Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:yes I've kept mine in the fridge for a few days.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:doh Thanks for reminding me! I gotta get some before this batch is done too.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Soooo...My scoby's just been chillin in a little bit of tea for....over a week now. :shifty It's okay, right ?! IDK why it's so hard for me to just fill it up with tea, sugar and water!!

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:help

So I've been trying to grow my mother for just over two weeks. I got the SCOBY and was given instructions to start at this point from these directions http://www.paprikahead.com/2009/07/h...ucha-from.html
So after just over 2 weeks this is what I have
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e21519ecd9.jpg
What should I do now? Do I let it continue to grow or can I start brewing? I really want to get started.:yes

I used unbleached sugar if that affects anything.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

that looks plenty big enough to use to me.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Mine was smaller and I graduated her. I don't know yet how it will turn out but I was able to move her into the other jug and everything looks normal so far. As normal as rotting tea will look. :shrug3

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Rotting tea :giggle

I will not look at my jar.
I will not look at my jar.
I will not look at my jar.

Seriously, though. It's only been two days so there can't have been much change.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

its not rotting! :snooty

its becoming greater :yes

entropy does not apply to KT

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

It's far more dramatic when I tell people I'm letting my tea rot. :shifty

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:giggle

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Thanks! I'm going to get it started today!

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I just checked her and she's already growing her own baby. SCOBY babies having babies. This makes me a grandma which means I get a mid morning nap.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:giggle I love your logic.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

BAHAHAHAHA That was SO funny!!!!

I saw a licence plate in the city today - "Let Me Tell You About My Grandchildren".

Are you going to carry their photos in your wallet? :roll

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

HELP! I'm so upset. I put up my last batch to double brew with fruit juice like usual.

IT MOLDED. Every last jar is covered with a layer of white mold :sick

What happened?? The only thing I did differently is use some plastic reusable lids from walmart. They don't come in contact with the kt anyways...maybe it didn't seal tight enough? There's no fizz...so maybe those lids aren't a good enough seal to keep it from molding.

:help

:mutter

:doh

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

are you sure its mold? my double ferments always grow a foggy looking baby over the surface.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

this looks distinctly moldy. All my double ferments up till now would get a bit of foggy baby over it, but this is bright white and spotty. I'm going out tonight, but I'll take a pic tomorrow.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

oh. :-/ yeah..sounds, most assuredly, like mold. thats a drag.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I use the plastic lids and haven't had any trouble. :scratch I wonder what the issue was. Would the PH have anything to do with it, like if you didn't leave it long enough before bottling or something?

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

awwwwwww Sandy that is the PITS!!! I'm sorry :(

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

at that temperature it might take 2-3 weeks. Taste it after one week and then every week after that.

You get 1,000 bonus points for using the word entropy. I love that word. :kiss

:( I would throw everything out (SCOBYS) that was used to make that batch, wash everything in super hot water, and start over. I'm so sorry. :cry It is not worth your health, though. Ingesting mold is bad bad bad bad.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

sandy..thats so lame! i know it took you forever to grow that scoby :(

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

My first batch back in the swing of things.... Totally moldy. :(

MIL is mailing me a scoby today tho. :)

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

wheres the sage smudge smiley?

no mold...no mold...no mold....

:shifty

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

:hissyfit


You're right of course. I just started a new batch, but I'll throw everything out today and start over. It's worth the extra work to not have mold. I wonder what happened? :think

Oh well. Could be worse. I could have drunk that crap. :shiver. By the time I got around to throwing out the molded brew, it had brown and white FUZZ on the top. :sick

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

My scoby is still just sitting in a tiny bit of tea. :doh I always forget to get it brewing again.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Here is my 'bucha on day 6! The SCOBY mama sank to the bottom when I moved it but left the (very) thin baby on top. I didn't kill it, did I? :nails

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

It looks pretty! My original is a wedge (really thick actually... like as thick as my thumb!) and it sinks the first week, and then floats from there making a lovely little baby for me to look at after that.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

My booch looks weird! I started it on the third of the month and it's got a nice baby growing on top of one of the gallons. However there is like a pocket of air in there between the layers, a big one, and there's like, clumpy dark stuff in the pocket. It looks like yeast is hanging off the bottom, so I guess it's normal? My other gallon is split in half by the large SCOBY that is almost on the bottom at an angle. I can see the light tea on top and darker below but the baby SCOBY isn't as developed (that is my second/third generation SCOBY so maybe that's why?)

I don't know, it all looks preeeetttyyyy weird to me. I hope it's ok.

I WANT SOME TEA!!!

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Homewithmybabies...that all sounds normal to me. If I get a big air pocket in there, sometime I just poke the scoby with a clean finger. :shrug

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I have one that is super lumpy this go around. It keeps getting air trapped in/under it, and I keep going and poking at it with a clean finger. :roll

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I need to get sugar and a second vessel for brewing. Since its starting toget cooler here I need to make sure I have brews alternating so I don't run out of KT.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

yep, me too..i marked it on my calendar ..im supposed to start another gallon today. the whole thought of staggering my batches just right is stressing me out a little. :nails :crazy

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

My vessals have a little chalk board thing on them and that's where I write the date.

I am so cool.

It still looks gross and I am out of my store bought gingerade, and not feeling so hot digestive wise. :blah

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

my vessals.

i like that. makes it sound so distinguished.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

So I'm wondering if I did this right... For the second brew I put in fruit purée and let it sit at room temp for another week right? It tastes good but I'm worried about food poisoning us all.... :shifty

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Two days is plenty for the second ferment. That said, mine have been on the counter for, oh, a week now :shifty

Tightly sealed. It's alive. Not all that different from leaving fresh fruit out for a week or keeping onions & potatoes in the pantry.

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Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Is a ball canning jar might not be a good idea because it won't be tightly sealed?

It's not anaerobic but it should work if you cap it tightly. I don't have enough EZ Cap bottles and use other kinds, in addition.

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