We recently went strawberry picking. Decided it be great to add in the second fement. Couldn't wait and we popped one after 2 days and it had a bit of fizz.
Looking forward to trying the other two still on the counter.
I noticed some white patches on my ginger lemon kombucha which gives me the bad feeling that its mold. Only started my 2F 1.5days ago. Never encountered mold before so I'm not sure how exactly it would look like.
This is the first time i left quite a bit of empty space in my 2F jar (jar is probably 60% filled up). Kombucha was definitely carbonating cause when i opened the lid, i could hear all the gas escaping and some air bubble started rising to the top of the liquid.
If it is indeed mold, any tips for me to prevent this from happening in the future?
I made F2 with addition of beetroot juice just for fun (not specifically for the flavour but to see how pink the colour will be)
The taste not bad! The carbonation very nice. And the pink foam is sooooo pretty!!!
Was hoping for it to be more blueish, turned out kinda green. Still tasty
This is 3rd day of this f2. I opened with fingers crossed and got zero sound. No carbonation. I added a small amount of caster sugar and closed it again and put it in a warmer spot. Should I completely leave it for a few days without burping it?
Questo è il mio scoby. Ho iniziato a farlo crescere il 05/05/2026 e poi diviso in più barattoli (uno che è quello in foto e una vasca da 16 L rettangolare per la sola produzione di cellulosa. Ho fatto una kombucha a partire da questo scoby 10 giorni fa ed è venuta molto buona e abbastanza frizzante. Volevo capire perché il mio scoby si presenta così e non uniforme e se ha qualcosa che non va e volevo anche sapere se potevate darmi consigli su come comportarmi per massimizzare la produzione di cellulosa di scoby per l’altro contenitore. Al momento come nutrimento ho usato per 1 L di acqua non clorata 80 g di zucchero bianco e 6/7 g di tè nero. Poi ho provato l’ultima volta con metà zucchero e metà miele.
I started this batch five days ago. It’s been raining here and the temperature is around 30°C all day. My SCOBY is bubbling a lot and smells vinegary, but there are a few white spots on it. They’re hard to see in the pictures, but the spots look dry (the third picture hints at the dryness). I’m not sure what “fuzzy” means in English. I read the guide, but I’m still unsure. Is this mold? Should I toss this batch?
I like drinking the kombucha I make, of course, that's why I started making it... But, I have also discovered my love of just chowing down on the pellicle. Call me nasty but it's like rehydrated candied fruit to me. Or like sweet pickled mushrooms I guess. I have found no way of describing it that makes anyone I know but me find it palatable, but alas.
I make big batches and drink a couple cups of booch per day, but even on a few week's worth of kombucha is only one pellicle, and I like to keep a piece of it for the next batch, seems to help it grow thicker. So I only get like a few bites out of it. (The pieces that have been floating around for a few ferments get kinda goopy and less appetizing.)
So other than increasing surface area, are there any hacks to making the pellicle grow big, so I could maybe run a separate setup optimizing for the kombucha and for the pellicle?
Just my “SCOBY hotel” so no biggie, but just to show some of you peeps some real mold. 🤣
I got a scoby from a local kombucha brewer which is pictured here (the little round egg yolk lookin one).
Because it was small I made a 1L batch, and this larger scoby began to form on top. When I topped up the batch with more tea, it stopped floating for a few days, then rose to the surface but kept this scrunched up form.
Now I’ve reached the point of decanting into bottles, I see these brown splotches where the scoby seems to be touching the surface most.
Also, the initial scoby has developed what looks like an air bubble (?) in the center.
Is this safe to continue topping up and consuming?
Or do I need to start over?
Thank you!
I know this is a recurrent question in this sub... It doesn't smell weird or anything, but also what the hell ???
It appeared the next day we prepared the next batch of kombucha...
Update: It's not mold!! I'm sorry for the obvious question, I talked to my MIL about this and she did a weird face hahahaja I just didn't want to throw it all away 😭 thank you all!!
My fermenting area clocks in at 87F and stuff progresses pretty fast, like I have pellicles forming within a few days and pH drops low enough. Is there any con or pro doing it this way vs fermenting at a lower temperature for longer?
UPDATE: Solved!
i’ve been Kombucha for about 10 years but I’ve always used and now that switched to a clear glass I’m seeing things I’ve not encountered before. Like, these opaque specs floating in the scoby on my second fermentation. is it mold?
Hi all,
I tried starting from scratch about a month ago with a store-bought kombucha. Online pictures of how it should look after a month look very different.
The raw kombucha I bought is made from a herbal tea (https://shop.billa.at/produkte/ja-natuerlich-kombucha-classic-00761864), but I used black tea because I heard that‘s what you should use for the start. Maybe that could be the reason for the difference?
So my question is:
Does it look ok and I just keep waiting or is this going down the wrong road and I should start over?
Never made kombucha before, decided to buy two little SCOBYs off Facebook Marketplace with a cup of green tea starter which all came in a ziploc bag. Used two cups black tea, cup of the starter, two cups water, sugar, and the two SCOBY. I'm keeping it in a large mason jar with a coffee filter/rubber band cover.
It's only been about 4 days-- Is everything looking good here? Are those itty bitty black/blue specks mold on top, or is it too early to tell? ...if it is mold, would it still be okay for me to just stop the brewing process now and drink it?
A good friend just gifted me my first scoby. I have no idea what I’m doing from here, despite my sweet friend telling me four different times 😂😂😂
Is there a step by step guide somewhere on what happens next and how to make kombucha? I bought black tea bags, I know to let it cool to room temp before mixing them, but then what? Someone help so I don’t waste my friend’s hard work.
This was a super bubbly batch and it was DELISH!!!