Did my Kombucha SCOBY die?

[LDSmomma]

A friend gave me a Kombucha SCOBY, I made Kombucha, and all was right with the world. I put the SCOBY in the fridge, and kind of forgot about it. I tried to make Kombucha this week, but it's not working quite the same. When I took the cloth off the top, I could smell that it was not plain tea anymore, so I guess the SCOBY is doing something. But, when I tasted it, after 7 days, it tasted mostly like tea. Could it be that the SCOBY is half dead? It's pretty chilly in our kitchen (I can't get butter to soften to save my life!!), so perhaps it just needs longer to work?

Thanks!

[BedHead]

Did you put some of the kombucha in with the scoby when you refrigerated it? When you say you could smell it's not plain tea, do you mean you could smell the vinaigriness in the new batch you have going?

One week isn't very long especially in a cool kitchen. I'd leave it and see if it grows a baby. If it doesn't have a baby forming within 2 weeks I'd say it's toast. Try to put it in a warmer place too - do you have a cupboard over your fridge?

[LDSmomma]

Yes, I put some kombucha with the scoby in the fridge. Yes, it smelled vinegary. I watched some videos yesterday of making kombucha, and my scoby is tiny compared to theirs. Very thin. Perhaps it is just young. The cupboard above the fridge is a great idea! Thanks, I'll try that!

[dogmom327]

Don't worry about scoby size--it really doesn't make a big difference. Temperature is much more critical. A cool room is going to make for some very slow culturing kombucha. The cupboard above the fridge is a great idea!

[LDSmomma]

Should the kombucha brew in the dark? We also have a chest freezer, and I could put it on that, which is warm, but it would be near bright windows.

[dogmom327]

Just keep it out of direct sunlight. Beyond that it doesn't matter except it will do better with some access to air. You might want to prop the chest freezer open a bit (although I suppose that would be potentially dangerous for kids).