Kombucha: Troubleshooting

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #30 on: September 22, 2006, 11:04:54 AM » by musicmommy

Oh!!! I just saw your reply. I was just getting ready to post that my kombucha still isn't bubbly. I'll just set it out and let it get bubbly!

Thanks~

M~~

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #31 on: September 25, 2006, 03:02:26 PM » by musicmommy

Ok, I used pure organic darjeeling tea--that's black tea, correct? Would this be why mine tastes very "flat"? Maybe I didn't brew it long enough...it has been kinda chilly here. What to do now? Just start over? Should I throw my current kombucha away, or is it ok to drink. I'm experimenting w/ putting my jar of k back in the cupboard w/ less in it...maybe it'll get fizzy then. Hmmm

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #32 on: October 17, 2006, 01:30:37 PM » by Livelovely

I started my kombucha after recieving it last Friday and since it says to keep it between 70-80 degrees I 'm afraid that's not happening here. Our house is between 55-60 degrees by day and around 50 degrees at night. Will our kombucha ferment like it's supposed and just take a really long time?

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #33 on: October 17, 2006, 01:39:32 PM » by jm3collum

I find ours takes longer with the weather change. We keep our house usually no higher than 68 (usually around 60 at night) and it's been taking a few days longer. I just keep tasting it though after 4 or 5 days just to be sure. (I found my last few batches, though, have tasted great!!!) Maybe there is something to be said for the cold

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #34 on: November 07, 2006, 09:40:52 AM » by ~esposita~

It seems as though I have some wierd little mold spots forming on top of one of my Kombucha brews. I was just peeking through the jar (its day 5 of brewing) and saw them Huh

Is it really mold? If it is, its probably really bad, eh? Does that mean my mother is ruined? (I have another brew going so its not to bad if I loose this one.) What do you think? I can take a pic if anyone would like to see it, but I don't want to disturb the Kombucha if its ok.

Thx

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #35 on: November 07, 2006, 11:34:26 AM » by ForeverGirl

Quote from: bajusabroad on November 07, 2006, 09:40:52 AM

It seems as though I have some wierd little mold spots forming on top of one of my Kombucha brews. I was just peeking through the jar (its day 5 of brewing) and saw them Huh

It may be the new mother that you are seeing. If it is forming on the top of the liquid, it looks like a filmy mold at first, but will grow into the new mother. I'd give it a few more days. You can take the cover off and smell it too. If it smells at all musty/moldy it probably is. If it just smells vinegary, it's doing fine.

Rebekah

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #36 on: November 07, 2006, 02:06:18 PM » by ~esposita~

Well, I'm pretty sure this is mold...ick, ick, ick!

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #37 on: November 07, 2006, 05:09:45 PM » by ForeverGirl

Ooooew. Yeah, that's mold. Too bad. I wonder why? I've never had a batch mold. Was it covered well? Hope your other one turns out good.

-Rebekah

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #38 on: November 07, 2006, 06:42:23 PM » by healthybratt

According to Dom and other sites, mold usually occurs when acidity is too low. I would guess that you didn't add enough vinegar or tea from your last batch or the tea from your last batch was not acidic enough. I use a cup per gallon per mushroom. I've not had any trouble with this, but I ferment 10 or more days for every gallon AND I tend to leave the starter and SCOBY in a jar for a few days waiting to make my next round. Sometimes I leave them to ferment for several days before I make a new batch. There's no particular reason or rhyme to this, just allowance for time and available containers (I usually have 20 quarts and 2 cases of beer bottles full at any given harvest.)

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #39 on: November 08, 2006, 04:05:26 PM » by ~esposita~

Quote from: BeeyoutifulGirl on November 07, 2006, 06:34:33 PM

I don't know why they didn't strain it.

Hey! I strain mine - through a handkerchief - yet there seems to ALWAYS be a snotty something in each bottle of my bottled Kombucha (I keep it in 1/2 gal containers, after brewing.) Any ideas why???

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #40 on: November 08, 2006, 09:34:18 PM » by lotsaboys

Interesting... we, too have the "snot" in our strained kombucha, do not live in a humid climate, always use only the babies, but never thought it could be the starter. We'll have to try your recipe, Rebekah.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #41 on: November 10, 2006, 02:47:15 PM » by Nickole

Quote from: leslieincallie on November 10, 2006, 02:36:10 PM

Mine molded too. I followed the above directions using the mother I got in the mail. It did have a small amount of liquid in the bag that it came in. The whole thing needs to be thrown out mother and all right?

Yes, throw all out. That's strange - did you use tea with any oil of anything in it? Check the box ingredients.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #42 on: November 10, 2006, 03:30:42 PM » by Nickole

Quote from: leslieincallie on November 10, 2006, 03:21:38 PM

I got the idea from Beka and I don't think hers molded??

Hmmm - I just saw that and am perplexed. Does berry zinger not have oils in it?

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #43 on: November 10, 2006, 04:43:44 PM » by amazonmama2five

Ladies,
I found out the hard way if you leave your kombucha to brew near anything like potatoes or in my case my compost bucket WITH LID, it somehow gets cross pollinated and creates mold. Later I read on Dom's site that this can happen if you let brew in close proximity to fruits or vegetables. Now I keep them far apart and have no problems.
Hope this has been of some help.
Lisa

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #44 on: November 10, 2006, 05:40:19 PM » by leslieincali

I had it up in a high cabinet away from all food. It was in a 1/2 gallon sized mason jar with a coffee filter lid attached with a rubber band. I followed the directions. Uggg Huh

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #45 on: November 10, 2006, 08:03:57 PM » by ForeverGirl

Gabe says that if you used the top coffee filter in the pile, it probably had dust on it and that would cause molding. Or if the jar had any dust. We wash ours out with boiling water before making a new batch.

Also, he said that if the mold is on the tea and not the mushroom, then you can rinse the mother off with water and then vinegar, and try again. If the mold is not on the mushroom, you should be able to use it again.

You probably have tossed it by now though???

-Rebekah

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #46 on: November 22, 2006, 07:40:56 PM » by healthyinOhio

OK, good to know, HB. You will never guess what I forgot to do. ADD MY SUGAR!!!!! So, can I still use this sugarless batch for my next starter? UGH!! All that work and wasted tea. I still got a scoby to grow, but maybe it isn't healthy without the sugar.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #47 on: November 22, 2006, 10:22:30 PM » by healthybratt

Quote from: healthyinOhio on November 22, 2006, 07:40:56 PM

Maybe, but I don't know. I'm not sure you're going to get any lacto-fermentation without the sugar. I suppose you can taste it and see if it's acidic or not. If it tastes flat, I'd go with vinegar instead. It will make your next batch a bit on the sour side, but it will be edible. Beka says she doesn't add any starter in hers, but it's recommended by most to prevent mold and I think to speed up fermentation. You're SCOBY is probably okay unless it's moldy. I don't think it will starve in a few days. You can even make a sick SCOBY healthy again by giving it what it needs. Mine were getting sick on tap water and I healed them by switching to purified water. Don't fret, you'll get there. I started with one sour batch and a couple of flimsy babies, but now I've got ugly babies coming out my ears and I make 8 gallons at a go. I'm thinking of uping it to 10 Shocked

but I got to get some more bottles. Grin

« Last Edit: November 22, 2006, 10:24:10 PM by healthybratt »
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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #48 on: December 29, 2006, 10:42:30 AM » by abbilynn

Can someone please look at this and tell me is it's mold or what? It's been brewing for seven days now and it has this weird stuff hanging off the new baby. Is this normal? Thanks!

abbilynn

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #49 on: December 29, 2006, 01:51:09 PM » by abbilynn

Could someone please look at that picture up there and tell me if it's normal or I need to throw it out? Huh

The top of the baby is clear and clean, but it's got that stuff growing off the bottom of it and since this is my first time, I don't know if it's supposed to look like that. Thanks.

abbilynn

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #50 on: December 29, 2006, 01:54:19 PM » by dara

Well, I'm at the same stage as you with MY first batch of Kombucha, and mine looks like that... I'm assuming it's fine...

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #51 on: December 29, 2006, 01:55:08 PM » by Dairae

I am no expert but mine has things growing off the bottom. It looks ok to this novice.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #52 on: December 29, 2006, 01:56:58 PM » by healthybratt

The brown stringy stuff is just part of the process. I usually strain out whatever is left or carefully brush off the bigger pieces, but it's not mold. Mold will appear in spots on top of the culture. I'm sure it's fine.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #53 on: December 29, 2006, 02:01:18 PM » by abbilynn

Thanks so much HB! Grin

I'm anxious to try it out and see what it tastes like. Just really glad to know it didn't get moldy!

abbilynn

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #54 on: January 06, 2007, 12:44:46 AM » by healthybratt

Quote from: mybabyjadon on January 05, 2007, 09:33:34 PM

Quote from: healthyinOhio on January 05, 2007, 09:07:53 PM

Alright, just out of curiosity, has anyone ever taken a bite out of a mother or scoby?

I think I've heard of people dehydrating them and eating like jerky! Supposedly they are very sweet! You go first.

I have a question. I made Rebecca's recipe but the recipe never said what size jar to put the brewed tea into. I filled a two gallon jar. It's been going for six days and I tasted it and it's awful! So bitter! Anyway, was that recipe just for a gallon jar? My quart jars turned out yummy.

Probably not enough sugar (or tea). The recipe for 1 - 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 4-6 tea bags is for one gallon.

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #55 on: January 11, 2007, 02:35:34 PM » by healthybratt

Quote from: healthyinOhio on January 11, 2007, 02:11:54 PM

Quote from: boysmama on December 29, 2006, 03:49:25 PM

If y'all aren't liking the flavor of your kombucha you HAVE to try Beka's recipe (pg. 7 reply #191) before you quit! This last batch I tried out some other recipes with extra babies and they do taste like vinegar Tongue

-- so go read her post and see if you can change your process around a little.

Okay, I made this recipe on January 1st and 11 days later(3 days before it should be done) it tastes more acidic than vinegar!! Like urine!!! Tongue

I don't know what happened, but it was awful. I just tried it last week and it tasted beautiful. My cupboards are on the cooler side, so it shouldn't have fermented quicker than what it did? The recipe surely has its rave reviews, so I am not sure what I did wrong.

I may try it one more time, but I am wasting a lot of tea, sugar, and time. I think I will stick to my regular recipe using starter tea and Jasmine green tea. We really like the flavor of this.

Did you forget your sugar?

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #56 on: January 26, 2007, 12:12:17 PM » by abbilynn

Okay, I can't seem to grow "healthy babies!" Undecided

I've been putting 1 cup sugar and brewing it 7 days. It's fizzy and we like it semi-sweet but sorta bitter. But the babies are just a thin film on the top. So the last few, I put the whole mother/baby growth in the new batch, added 1 1/4 cups sugar and brewed longer. Still no thick baby. What am I doing wrong here? When I harvested that last batch it was way too sweet. Tongue

I'm going to let it sit on the counter for another week and see if it gets better. We're starting to like it a little more bitter. Roll Eyes

The new babies are so wimpy that I can't even separate them from the mother. Any tips?

abbilynn

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #57 on: January 29, 2007, 12:43:29 AM » by jbbabyslings

Okay I tried it and failed. Mine just turned into a moldy mess. I was sure the items were thouroughly cleaned. I had it covered with a cloth. I just don't understand why it didn't work. I honestly am kinda scared to try again. I mean is there a way I will know its safe to drink and I haven't messed it up again. I am so jealous others can get it to work. Maybe I need to just get some from the health food store and taste it and see if I like first before I give it a try again. Anyone have any hints for not to have it moldy next time?

Marie

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #58 on: February 08, 2007, 02:57:10 PM » by bzymom

I have a question. I grew my own scobys in January from Synergy tea I bought. First 2 batches were great. Now the 3rd and 4th have a rotten taste to them. They are still making babies and, just have a taste to them that is not pleasant. Sorta like strawberries that are way too ripe. I left the babies in attached to the mother to get a good strong scoby going as I had grown my own and they were a little thin. Could that have soured the tea?

Thanks!

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Re: Kombucha: Troubleshooting
« Reply #59 on: February 08, 2007, 04:40:05 PM » by bzymom

DO you think the rotten strawberry (or watermelon Wink

)taste means it's bad? I threw out the one batch, but I haven't throw out the latest one. We just love it, and I'm so sad to have to throw it out!

Thanks!

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