Growing My Own Kombucha Scoby - Page 7

[itrynottobeaposer]

I just came back from the store with my Kombucha tea. I wanted to choose a bottle with some chunks....I found one that actually has a very delicate scoby floating around the bottom of the bottle.

Will it really be that easy?

ok I just poured it in a glass and the scoby plopped out....now we wait

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by itrynottobeaposer

I just came back from the store with my Kombucha tea. I wanted to choose a bottle with some chunks....I found one that actually has a very delicate scoby floating around the bottom of the bottle.

Will it really be that easy?

ok I just poured it in a glass and the scoby plopped out....now we wait

Don't forget to keep it in a warmer spot where it won't be disturbed and keep the dust out. Good luck!

Someone asked about caffiene in the kombucha-- I think the kombucha should be all or mostly caffiene-free, however you can also make kombucha from rooibos tea, which is not actually from the tea plant. I had heard that you can do this and it seems to be working for me so far!

[LionTigerBear]

Okay, a thin pancake has formed across the top of my kombucha brew, and there are plenty of floaty dregs floating about the bottom, as well as the original SCOBY which is floating slightly sideways in the jar.

Some of the dregs have dark undersides, I think, from what I can tell through the glass and liquid. Is that normal? Maybe it's just a trick of the light.

Should I taste test it yet? I'm a little scared of the dark-loking dregs. I don't know why. Also I don't know what the new SCOBY on top should look like when it's done.



P.S. It's been about two weeks since I started it.

[JenInMpls]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Some of the dregs have dark undersides, I think, from what I can tell through the glass and liquid. Is that normal?

Those are natural yeasts and GOOD! don't let them worry you!!

Push the scoby aside and have yourself a taste. Your scoby might want some new food (sugar and tea)!

[itrynottobeaposer]

Hmm I made my tea and got my scoby from the cupboard and it looks dead...I am going to add it to the tea and wait....

thanks liontigerbear for the tip, I did have it covered in the cupboard but now it looks funny anyway.

.....so I saved 1/2 a bottle of Synergy in the fridge and put the other half in a glass for a few days, since I really did have a small but full scoby. but it really did seem to go bad. I mad a small batch of tea ( 1qt of water, 1family tea bag, 1/2cup sugar) I added the Ktea from the fridge and set it to go. it has been about 24 hours and the cupboard smells like it is working.....

[LionTigerBear]

a few questions

Soooo . . .

I bottled my kombucha shortly after I last posted, and then decided after I had bottled it that it didn't taste right compared to GT's-- it was too sweet and not as fermented. So, I left it in the bottles, to do an overnight second fermentation like someone previously mentioned-- with whole blueberries in it-- in the warm cupboard-- bottle caps on-- but I left it there for about two weeks. I didn't mean to leave them in the cupboard so long, but we got a cold going around and I didn't have time to deal with it. So today I checked one of the bottles and it is SUPER fermented, very bubbly and foamed right over! Even more bubbly then GT's. Also it tastes a bit sharper now, but still sweeter than I prefer. I took an itty bitty taste, though, because I'm kind of worried about wether it's safe or not.

Is it safe to drink considering the way I did it-- with the blueberries in it, in a warm cupboard, for two weeks? Is it even kombucha anymore? Did I add too much sugar (maybe that's why it still tastes sweet?)

I have been storing the two SCOBYs in the fridge in some kombucha in a glass measuring cup with plastci wrap over the top.

[LionTigerBear]

Anyone know if it's safe? Pretty please? I wanna drink them but I don't want to die from it.

[crunchy_mama]

Well, I am no expert, but I would drink it if there was no mold. I think it is still sweet because of the length of the first fermentation. I have noticed that it seems that whatever the sweetness after the first fermentation keeps about the same after the second. I have only been brewing a very short time though, so take that for what it is worth.

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

Well, I am no expert, but I would drink it if there was no mold. I think it is still sweet because of the length of the first fermentation. I have noticed that it seems that whatever the sweetness after the first fermentation keeps about the same after the second. I have only been brewing a very short time though, so take that for what it is worth.

Thank you! That's very interesting about the first fermentation. Hmmm . . .

[blastomom]

I have my first SCOBY! About a week and a half ago I bought two bottles of GT (plain and citrus) and set up a little scoby nursery on a shelf in the kitchen. The plain GT had a little creature floating around in it, looked like a flat jellyfish so I figured that was a baby and it would be my best bet. The citrus just had brown phlemy looking stuff at the bottom, but I thought I would try that one out too. I separately added 1/3-1/2 of the GT with most of the dregs to quart canning jars (they aren't the Ball ones, they look more like roundish goldfish bowls) along with some strong sweet tea and covered them with a napkin. It's not particularly warm in my kitchen (usually about 64-66 degrees) and I just have them sitting on an open shelf, but the citrus version has a definite scoby floating on top! She's quite thin, but very well formed. I added another cup or so of sweet tea two days ago, just to be sure they have enough to eat.

So how do I know when it's time to drain off the old liquid and give her a complete change of tea?

[skang]

Has anybody had any success with using non-white sugar in growing their kombucha? I'll be receiving a scoby tomorrow and I don't have any white sugar in the house but do have plenty of organic raw sugar that's really not very dark in color.

[Jojo F.]

I had to start over, something did not work out right. Oh well, my second attempt is on day 4 now.

[LionTigerBear]

Okay, so I made kombucha, and it's nice and bubbly, but it's too sweet. I don't care for it at all. I think I'm going to dump it.

I'm going to try again but I haven't started yet.

Can anyone else tell me what their finished product tasted like? I'm hoping for a GT's kind of taste. Otherwise it won't save me any money.

[cortsmommy]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Okay, so I made kombucha, and it's nice and bubbly, but it's too sweet. I don't care for it at all. I think I'm going to dump it.

I'm going to try again but I haven't started yet.

Can anyone else tell me what their finished product tasted like? I'm hoping for a GT's kind of taste. Otherwise it won't save me any money.

Don't dump it! If its too sweet then let it ferment longer. It will become less and less sweet over time.

[lotus.blossom]

I've been trying to grow a scoby from GT's multi-green (my favorite flavor) and its not working too well. All I have after 10 days is a thin partial layer of slime. Not a recognisable scoby. Has anyone made it with this flavor before? I have done it with the synergy before but I was doing it for someone else so I don't have much experience with it. It did form a scoby but I doubt this person kept it up.....

Anyway, I'm thinking that I will buy a bottle of synergy again and not drink it and just dump it into a glass. It may have been contaminated by me drinking half of it out of the bottle. I'm soooo anxious to start! I hate that I have to wait another 10 days. I've been wanting to do this for a while and now that I am almost done nursing I feel confident that I can drink it daily.

[Jojo F.]

I am on day 7 right now. It looks like it is forming a scoby, some of the liquid has evaporated but some of the wierd brown stuff that was on the bottom floated to the top and is part of the scoby. Is that what is supposed to happen?

I'll try to post a pic later.

[majazama]

Originally Posted by Jojo F.

I am on day 7 right now. It looks like it is forming a scoby, some of the liquid has evaporated but some of the wierd brown stuff that was on the bottom floated to the top and is part of the scoby. Is that what is supposed to happen?

I'll try to post a pic later.

sounds like a scoby to me! the brown things are part of the scoby.

[Jojo F.]

Originally Posted by majazama

sounds like a scoby to me! the brown things are part of the scoby.

YESSSS!!!! I did it!!!:

I will still post a pic later

What I did differently this time was actually brewed a bit of tea with sugar and added that to the already made Kombucha.

Maybe I'll go taste it.....

So I went and tasted it. It was very strong with a vinegary taste, not sweet at all. I think I will go ahead and make up a fresh batch in a small glass bowl and see how it goes from there! I'm so giddy right now it's ridiculous!

[frog]

(JenInMpls, I should have known I'd see you here!)

turtle's been brewing kombucha--what used to be our pantry is built up against a heating vent, so we're now keeping plates in there and she's got several wide-mouth jars doing their thing in there. I'm subbing so I can point the thread out to her (though I know she lurks and probably knows all about this one already...)

[majazama]

So, I have been brewing ko9mbucha for a few weeks.

Do any of you notice how it responds in different ways?

Mine will get more bubbly when placed in heat... I'm keeping mine on top of the stove at 200. (winter in mid-b.c.)

That the mothers have to be discarded as the babies form.... learning this the hard way as the mothers work hard to make new babies now... need to breathe?