Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I was reading something about the continuous brew method and it was talking about it being "safer" b/c you don't ever really touch the SCOBY or transfer it to another container. :think With the batch method, could you just pour most of the completed bucha out, leaving the SCOBY and a cup of the mature liquid, and then add the cooled sweet tea to that? :think Or is there something about not using the bottom bit of kombucha for your next batch?

(I'm sorry if this has been covered. I really did read through this whole thread a couple of weeks ago but can't remember if this was discussed or not.)

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

i've actually read that handling the scoby is beneficial. the scoby gets the bacteria that is on your skin (that we all carry naturally on us) and adapts itself to it. so like it can actually sense bad bacteria that is harmful to the scoby and make extra good bacteria to counteract it, and it senses the good bacteria and incorporates that. i will have to see if i can find some links

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I basically do that. I pour mine out and leave some brewed tea in, then add cooled sweet tea. When the top of thr jar gets grungy I take it out and separate it off and wash the jar. This is maybe once every 5 brews.

:up what they wrote. You can handle the SCOBY. I do. You can even let a metal spoon touch it. :jawdrop : giggle

The benefit of continuous brew is that you get a mixture of very strong, normally undrinkable kt and very weak, sweet kt. And most people think it's easier. But you need to spend more money on your set-up. I would love to try it but can't justify the expense.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I was given a SCOBY on Tuesday. He told me to add a bit more water to what he gave me and add some sugar until I was ready to start my brew. Today I finally got around to reading about how to start the brew and followed the method Soliloquy provided on the first page of this thread. I boiled 4 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar and 6 tea bags. Then I added it to my big mason jar after it dropped to room temp and added the SCOBY and filled it with filtered water. Does that sound good?

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Yes

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Am I supposed to be seeing anything happen to it? It doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. I'm used to my water kefir grains showing some signs of life after a day or so in a new sugar water batch.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Kombucha takes longer

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 10:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------

Did you have starter with your scoby?

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

He gave me some of his SCOBY and about 1/4 cup of the tea it came from. Did I need anything in addition to that? He told me I should be okay with that to start my own brew at home. It was a person at my local health foods store.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

That sounds fine.

Eventually you'll see a film forming at the top. That's the baby SCOBY. (It's not mold, mold will be fuzzy.)

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Oh my gosh, I was just about to post to this thread to mention that I think mold is forming on top of the tea mixture! I would love to see a time lapse YouTube video of what a batch of kombucha tea looks like from start to finish as I was freaking out a bit from the looks of that film...lol Thanks for sharing that info, soliloquy! What do I do with the baby SCOBY and stuff?

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Just keep it attached to your current scoby.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Or split them if you want to make two batches. But the first baby is usually pretty thin, you should fatten it up first.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I kept them together and made the new batch but I wasn't sure if it should be placed in face down or face up. The portion of the SCOBY I was given was a thick triangular piece, it wasn't the same shape of my mason jar. The baby SCOBY is the shape of my mason jar....wasn't sure if a new layer would form with the baby on top, so I put it in with the baby on bottom and the mother SCOBY on top. Was that okay?