Kombucha- anybody making it?

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thank you! Happy Holidays and New Year.
My scobys fell to mold, I believe.

Oh, no...it does look like mold got in there. That seems to be a common issue with growing scobies from a bottle of (commercial) KT, probably because the yeast and bacteria aren't as strong and active as when you get a fresh scoby and strong starter tea. Did you use dechlorinated water? You may already know this, but the chlorine in tap water will kill the good microbes in a ferment.

I know people have reported success with growing a scoby, but I just think acquiring a healthy pellicle, if possible, is a time- and grief-saver.

 

[pnwoldie]

More mold tips:
Sanitation : rinse jars, bowls, hands with vinegar while preparing the tea
Detergent/bleach: any trace of these will kill the microbes. Not trying to kill everything.
Temperature: try for mid 70s when using a weak scoby/starting brew
Acidity: if you are trying to build a scoby from scratch, add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to keep the acidity up.
Covering: keep the top covered with a clean but not bleached cloth napkin or similar material fastened down with a rubber band. Fruit flies can get in through cheesecloth. A different problem, but not one you want.
Sugar: boil the sugar in the water before adding the tea. Keep a cover on it while is it cools

It looks like your scoby was starting to go. Try again, it would be good if you could find somebody to set you up with a scoby and some starter. Maybe Craigslist? Where are you?

 

[Elemes]

More mold tips:
Sanitation : rinse jars, bowls, hands with vinegar while preparing the tea
Detergent/bleach: any trace of these will kill the microbes. Not trying to kill everything.
Temperature: try for mid 70s when using a weak scoby/starting brew
Acidity: if you are trying to build a scoby from scratch, add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to keep the acidity up.
Covering: keep the top covered with a clean but not bleached cloth napkin or similar material fastened down with a rubber band. Fruit flies can get in through cheesecloth. A different problem, but not one you want.
Sugar: boil the sugar in the water before adding the tea. Keep a cover on it while is it cools

It looks like your scoby was starting to go. Try again, it would be good if you could find somebody to set you up with a scoby and some starter. Maybe Craigslist? Where are you?

I have someone with a starter who said they'd give me it but it's just not quick coming. It's also over a year old.
I don't remember what water I used but I might try again in January. No big deal.

 

[ladyearth]

the person on you tube used the GT original classic.
I finally bought from local buying club a qt jar full of " kombucha tea" and a scoby all in that jar..... I used the less than half of the" tea" that was left after starting the first batch. And my second batch was from the leftover original bought "kobucha" tea and new sugar and new tea bags. It did great so far.
But I had to throw out my 3rd batch cause it had powdery looking mold on top.I bought that gallon emty jar used from a thrift store. I might not have cleaned it good enough. or too many tea bags...who knows?
I am not planning on going the 3 or 4qt. prex bowl anymore. Just gonna do probably the 1/2 canning jars

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Ladyearth, the warmers are available. Just the 7" tall one is expensive. The 4"' ones are definitely better than nothing. Look for "Heating Systems" at kombuchakamp. Like FoodFreedomNow said, it does need to be black or green plain tea. I use 3 Choice Premium Japanese organic green teabags, and 2 of some kind of organic black tea. Some people use loose tea; it is less expensive. But I don't care, I'm saving so much by brewing it myself.

I have seen the recommendations to brew in the bowls. That's to have more surface area, which is supposed to be better. But I've always used the glass gallon jars just because in my kitchen, something would probably fall in to that surface area. The jars have a smaller footprint and so far it has worked fine. Like foodfreedomnow said, it's important to have it at the right temperature (72-74 Fahrenheit is my preference) and use a lot of starter from the previous batch, or from your scoby hotel. Or even add a couple tablespoons vinegar to make sure it is acidic enough.

Foodfreedomnow, please update on how the continuous brew goes.

Back with an update on the CB, since today was harvest day...so far, it's going great! It's very convenient to just pour off the amount I plan to replace with sweet tea, and I don't need to handle the SCOBY and risk contamination (haven't had that issue to date even with batch brewing). I think the real test will be flavor - I have three bottles in 2F and will taste them on Weds. The samples I've tasted so far have been comparable in flavor to the batch brews, but maybe a tad weaker - I may not have used enough black tea in the initial batch. Will update after tasting the 2F results.

Here's the water crock - I just use the plastic ring over the paper towels to hold them on.




The SCOBY is growing - it was a fairly new (thin) one from a previous 1-gal batch, so won't grow to the size of the crock for a while. The base tea is a mixture of pu erh, white, oolong, green, and black.




Bottles ready for 2F...two are pineapple. The fresh pineapple can generate quite a bit of carbonation, so I usually have to put these in the refrigerator at night to calm them down a bit. lol

 

[pnwoldie]

looks good

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

looks good

Thanks!