Mold spot on my Kombucha scoby

[Danesmama]

I am making my first batch of kombucha. The tea has been fermenting for about 6 days now, and when I went to check it there seems to be a mold spot growing on the scoby. Is that normal?

I would be bummed if I already had problems on my first batch. Anyone out there know if I need to throw out my scoby and get a new starter?

I would really appreciate all info that any one else may have in brewing kombucha.

Thanks!

[PeggyinNC]

What color is the spot? If it is fuzzy and black, green or white, then yup, it's mold. But if it is a kind of very dark brown, not fuzzy, then that is likely not mold. Those yucky looking brown spots are normal. Someone else will have a better answer of what to do if it is actually mold. I thought my first batch was moldy, too, but it wasn't. Hope yours will be okay!

[Danesmama]

The spot that I think is mold could be considered brown. I sent an e-mail with a picture of the spot in question to the person who sold me the scoby and received a reply that maybe I had a yeast spot. After I did a little searching on the web, I found some pictures of mold on kombucha scobys that did not look like mine.

I also tasted the kombucha and it did not seem off.

I guess I just posted because I wanted to hear about other people's experiences brewing kombucha. I'm soooooo excited to brew my own! I hope that it works

[mimid]

I've read on a blog about cleaning your scoby with vinegar. The blogger cleaned everything with it when making kombucha and seems to have great success. I've never done it, but a couple of my scobies are discolored in spots, too, and it doesn't affect the final tea.

[papertiger00]

little on topic

i started a scoby about 6 days ago and all i have gotten is the jellyfish i never got a skin across the top. i like in the desert it has been moved a few times but always kept at correct temperatures (70-80deg) is that normal the jellyfish has grown but not like most post tell you so thought i would ask.

what i mean by jelly fish is a small bubble of a scoby. i think best way to describe. i think you know what i mean just wanted to include this.

[PaulaJoAnne]

The "brown" is just spent yeast, and is a very natural part of Kombucha.
No need to worry.
Over time, my older scoby's have turned brown, do to all the spent yeast.

[momofbrock]

If your Scoby is taking forever to form try adding more starter tea. The one and only time I ever had a mold problem was when I started my 2.5 gallon continuous brew and thought I only needed a cup of starter tea.

Every site I read said "add a cup of starter tea" Well, that's because they were making small batches. You need a minimum of 10% starter tea.

Once I tossed everything and started over with 2 full bottles of starter tea I had a beautiful scoby and 2.5 gallons of ready-to-drink tea in 7 days!!!

The starter tea makes all the difference in my experience!!!