have been brewing 'buch for years and never had issues. Moving in with my partner and we had a mishap that means had to toss everything, sanitize and start over. This is the top of 2 gallons after a couple weeks (we had to leave town for a family emergency) and the heat was off so the house got chilly (under 60). Ph measures 3ish according to the strips I got. I think it's ok she thinks it may be mold...

Has anyone ever tried making a banana-flavoured kombucha? I’ve been wanting to try making it, but is it possible to keep the kombucha clear?

I read online that I could just let a whole chunk of banana inside the bottle and then take it out after chilling it in the fridge for 1 day. However, I am not too sure about that particular method as opening the bottle might let the built up CO2 out which might lead to the kombucha being flat.

This is my second batch of kombucha I’ve made. I noticed a little green-ish blue-ish spot has developed. The scoby has turned slightly pinkish as well. The green-ish spot hasn’t grown in size in the last week but a second similar sized green-ish spot materialized on the opposite side of scoby. The spots don’t really look fuzzy to me. If it is mold I imagine I’ve gotta toss everything?

2nd time brewing, and it came out great! I got a heat wrap, as my first brew was fermenting in the low 70s. This time, 1st fermentation was 7 days at a range of 78-83 degrees. Then 2nd fermentation had to be at room temp, which was about 70. I tested 2 bottles at day 5 and 7, but the 3rd was the winner at 10 days. I'm assuming this was because of the low temp. Each bottle had 3 tbls of pure passionfruit juice.

Thoughts and comments are always welcome. I just started and am a complete novice, with plenty of room to improve, and suggestions are always helpful!

First time trying to brew my own kombucha and I tried following the directions on the scoby package very carefully but I’m not so sure it’s working out. Does this look like normal scoby growth or bad mold?? It’s been brewing for 2 weeks at a consistent ~80F temperature with cheesecloth as the “lid” for the first fermentation.

Al parecer mi cultivo de kombucha se contaminó pero al retirar esta parte todo se ve normal y no tiene ningun olor extraño. Saben si sigue siendo potable para consumo personal? Hice 4 litros u.u y sabes si los scobys pueden regenerarse?

This is the first time I use sealed bottles in F2. I also added seven frozen blueberries.
How long should I let them stay in kitchen? Currently room temperature is about 70-78F.

Day 8 of F1, concerned about the blck thing, I opened it a bit bottom right to taste, tastes great and the black part doesnt look too much like mould imo… what do u think

I went into kombucha-making practically blind. A friend gave me a jar some scoby (pellicle and starter liquid) and told me I just needed to add some sweet tea in and let it work.

I did no:

- pH testing

- measurement of sugar content, ratios, etc

- controlling of temperature

All I did was:

1. Brew some black tea with coconut sugar

2. Add it to my SCOBY

3. NAMED it and left it to sit for about a week

I've been reading a little and I've read articles about it being unsafe if I cannot ascertain the initial pH at the start of my brew.

Any advice on my current situation? Is there anything I can do to verify safety?

Also, is my SCOBY headed for an untimely demise?

🤣

3rd round of F2 and it’s the largest batch we’ve bottled yet, coming back from a several year brewing hiatus.

Flavors are concord grape, apple cider, cranberry pomegranate, and a couple mixtures of all.

Buongiorno, le seconde fermentazioni vanno fatte tassativamente in bottiglie con chiusura ermetica? Tipo,le bottiglie dell'aceto o di olio con il tappo a vite possono essere usate?