When troubleshooting kombucha problems it’s important to know what healthy kombucha is supposed to be like. Using your senses and observation you’ll be able to know that your kombucha is safe and healthy.
Kombucha is a beneficial tonic beverage that has many health benefits. Rich in natural detoxifiers, Kombucha fights free-radical damage in your body, energizes you, and gives you many probiotics to help with digestion, brain health, and fighting the bad bacteria and viruses in your environment. Plus you can make Kombucha at home using just tea and sugar so that these awesome health benefits come to you for just pennies a glass. See my directions for making Kombucha at home here.
Here’s a quick chart for proportions of tea/sugar and starter for different size batches of Kombucha:
|
Container Size |
Amount of Tea | Amount of Sugar | Amount of water | Cups of Starter |
| 1 quart/litre | 1 ½ tsp. loose tea /2 tea bags | ¼ cup | 3 ½ cups | ½ cup |
| 2 quarts/litre | 1 T loose or 5 bags | ½ cup | 7 cups | 1 cup |
| 1 gallon | 2 T loose or 8 bags | 1 cup | 13 1/2 cups | 2 cups |
Second Fermentation method:
Many people enjoy fizzy kombucha. This fizziness is obtained by making a second ferment, where the carbon dioxide is prevented from escaping. When making the second fermentation you can add 1 cup of fruit or fruit juice for every 7 cups of finished Kombucha, which is basically replacing the starter that you remove with fruit juice. The second ferment is bottled in individual serving sizes. These second fermentation bottles should be capped tightly to allow the fizz to build up. See more about making fizzy kombucha here.
Conditions necessary for perfect Kombucha:
Kombucha is a fermented drink and is very easy to make in the right environment.
To make kombucha you need:
- clean jars and utensils,
- non-chlorinated water
- strong tea
- real sugar
- 70F temperature
- 4 to 7 days
If you give kombucha these conditions, your kombucha growing career will be free of problems. However, if any of these elements are missing, you may have a few issues with your Kombucha brewing. Some problems can be fixed, but other kombucha problems are irreparable.
Kombucha troubleshooting guide
When making Kombucha you are dealing with a live, acidic, probiotic culture. As long as the culture can colonize the solution of tea and sugar quickly, it will successfully compete without any bad bacteria, like molds, in the environment. However, if the colonization is too slow, bad bacteria can take hold of your Kombucha solution. This can be a serious problem that makes your kombucha unsafe for human consumption.
But not all kombucha troubles are serious. Some are just inconvenient. In this kombucha troubleshooting guide, I’ll take you step-by-step through the diagnosis of typical kombucha problems so that you know if your kombucha is safe to drink, and also what you can do next time to avoid kombucha troubles.
Here are 6 things that can go wrong when you are brewing kombucha and some suggestions of how to avoid kombucha trouble in your next batch.
1. My Kombucha is too acidic and tastes like vinegar
You left your Kombucha too long to ferment. Properly fermented Kombucha should be between a pH of 4 and a pH of 2. If it gets lower than 2, it will taste like vinegar. A lot of bottled Kombucha has this vinegary quality, as raw Kombucha continues to ferment even after bottling, even at refrigerator temperatures. The sooner it is drunk after it has reached its ideal pH the better it will taste.
You can use Kombucha that tastes vinegary for the starter on your next batch of Kombucha. You can also use it in place of vinegar in salad dressings, marinades, and sauces. You can add it to bone broth to help extract the vital minerals from bones and cartilage, as well. You can use vinegary kombucha in a recipe that calls for vinegar or lemon juice, like a jerky recipe. You can also use acidic kombucha in all-purpose cleaning solution recipes, in place of vinegar.
Vinegary Kombucha is safe to consume, it just tastes a bit sourer than is pleasant to the taste.
2. My Kombucha mushroom is brown on top but doesn’t have any mold.
This is normal. The Kombucha mushroom will grow darker and darker as it thickens, with each new batch of Kombucha. It will also grow baby scobies (mushrooms) on top of the original scoby. These can be pulled apart, gently, to start a new batch of Kombucha, or to give to a friend. You might even use a layer of your kombucha scoby to make a DIY kombucha starter kit for a gift.
3. My Kombucha has hairy black, orange, green, or red mold on top of the scoby.
While most kombucha is strong enough to fight off the invasion of bad bacteria, sometimes things can go wrong. If you find a mold of any color on top of your kombucha scoby or in the top or sides of your fermenting jar, you’ll need to take drastic measures. Do not consume any kombucha coming from this batch. Do not use the scoby to make a new batch.
Most likely the problem is that your Kombucha got too hot or too cold during the first ferment. This can happen if the tea was still warm when it was added to your fermentation jar. In a wood-heated house, nighttime temperatures can drop too low to keep the probiotic bacteria active in the fermentation jar.
Another possible cause is contaminated utensils or fermentation vessels. If you are fermenting sourdough bread, cheese, or other fermented food near your kombucha there can be cross-contamination between the kombucha and the other ferments.
Throw out the entire batch including the scoby. Get a fresh scoby from a friend and start again, with well-boiled water. Sanitize all containers and utensils before making your next batch of kombucha. This will help prevent troubleshooting kombucha with this problem again.
Move your fermenting Kombucha to a clean cupboard away from other sources of contamination. Cover with a clean linen handkerchief or tea towel to keep out dust. Do not use cheesecloth as the weave is not tight enough to exclude pests.
4. My Kombucha hasn’t changed in 5 days. It is a pH of 7 and the scoby is at the bottom of the jar.
Your tea was too hot when you put your scoby and starter into the jar and it killed the Kombucha colony. For troubleshooting kombucha with this problem, start again with a new scoby and new starter Kombucha.
5. My Kombucha smells or tastes bad – not vinegary, just bad.
Don’t drink it. Throw it out. Start again with a fresh scoby and fresh starter. Don’t risk drinking anything that might have bad bacteria in it. Kombucha should taste slightly acidic, with a fresh, sparkling taste – a bit like apple cider vinegar in honey. There should be no putrid smell or taste.
6. My scoby is black, not moldy just black.
Your scoby has died. Throw it out and any batches that were made with it, and obtain a fresh scoby. Your scoby may be old – they have a lifespan. You may have started the batch with tea that was too hot.
This is what a healthy kombucha scoby looks like:
Err on the side of caution:
These tips are suggestions for getting the most from your batches of Kombucha. Always use your own common sense when making fermented foods in your own kitchen. Never risk your own or your family’s health by consuming something that you believe has gone “off”. Err on the side of caution.
Because of the acidic nature of Kombucha, it is very rare for anything to go wrong with properly made batches of Kombucha. If you are careful to clean and rinse your utensils and jars, use an acidic starter – either a previous Kombucha batch of vinegar and a clean and active scoby, you will have many, many years of happy Kombucha making and consuming.
Your active kombucha culture should give you Kombucha of the correct pH of 2.5 to 4 within 5 to 7 days. You should have baby scobies forming on the top of the jar or the top of the mature scoby. These can be separated from the mother culture and used to ferment fresh batches of Kombucha.
Kombucha Tip
After you’ve made kombucha for several months your kombucha scoby will thicken with layers of the mother scoby.
These can be separated from the mother scoby by peeling off the layers. Save these baby scobies in a “kombucha hotel”. Cover the scobies with that vinegary kombucha and cover with a normal jar lid. You can leave them at room temperature on the kitchen counter or in a cupboard or pantry. This way you’ll always have healthy scobies to begin a new batch, help you troubleshooting kombucha, and give to a friend who may need a fresh start. You can even make Boochie Salt Scrub using these instructions.
Your Turn:
What are your successes, or failures, with Kombucha? Looking at these troubleshooting steps and options, did we miss something? Is there another troubleshooting option you would add? Leave a comment.
Articles in this Joybilee Farm Kombucha Series
Secret super-healing power of Kombucha and how to grow your own — Part 1
Making your own super-star healing tonic in sufficient quantities for your family – Part 2
Super-star secrets to help you break the soda habit — 2nd ferment Kombucha – Part 3
What can go wrong? Trouble Shooting your Kombucha problems – Part 4 (This post)
6 Ways to incorporate Kombucha into your lifestyle – Part 5
I recently made kombucha for the first time and after the first fermentation, it tasted great to my liking. On the second fermentation, I followed a recipe using fresh watermelon (puréed in blender) and added this to the bottles with kombucha then let sit for 3 days. It carbonated nicely but when I sipped it, it tasted awful like a skunk! Seems like the fruit juice had gone bad but after researching, it seems that the kombucha should keep the purée good from the live bacteria/yeast etc. but in this case it seemed bad. Not sure where it went wrong! Any ideas?
The kombucha is not a preservative. The alcohol percentage isn’t high enough to act as a preservative. Your fruit juice probably went bad.
Hi! My kombucha has recently become viscous / syrupy. What is causing this?
I am brewing for about 14 days. I’ve had these SCOBYs for several years and have never had this issue. The taste is fine, but the texture is off.
Thank you!
It could be a film forming bacteria. If it looks abnormal I would dump it, clean everything and start with a fresh scoby.
Hi! I’ve been brewing well for 1.5 years. Just now I was taking my 2nd ferment bottles out of the cupboard, to refrigerate and noticed one was sideways and had leaked through the handkerchief of my big jar first ferment! (Which is on day 3). So, fruity 2nd ferment is on top of a good scoby… I guess I could just drink it all?! And could rinse the scoby well and put it in the hotel?
Thanx!! Meredith
My SCOBY changed this last ferment it appeared like little larva/worms all over it and was dry on top. No mold so I went ahead and made a second ferment using homemade apple pomegranate juice. I just looked at all my bottles and they all have a cluster of what looks like caviar/bubbly eggs with whisps hanging below. They move like a jelly fish. I’ve never seen this before and cannot find anything online to match. I have a theory that it might be so carbonated the SCOBY are forming around the air bubbles that rose to the surface. Dunno?
Hi, Thanks for all your great advice. We have been brewing for several years now. This week on our second ferment we noticed a very pronounced SCOBY that looked like a tornado inside the bottle. We usually see tiny ones form on the top. Is that something you’ve seen before?
Could be the yeast forming. (Part of the scoby). If it smells right and you don’t see any mold, its safe.
Hi I have left my brew 8 days it tastes nice mild ly sweet tea taste but doesnt taste like cider. Do I keep it longer. Also I know I add fruit for a second brew, do I place this in seperate snall sealed bottles as I eas told after rwo days I had to remove tge fruut, I am confused.
My kombucha has like white papery looking pieces floating it it’s a new batch with a new scoby that I bought online I have never seen anything that looks like that and I have been making it for the past 4 years
Hi There! I have had my first batch going for a couple of weeks now but it still tastes really sweet. There is a nice healthy scoby growing on top. Is it normal for a brew to take several weeks to reach the point where it is ready? It is a gallon of kombucha.
Yes, it could take longer with a gallon of brew, the first time. As you continue to make it the bacteria will be more aggressive and it will colonize faster.
OMG ! You have the same problem as me . As a newbie to kombucha, I had never even tried it before I began to brew – I am sold as my first glass jar was very tasty. I am a metric using Australian and have been careful to sterilize all my equipment but have been very tardy and free range with my measurements. I have gone booch mad and bought a huge brewing container with a tap . The kambucha I have made in that container is ‘ordinary’- sweet tea without acid at all. The scoby so far looks healthy and the smell is great and fruity .
Reading your reply comments to the last writer , I think the answer is just to wait longer. I might add some more original brew from the first batch ——-God it is so exciting . It pushed me to make vinegar
When making my last batch a few tea leaves were found I guess from a broken bag. Will this cause any problems during the fermentation stage or cause any mold in the future?
No but they will probably become incorporated in your scoby, so if you can strain them out with a fine sieve when you pour the tea mixture into your container, that would be idea.
I have been making kombucha for quite a few months now;, i usually use a mix of green tea and black tea bags , but have done it with black tea only in the past, the last batch we made was a black tea one, my daughter made via phone instructions from me! now I’m home and it has a white layer on the top, I thought it was mould but when looking from above it looks more like a new scooby may be forming, Does this happen? How can i be sure?
The new scoby will form on the top of the kombucha. If it is translucent it is likely the new scoby forming. Mold will have a distinctive mold smell.
I put my first batch of kombucha in the jar 9 days ago. (Used starter liquid). Ive had a look today and it does have a thin SKOBY but still tastes very sweet. My kitchen isnt very warm-nowhere else to put it. Should it still be sweet?
Its a good sign that it has a scoby forming. Give it a bit more time. Or do a litmus test. It does taste a bit sweet and a bit sour when its ready. It should not taste like vinegar though. That’s gone too far.
I’ve always used tea bags to make my Kombucha and have never had any problems. I used loose black tea leaves and did the fermentation process for the first time this week. When I checked the batch after a week, there were light green particles floating on top. I’ve made Kombucha for 2 years now, and never had this problem, is it mold, and is it from using the tea leaves? I can’t think of my doing anything different during the process.
Hi. My son has been successfully making kambucha. He gave me a scoby and we started a batch with 8 green tea bags and a cup of sugar. And some fermented ksmbucha. It’s been sitting in slightly dark corner. I think see another scoby floating on top, but no fermentation yet. No bubbles or acid taste. It’s been 10 days. Should I move it to a warmer spot on top if fridge. I have a bit of citrus flavored kambucha in my fridge should I add that, or should I be patient. My son said green tea works. Now wondering if I should have used black tea 🙁
Green tea works. If another scoby is forming on the top, your kombucha is working. It won’t get fizzy unless you put it in an air tight bottle where the carbon dioxide can not escape. But watch it closely if you do so that the bottle doesn’t explode.
Hi! I got my scoby from a friend. I made the tea and put the scoby in and let it sit overnight. I realized about 14 hours later I forgot to add the started kombucha. I just added it. Should it be ok?
It should be fine.
I’ve made at least 3 good batches of Kombucha. I’ve been bottling about every 14 days or so. When I tasted my kombucha today before bottling, it had a slightly soapy aftertaste. I bottled anyway and have several bottles on their second fermentation. Not sure whether I should drink those nor whether I should make a new batch with my current scoby and starter tea. I can find very little information about a soapy taste and what it might mean. I rinse my bottles with distilled white vinegar before I begin and rinse my hands and utensils with it as well. I use tap well water and ferment in a cupboard over my fridge with only vases and infrequently used pots and pans. Hoping you might have some thoughts.
If your water is highly alkaline it might be a combination of the water and the break down of fatty acids during the fermentation process. It will be safe to drink. But you might try bottling it sooner — every 7 to 10 days, or fermenting in a cooler location.
I accidentally left one of the teabags inside the bat for the first fermentation. So, it broke and the tea has embedded into the scoby. Otherwise, all looks and smells fine. Can I go on? Is my scoby ok?
Sheila
It will be fine.
Great post and tips. Good to know that are still many possibilities for acidic kombucha and there is no wasted work!
I am curious – i started my 2nd Fermentation for Hard Kombucha 1 week ago, I combined champagne yeast and warm water and 1 cup organic cane sugar, till it foamed, added it to the 1F batch in a new glass container with an airlock. It has been sitting a week ontop of the fridge, with a towel over it. It doesn’t look like a lot is going on bubble wise. What would you recommend. Am I not suppose to stir it? Should I wait longer before I bottle it? Does it need more sugar? any advice appreciated
I’ve never heard of using champagne yeast with kombucha. You wouldn’t have kombucha then you’d have something else entirely. Normally with kombucha you would simply add sweetened tea and let the scoby ferment it. Also the kombucha ferment needs air exposure and wine making is anaerobic. I don’t think the two processes are compatible. But if you have a different experience I’m open to hear it.
I accidentally flavored, bottled, and fed with fresh sweet tea a gallon of tea with scoby that had first fermented only 3 days. Do you have any advice as to what I should do or expect with the bottled kombucha as well as the scoby with the fresh sweet tea added. I’m afraid its all a loss, but would like to at least be able to save my scoby. Thanks so much.
Just wait a little while. I’m sure it will be fine if the tea was cooled to room temperature before adding.
Good morning! I am only a few rounds into making kombucha. I’ve had some successes and some questionable results that I end up throwing out. The last 2 batches looked great after 1F and I flavored with ginger and lemon for 2F and it started to grow a bright white layer on top. Do you have any feedback for what I could change to prevent that from happening again?
Thanks for your help!
Is the white layer a baby scoby? Does it look like jelly? It is normal for good kombucha to form a baby scoby on the top of the jar. If it looks hairy or moldy then it should be thrown out.
Hi–thanks for these tips! I recently started with a new scoby (made by me using commercial kombucha) and I made a few WONDERFUL batches of kombucha. Fermented quickly, very fizzy even after the 1st ferment, etc. Really delicious and made me remember why I used to make it before pregnancy made everything taste bad ;).
But then all of a sudden, it didn’t ferment as quickly, the carbonation is really low. And even after a week, the 2nd fermentation barely yields any carbonation. Where did I go wrong? I think the SCOBYs look okay (I have two batches going; this has happened to both). I tried peeling off the bottom, hoping that getting rid of the old stuff would fix it, but I can’t say that’s changed much. Should I just scrap these batches and remake my scoby from commercial stuff again? Thanks for any advice you might have!
It might be that the tea was too hot when you added it to the scoby. It should be room temperature. Or maybe the tea you made wasn’t as strong. Maybe try a fresh batch using the same scoby and wait a little longer before you test it.
I’m having the same problem! Round after round, great fermentation tea, great in-bottle fermentation. Amazing taste, super-fizzy. Then, all of a sudden — no fizz at all. Haven’t done anything different, but I do keep the fermentation tanks and filled bottles in the garage — and there’s been a big heat wave for several week. There have been days when it get really hot, probably over 100. And since I’ve been working in the garage, I’ve had the garage door open and sometimes the tanks get direct sunlight. Scobys look fine and the tea tastes good — just no carbonation or fizz whatsoever. Any ideas?
Direct sunlight: bad
100°F temp: bad
Definitely sounds like you may have killed some or all of your yeast. Warmer temps usually boost fermentation, so you would have had bursting bottles, unless the yeast was killed and CO2 production stopped. The bacteria may have survived and the taste may not be noticeably off except for reduced CO2.
Find an indoor cupboard for the 2F, or put an ice chest in a corner somewhere to store the bottles. You might want to relocate the 1F containers to a high shelf indoors in the open and out of direct sunlight, if possible.
Hi there, I’m having this same problem..my brews were going great, tasty and carbonated but I took about a 1.5 month break and left my scoby in about 3 cups of the previous batch, in a dark cupboard. I fed it 1 cup of sugar once over that time. I went to restart and used my same tea, sugar, etc that I’ve always used but this time it wasn’t carbonated, even after the 2F with fruit in pop tops. The tea was not warm when I added it to the scoby, and I added it to 2 cups of the last batch. The scoby also is sinking to the bottom which it never did before. There are two thin scobys forming on the surface. Please help! Thank you in advance!
If there are two thin scobies forming your brew is good but the original scoby probably died. You might need to brew several fresh batches to revitalize your scobies. A sinking scoby isn’t necessarily a bad sign. When you feed it sugar be sure to also add the tea. The scoby needs the nitrogen in the tea for food.
Help!! Just finished my first fermentation and used coffee filters to cover up the jars. Is it bad if I doubled up on the coffee filter? Will they still be able to breathe?
That should be fine. I just use a clean handkerchief. Coffee filters should work, too.
Thank you for all these troubleshooting tips!
I am on my third round of Kombucha, the first was slightly vinegary but drinkable as I left it too long. My second was perfect at 7 days, slightly sweet and fizzy. Just tasted my third batch at 7 & 8 days and it just tastes weird, not vinegary but no sweetness and flat. For this batch I changed the sugar type to Rapadura and doubled the quantities to 2 litres of water and 4 organic green tea bags. Do you think the rapadura isn’t enough to feed the scoby? I can’t understand why this one tastes so off. Should I just use the liquid for cleaning and start again going back to refined sugar? I was hoping to use a more natural sugar. Thanks in advance!
Help! I keep messing up. Have no idea what I am doing wrong. I have made some amazing batches of tea over the past few months but all of the sudden my kombucha tastes like vinegar. I have 4 batches going and they all seem vinegary. I just tasted two that i started 4 days ago and both are already tasting like vinegar. Woe is me!!!!!
You might be leaving it to ferment too long. When it gets warmer the process speeds up. I can drink mine after just 2 days in the summer. In the winter it takes 5 to 7 days for the same process.
Hi there!
We have been continuous brewing for about a year and a half now and used to have so much fizz that the secondary fermentation bottles would almost explode when opened. It has always tasted pretty vinegary and often we feel like it gives us a “buzz” and is way too vinegary!! We leave the primary fermentation for 2 weeks (16 cups water with 8 tea bags and 1 cup sugar for each new batch) then leave about 1/4-1/3 left of liquid in the container for the next batch. Now we are getting no carbonation after the second fermentation and it is too vinegary to drink. I add 1 teaspoon sugar + some sort of fruit bits to each pint bottle for secondary fermentation. We have decreased the length of the secondary fermentation to between 2-5 days and still no change. Help save our kombucha!!! Please and thank you!
Sounds like you’re leaving your 1F for too long. I live in an air-conditioned house in the southern US and taste the 1F after 7 days. Usually a primarily “sugar water” taste but with some tart, sour, funky taste too. Stop your 1F when the tea still tastes sweet but has acidity.
For the 2F, I use 1:3 ratio of fruit juice volume to kombucha. I also add granulated sugar, so far just 5g for a boost. I left my last batch 5 days bottled in a closed ice chest, then refrigerated 24 hours before opening.
I’ve had decent carbonation but it doesn’t really fizz or foam unless it’s at room temp. While chilled it adds some acidity and “sparkle” but it’s more subtle than a soda or seltzer water.
Hey, thanks for saving all our hides! Lol. So I’ve been trying kombucha for a couple of months, a quart at a time with 55g organic sugar, 2-3 bags black tea, and about 1/2 cup starter liquid. After 5-7 days, it’s usually pretty good. Fresh, acidic. However, every time I’ve tried to second ferment, it almost immediately tastes like fruit gone bad. I’ve tried a few different fruit juices, lavender, and ginger. All just yuck. What on earth am I doing wrong?
The second ferment only takes 24 to 48 hours. Try putting it in the fridge after 24 hours and see if that helps.
Hi I didn’t realise it would ferment so quickly!
Had to leave home for 11 days after it had been going for about 4 days. This is the first one I have tried.
Came home to find it very vinegary and the scoby now has gone across the whole surface – I am doing continuous brewing. The original scoby still looks creamy opaque and the new bit has brown strings and mottled brownish colour.
Do I lift out the whole thing and trim it and start again? Where can I keep it while out of the jar without killing it?
Hi, Jan. It’s perfect. What is going on in your vat is exactly what you want to see. If it’s too vinegary, simply draw off about half your vat. Use it for some of the things you’d use vinegar for like salad dressing, fire cider, or even cleaning. Add fresh sweet tea, cooled, and you should have drinkable kombucha in 4 to 7 days with continuous brew. The more you do this the faster your continuous brew will be drinkable after a fresh batch of tea is added.
Thank you! Was waiting for your reply before I touched the Monster so will crack on now! It’s even more vinegary!
First time making kombucha. I am using a 2-gallon container and the scoby and starter that I purchased are for 1 gallon. It has been 4 days and there doesn’t seem to be hardly any noticeable reaction going on. I thought that I should be ok but it might take longer. Do I have a chance of this batch working for me? Thank you.
Visually, there is often no reaction during the fermentation process for kombucha. Check the smell, it should be starting to smell less like tea and more like kombucha if it is active. You may need to leave it longer, on this ferment, since the scoby is doing more than it’s used to, but it should work fine.
HI there! I’ve brewed kombucha off and on for the last couple of years without any issues, but I’ve just decided to shift to continuous brewing. I just moved everything into a new container with plastic spigot and for the first time I’m now experiencing condensation above the liquid line up to the top of the vessel. The vessel is in the same location as my previous batch that brewed in F1 fine (just bottled for F2 yesterday) and is covered with muslin cloth. I thought the condensation would have evaporated overnight, but it is still there. I squirt a bit of distilled vinegar down the sides to get rid of the condensation and now I worry I’ve contaminated the brew (and more condensation has appeared)! Should I be concerned, and is there a way to troubleshoot and save this batch before it’s too late?
Probably worth noting I am in England and the room temperature is about 60F… I have a brew heating pad to maintain proper temperature levels for the brew.
Thanks in advance!
Condensation is natural. I have a handkerchief over the top of mine with a ceramic lid over the handkerchief, to keep the condensation in the vat. The condensation is simply because the vessel is warmer than the ambient temperature in the room. Don’t put any more vinegar in your batch. But it should be fine as is.
I made 3 litres of kombucha, and today i burped them (divided over 3 bottles) and often they erupt to the extend that the flavouring bits go everywhere + bubbles of liquid. Now 2 of thr 3 bottlesi tasted and they taste good. The 3rd one smelled off and tasted bad. I haven’t binned it yet but i probably will (I read your advice)
Now the strange thing is that the one that is off had the same ingredients as one of the other bottles and that one seems fine (i used ginger and apple and honey) i put more honey in one i remember, so maybe that could be it?
Just would like to found out what aent wrong because now have to been a liter of kombucha 🙁
Thank you for the advice and comment section
Best,
Donna
I’m running a gallon jug & half-gallon ‘hotel/?” or just 2nd smaller jar, anyway..
Source was from a green tea that turned into the most lovely vinegar; I rescued the scoby, and after a few batches, the vinegar taste has pretty well diminished.
Ran about 5 weeks of black tea, then going to an oolong (half-black/half green) & sugar, 2nd ferment to fizz & infuse.
This time: the top layer is whitish-tan like the pix, so little concern there. but I’ve got a good nose & got a faint whiff of what smelled faintly like bread/yeast along with the regular odors only in my gallon jar. -anything to be concerned for?
– also: i top off about 10% watered down honey for 2nd ferment (one week) (along with tumeric & ginger in individual bottles) seems to mellow better than sugar syrup. only tea & sugar in first ferment.
I’ve seen others on Reddit & their pix are very bubbly, also liquid (even flavored) is clearer than mine.
Also: how often shoudl the scoby be pulled w/ dregs /liquid & the brewing jar re-sterilized?
Lastlly: how often should I pull off the lower layers of scoby? I’m about 5 months in & only separated the original for each jar.
Hi, David. I don’t sterilize my kombucha containers unless I have a problem with mold. The containers are coated with good bacteria and that is usually enough to keep any bad bacteria in check. When you sterilize you have to build up the good bacteria again and you can get an overload of bad bacteria before this happens, ruining your scoby. Yeast is part of the scoby culture, so not a concern. As the acid increases the yeast will die back. Bubbles can build up if the chance for carbondioxide to escape is sealed off. As long as your brew is getting more acidic as time passes, there’s no reason to be concerned. I pull the lower part of the scoby off when it starts taking up too much space in the container. Often the old scoby will just sink and a new one form across the top of the brew. That’s a good indication that you can remove the old scoby.
Hi, I’m a newbie to kombucha making. We started our brew 3 days ago. We decided to do a taste test and it already it tastes like vinegar (….not drinkable). It does have a new thin scobie layer on top.
Can you suggest what might have happened? Should we throw it out and start again?
Many thanks.
Just start a new batch with the scoby and a cup of the kombucha you already have. It might take a couple batches to get the flavor you want. Use the vinegary kombucha in ways you might already be using vinegar — in salad dressings, make horseradish, mustard, ketchup. You can even use it to make fire cider. It is full of good probiotics.
Greetings from Ireland!
I am back making kombucha after few years break. Second brew with a friend’s scoby and there is something growing underneath my Scooby, looks like roots, algae…. also there is something dark maybe green ish that looks like the same brownish “mother” texture sitting at the bottom of the jar. I have the feeling that the sugar didn’t mix properly this time…. apart from that the scoby and the kombucha look and smell normal.
Any insights will be greatly appreciated! Great blog! =)
Hi, Patricia
The brown threads are probably yeast and totally normal. If you see something green though I’m not sure what that could be, unless you are brewing with green tea or another herb. When you add new sweet tea to a jar it sometimes disrupts the scoby. When that happens the old scoby can fall in the jar and a brand new scoby will form across the top of the liquid. Both scobies are viable.
Thanks for all the good info! I just did my first batch with a starter kit, Scott looked healthy as far as I know. However, I could not get the ph to come down with my initial brew. The directions said to add tsp white vinegar if it was above 4.5. Ph was still not coming down and I ended up adding probably a cup of vinegar… I saw on internet to keep adding until it came down. The ph came down slightly, but did I ruin the batch by adding too much vinegar?
I wouldn’t add vinegar to it. You might end up with a vinegar mother instead of kombucha. But why not wait and see what happens. It can take 10 days to 2 weeks to get a new scoby if your batch is not very active, or if you are starting with a brand new to you scoby.
Hi! I’ve brewed kombucha on and off for several years now. I bought a scoby a few months ago from a reputable kombucha company in San Diego and have brewed several batches. I have noticed that in the first fermentation, there is a lot of carbonation happening and I’m wondering if this is worrisome. It almost seems that the scoby is creating an airtight seal at the top and carbonating the tea during the first fermentation…and then during second fermentation, its definitely not getting very fizzy/carbonated. Any advice? We do keep our house pretty chilly most days (62-66 degrees during the winter)…could this be the problem?
Thanks!
You could add additional sweetened tea to your second ferment. That could get the carbonation process going again. Watch your bottles though. Too much carbonation can cause them to explode.
I made my first scoby it turned out great. Started my first batch of kombucha. I used what I thought was store bought green tea kombucha, but then after reading the ingrediants it has blue green algea in it. Now I am worried that this first batch h is ruined. Will the ble green algea be harmful. Should I throw this vatch and my new scoby out and start over.
Your scoby might end up being green tinged from the algae, but you should be fine to proceed. The green algae isn’t harmful to you.
HELP! I have kombucha brewing at home and it has pretty much not changed in 3 days. I got a scoby from amazon and I followed the directions to a T. The kombucha is not bubbly, the new scoby looks like it’s forming on the bottom, and the color is still dark. I have been checking the temp and it has been between 68 and 72 degrees. I’m not sure what I should do. I think amazon didn’t send me enough starter liquid. There was only about a half a cup of that in the package and I made about a 1.5 gallon jar of tea. Can I put a bottle of already made kombucha in it to help it out? I don’t want to throw away anything if I can revive it.
You might just need more patience, Lina. The first time you make kombucha with a new scoby it can take up to 2 weeks to get to the point of completion. Your brewed kombucha usually doesn’t get bubbly. To reach the bubbly stage it needs to be bottled with a tight cap for 24 hours. That allows the carbon dioxide to build up in the bottle. I suggest you wait 7 to 10 days from the time you started your batch, then either test it with a pH strip (you’re looking for a pH of 3 to 3.5 for a finished batch) OR taste it and see if it has started to sour. Since you say that the kombucha is making a baby it sounds like it’s working. What sometimes happens is the starter kombucha sinks to the bottom but a new baby kombucha forms across the top of the fermentation vessel. At first it looks almost like a scum or mold is forming but by the end of a week it is thickening and looking more like you expect a kombucha scoby to look.
Hi there-
I’ve really enjoyed your blog and found your kombucha troubleshooting to be quite helpful.
We just started the first brew on our fourth batch of kombucha.
We used green tea for the first 3 and black for the third.
Each time the ph was at about 4.5 after we added the sweet tea, and remained there after adding some white vinegar.
The first was ok but didn’t get much fizz as we were using recycled bottles.
The second batch was better and I had one overly fizzy bottle that blew cayenne all over the kitchen.
The third batch is in its second ferment now and doesn’t seem to be fizzing up at all yet, after 3 days in air tight proper flip top bottles with good seals (same bottles from the batch that had one over-fizz one me)
To all the batches so far we have added ginger, lemon and or lime juice, and cayenne.
In addition to two of the three not having much fizz (the first we understand may have been lost to poor seals on the bottles), the kombucha tastes sweeter and less sour than we’d like.
What should we do? Might the problem relate to the ph?
Also, our scoby is now pretty huge for a one gallon jar. Should we sparate the layers and put some in a scoby hotel, or just let it keep growing and get a bigger vessel (which we plan to do anyway to try a continuous brew)?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nancy
Hi, Nancy
You may want to leave your kombucha longer to ferment before adding it to the second ferment bottles. Also there is no need to add white vinegar to kombucha. Adding vinegar may inhibit the colonization that you are looking for in kombucha.
You can certainly divide your kombucha scoby. You can get a second ferment going or you can create a kombucha hotel or even give a starter to a friend.
Thanks for the quick reply.
What should we do if the ph is too high at the beginning of the first ferment? Adding vinegar was the fix I’d seen in many FAQs.
Also, we left the last batch in the first ferment for nearly 2 weeks and it had no carbonation. I tried adding a tablespoon of orange juice during the second ferment, thinking the sugar might help (we’d already added lemon and lime juice when we bottled it) but there was still zero fermentation.
Also, somehow the SCOBY in the new batch currently in its first ferment ended up upside down so now it looks really odd – is it just forming a new layer over the bottom of the old one, so was not quite flat? Any reason to worry if there is no mold or black spots?
Thanks again-
Nancy
If you are adding both an active scoby and some kombucha liquid from a previous successful batch of kombucha, the microbiological activity should resume on target and you will have a successful batch. If it doesn’t work, examine your container sanitization. But my experience is that it works.
Hi. I’m a 1st time kombucha brewer, my scoby has a air bubble on the top.. I was told to stab it with a knife.. was that the wrong thing to do? Help! I hope didn’t kill her.
Hi! Three weeks ago I started my very first batch of kombucha. It bubbled along until a few days ago when the activity in the jar stopped. When I tasted it, it tasted sweet but smelled kombucha-y so I bottled it anyway (thinking it should be done after 3 weeks) with blueberries and two raisins in each bottle, and started a new batch with a cup of the old as a starter. I used green tea and orange pekoe tea in both batches.
Today the scoby is lying at an angle in the new batch, and there is not fizzing at all in the bottles, though it still smells nice. Have I done something wrong?
Thanks for your help!
Can you check the pH of your bottles? It should be around 3 to 3.5. If it is, all is well. If it isn’t you might need to wait longer to bottle. The scoby being at an angle in the new batch isn’t a problem. It might just be that it is in a cooler spot and is taking longer to grow.
Hi, I got a SCOBY with some starter liquid from a neighbor/friend and brewed my first gallon batch of Kombucha. (1F)
I used loose leaf black tea, The brew time was 12 days, the temperature may have been around 70 degrees, +- 3-4.
The brew is drinkable but I am not completely satisfied with the taste of it.
Here is how it tastes, compared to GT Storebought Kombucha and a friend’s homemade kombucha that I have tasted before
The Good
– Can’t taste any Sugar or Sweetness, less sweet than GT (That is good I like it)
– Have decent fizz for 1F (Pretty happy with the fizz, even at 1F I can hear the pop in GT bottles)
The Bad
– Can still taste Tea – need tips on reducing this, my point of reference is store bought GT kombucha and that just tastes sour, I tried some homemade kombucha from a friend too and it was sour and vinegary as well which I prefer.
– Strong after-taste of Tannins on my tongue – I may have let the tea steep for too long, will fix this on the next batch
– Felt there was decent caffeine left in the brew (need to reduce this as well, may be related to the Tea and Tannins I mentioned above)
– Lacks a bit on the vinegary/sour smell – My friend’s starter liquid and the ziplock everything came in had a pretty sweet and sour smell almost like an Asian restaurant kitchen, would like to have more vinegary/sweet and sour smell
– Lacks body – tasted a bit like kombucha with black tea diluted with water, would like to have more of a body and concentration
– Isn’t as sour as I would like for it to be (maybe related to the lack of body I mentioned above)
So where can I improve and what I may have done wrong?
– Will only be steeping my tea for 15 minutes as per instructions
– Should I have let the brew continue a bit longer? – When I tested the taste I did not taste any sweetness so I assumed the brew is over since there is no sugar left to feed the colony
– Also, I heard that the taste improves after brewing multiple batches as the scoby gets bigger – is that true? My scoby currently is quite small
To salvage a bit of this batch, I am thinking of doing 2F with fruit purees and ginger hoping that will bring the taste more to my liking however I already bottled and put the batch in the fridge. Is it possible to take the bottles out of the fridge add the fruits/sugars and do a 2F on these for a couple of days and put them back in the fridge or will there be issues?
I’m several batches in making 2 – 1 gallon batches. My scobies look normal but this last batch I made gave an off taste. I’m chucking it, It was a carrot-ginger with a bit of sugar on the 2nd fermentation to prime for carbonation. This batch is nicely carbonated as designed but there’s a like a bizarre alcoholic taste when it hits the pallet. Also, the flavor is just weird Too much sugar in my starter liquids, etc? Or does carrot juice conflict with kombucha? Or is this a sign of a bad bacteria?
Also: I read about making a scoby hotel; where I’d feed the scoby a teaspoon of sugar and store it in the fridge in its starter liquid. I did this when I took a break from brewing 2 batches simultaneously. How normal is it when the yeast just start cranking out alcohol instead of acids?
It’s probably caused by the fermentation of the carrot juice. I’d leave the carrot juice out of the batch and just add it before you drink it. Kombucha normally has a small bit of alcohol in it. This is changed to acetic acid as the fermentation progresses. You may have caught it too soon or you might have too much sugar. The yeast can over power the other bacteria if the balance isn’t right.
Hi there
I have made a mistake with the quantities. I have used at least 3x too much loose tea for my brew than is recommended for a 2 Litre brew.
Will my SCOBY handle this?
Thanks in advance
Laura
It will be fine. Just proceed as if you had used the correct amount of tea.
Hello, this may sound crazy, but I left my kombucha in the jar with the scoby for about 3 months now–mainly bc we went on a long vacation and then I didn’t know what to do with it. The scoby looks fine (and is much bigger) but the kombucha is super vinegary. My question is whether I can still use some of the kombucha as the starter tea for my next batch.
Yes, you definitely could. I would remove most of the vinegary kombucha and only leave the top few layers of scoby. Start a fresh jar with about 1/2 cup of your vinegary kombucha and that younger scoby. The first jar may be a little more sour than you prefer but by the second batch you’ll be golden. Use the vinegary kombucha in any way you would use vingegar in your cooking — salad dressing, meat marinade, bone broth etc.
Thanks so much!
Hello, I’m a newbie to making Kombucha, and have grown 2 scoby from scratch using GTs Original Kombucha, black tea, white sugar, then used the continuous brew method in 2 gallon glass jars, using various combinations of black and green teas, with white sugar for 6 months. Some experiments with 2nd ferment only in quart Mason jars. Question is everything works great, but the flavor is not as good as it was, so I attempted scoby “maintenance” by separating layers, rinsing under faucet, and staring new batch with just scoby and sweet tea (minimal starter), resulting in same taste… I just started new batch, but added a pint of GTs in order to (guessing here) change the chemistry of my scoby so it will taste more like GTs. Am I on the right track here?
Thank you so much!
It’s worth a try. It could be that switching out to green tea when you started with black tea is your problem. The bacteria needed for green tea kombucha is different than for black tea kombucha.
Just to clarify, usually I had at least 2 to 1 black tea to green tea, not all green tea. The one time I tried all green tea in a separate batch, it took at least twice as long for it to ferment. I’ll reply back after this batch and provide an update. Thank you.
Awesome. I’m looking forward to hearing your results.
Hi My cousin brought me a starter kit and has been fermenting for just over 2 weeks. Scoby has easily doubled in size and is at top of jar. I am going to try it tomorrow.
I just wanted to be clear on what to do second batch.
Pour out the kombacha leaving a little still in the fermenting jar.
In a separate jar brew the tea and leave to cool. Pour the tea without tea bags into fermenting jar… With or without more sugar??
Thank you
Add more sugar. The kombucha needs both the sugar and the nitrogen from the tea to grow.
Hi! I made my first batch of kombucha and it was perfect, when making my second batch (not second fermentation, a new batch of kombucha) a new scoby formed on top and I thought it was going fine.
My partner checked it for me while I was away and broke the seal the new socby had created. It has been brewing for 2.5 weeks now and there is no taste of vinegar and it just tastes like tea. Help! I don’t know what to do!
I would wait a little longer, Olivia. If there is no mold and it smells normal like tea, it could be that it just needs more time. Did you put a little of the original kombucha starter back with it? Is your home a little cooler than it was? These things can impact how quickly the next batch of kombucha is ready.
I have made two successful batches of Kombucha so for my third batch was ready I wanted to experiment with the second fermentation.
For the second fermentation I used organic cranberry juice , peaches, and a 1/4 ts of honey.
After the second fermentation, I drink it. Unfortunately this combo tastes like dirt. Should I pitch it out and wait for my next batch to get ready or drink it anyway?
Thank you
If you don’t like the taste toss it and try again.
Hi,
I accidentally put my brewed tea in my jar without sugar and my starter tea was already in the jar with the scoby. So I poured some of it out and added some kombucha I had already set aside but that kombucha had some cranberry juice in it. Is my Scoby/Kombucha okay? The scoby looked kind of curled now.
Did you add some fresh tea with sugar to your kombucha starter? Kombucha needs nitrogen and sugar to grow. The nitrogen comes from the tea and the sugar adds the glucose/sucrose it needs.
Hello, in the second fermentation is it normal to form another layer of superior scoby?
I ask that after fermenting, separating the liquid from the scoby, bottling and adding some suginte for the refermentation in the bottle, back to form a small scoby on the top of the bottle, aesthetically does not look nice.
Is this normal? how to make the second fermentation without forming this scoby?
Another question, is not it dangerous to bottle something that still has sugars in the liquid and add more sugars? Can not blow the bottle by the pressure?
Don’t add sugar to the second ferment. And yes, if you add sweet tea to the second ferment and cap it you need to watch it carefully because it will build up pressure. It should be refrigerated to slow down the fermentation and consumed in a few days. The scoby is natural in the kombucha, but it takes a week to 10 days to form. You should be consuming your second ferment before that. People usually drink the second fermented kombucha within 4 days of bottling.
Obeded by the answer but I do not understand, I can not put sugar but can I put tea with sugar? It does not make sense, what makes gas form is sugar, Scoby was already forming with 4 days in the bottle.
How do you form gas in the bottle safely without the formation of scoby?
How many grams of green tea and sugar do you use for liter of water?
Hello – I’m making my first Kombotcha. I went big with a 4 litre attempt. The recipe I used suggested 12 bags boiled for 30 mins. I then used demerara sugar (I googled to see if that would be ok and it said it would be). I also added a small jar of the kombutcha my scoby came in, but because there wasn’t much added in some vinagar. Not much. But this has made an insanely dark brew. So dark, I can’t see into it and that’s before I started! So I slipped in my scoby. I didn’t want to touch it in case I contaminated it, so I just plopped it in, thinking it would spread out and re-float, but it hasn’t and the liquid is so dark I can’t see where it is! There might be something filmy (but not mouldy) forming on the top. It’s now day 3 and I can’t see any bubbles. I tried it after a day and it just tasted like sweet tea.
Should I despair or just keep going….?
Keep going. If there is a “scum” forming on top Your probably fine. There won’t be any bubbles unless you do a second ferment. The color should lighten as the kombucha is transformed. Give it another 5 days or so and check the flavor again. It should start to sour.
Hi, I recently received at scoby in tea and made my first brew. Sterilised everything.
Used organic black tea bags and raw sugar .Waited for brew to be cold before adding scoby and tea.
I had a mad moment and added a few slithers organic ginger root. Regretted it later.
Covered jar and left on bench. Nothing happening 12 days house temperature around 8 degrees over night. Then i decided to put in the pantry away from light. few days later i have a thin scoby formed on the top. Its been 16 days now.
So now it smells like a ginger tea and taste good just slightly hint of apple cider vinagar.
Thinking i may need to start again??
It sounds like everything worked perfectly. You can use that brew to make your next batch. If it was me, I’d save the ginger addition for the second ferment next time. And keep the first ferment just tea and sugar so that you can easily alternate the flavors in the second ferment. It’s more fun that way.
Hi,
I forgot to add sugar to my new batch and the scoby has been sitting in the tea for about two weeks. Can i save it?
If it smells all right and there is no mold, just add sugar now. If the pH was low enough it will be fine.
Hi there
I atarted brewing kombucha after a friend started me with my own scoby. Like an idiot i have forgotten to add sugar to each brew. Will my scobys be okay to use still if i start from scratch? Or are they hazardous now?
If your scoby is still alive just make a fresh batch with sugar and add the scoby.
Thank you for helping us.
I just made my first-ever batch of kombucha. I left it sit for seven days. Everything looks right, and the SCOBY grew a “baby” on top. There were a couple of little fruit flies under my loose-weave cover (oops). When I tasted it, it tasted sour, but not sour enough, and it also tasted sweeter than I like. On top of that, I got a bit of a taste of mold, even though there’s no obvious mold in it. I didn’t get sick from drinking it, although I’m the kind of person who eats raw beef (I know, yuck for most, yum for me). Is it possible that I didn’t make the original tea mixture acidic enough? (There was only a little bit of starter tea with the SCOBY I bought.)
If you tasted mold and had fruit flies in it, I’d toss it all out. Sterilize everything and start again. Mold spores are microscopic.
Dang. Thank you.
We’ve been making kombucha for a few months now and switched to a continious brewing system. Each week (after 7 days) I take 2.5 liters out and leave about 2 liters in as a starter. I add 2.5 liters of new tea with about 145 grams of cane sugar.
We keep finding our Kombucha a too sour. I know shortening the fermentation time, will give a sweeter taste. But I find the weekly process of making the tea, and the 7 day interval great. And I’m afraid it will become too much work and will result in too much Kombucha for us to drink, if I make the fermentation shorter than the 7 days.
Do you have any advice? I have’t measured the PH yet, not sure how to do that.
You could take 3 litres out and shorten the time to 5 days. I find with my continuous brew that the kombucha is ready much faster. Sometimes it’s ready to drink in just 3 days. Sour kombucha can be used in any way you’d use vinegar including in cleaning products.
This post is really useful – thanks ! I am hoping that you can help me… I do a second ferment for a few days in 1 litre (4 cup) bottles with a flip top. After a few days of this, my kombucha tastes amazing ! It’s fresh and very fizzy. After the second ferment, I leave the bottles in the fridge until I drink them. The problem is, as I drink from the 1 litre bottle overtime it develops a smell. The kombucha tastes fine, but I am a bit worried that something might be up ! Any hints for this problem? Thanks again : )
Yesterday was my very first batch. I ordered a Scooby online and I accidentally used 8 family tea bags instead of regular. Ratio…15 cups water, 8 family tea bags,1 cup sugar,1 scoby, with starter liquid. Is this going to work since I have too much tea bags? I’m so disappointed I did this.
I think it should work fine. The tea adds nitrogen that the bacteria feed on, so your scoby just has extra nitrogen. When making future batches use the smaller tea bags though.
Hi!
I have my kombucha in my room, they were doing fine, one of my scobies grew a “baby”. I split the two and put them in seperate jars the same way I had been (I let the tea cool overnight, I covered it, its in a warm enough place now) but for some reason my scobies have sunk to the middle/bottom of the jars. None of the scobies look dead at all, but now there is a film on top that looks like a new scoby is growing? Its happeneing to all of them, and everything was going well. Do you think its gotten too acidic? I dont have a pH balance thing, but theyve been fermemnting for about 13 days. I have to say, I’m doing this as a favour to my aunt, she wanted to “make” kombucha, I dont know if she still does, but she wanted it to be stronger after she tasted it on day 10… so here we are.
They are just perfect. Anytime the kombucha liquid is unsettled the mature scoby might sink and and new baby form on the top. But 13 days will be pretty acidic. I’d say you might have vinegar now. If you do, use it for vinegar and retain a bit for your next batch. Once it gets going you’ll want to freshen it with new tea about every 10 days or so.
Hi, have started a backup jar of brew and after 3 days part of the new scoby has raised above the brew, so there is a space between the tea and the scoby. Should i add a bit of new tea on top or perhaps bit of the brew from prevoius brew on top or should I just leave and do nothing and hope for the best? Not sure what is best. Thanks in anticipation ! Denise
You could add more tea and sugar on top of the scoby to reduce the headspace in the jar. Or you could add some quality finished kombucha. It’s not a bad thing if the scoby is on top of the jar. It is full of good bacteria and helps your kombucha ferment.
Hello,
I started making kombucha several months ago and every batch turned out well. In my current first fermentation everything looks normal with a healthy scoby, the tea looks good, smells good, pH is just under 3 etc. but the flavor of the kombucha is a bit off. I don’t really know how to describe it, it just has a light funkiness. Any idea what happened? I haven’t changed the tea, I use a purified water/vinegar mixture to clean everything.
Thanks!
If it tastes funky I’d toss it and start with a fresh scoby — especially if you have a scoby hotel waiting to help you out. I had a funky one once and tossed it and started again. The funky didn’t come back.
Thank you for all the help with kombucha problems! It is intimidating to start brewing your own kombucha and having a resource to go to to help with these problems is great.
Hello! During my 2nd fermentation my cork sealed bottles popped while I was gone for 3 days, when I came home I resealed and put in fridge, my question is do you think that the kombutcha is safe to drink? They smell fine but not sure if they may have gotten bacteria in them for the one or two days they were not covered! Thank you for your help!
No if they smell fine they’ll be safe to drink.
This is only my second round of kombucha, but the first batch turned out SO good that I was eager to do round 2. Round 1 was a double fermentation with grapefruit juice and ginger. A.MA.ZING! I may have been too hasty in starting my second round, though Im not sure.
After the first ferment (7 days, just like round 1) I did a second fermentation with cherry juice. I tasted the unflavored kombucha and it wasn’t quite as sour/vinegary as I would have liked, but I was impatient and went ahead with fermentation 2 with the cherry juice. After 48 hours there is a lot of goop at the top (new scoby?) and I just poured it off the top before tasting. It was not, however, good tasting at all. It wanted to be – it just tasted bad. Almost rotten. I’ve thrown it out (sadly… 6 bottles worth!) but I’m wondering what could have gone wrong???
Michelle did you happen to check the pH of the kombucha before you added the cherry juice? I find it takes between a week to 10 days for a new batch of kombucha to be ready to drink. Then you can do a double ferment. But if the ph hasn’t dropped, it could be that the first ferment wasn’t long enough. I’d try again with a new batch of Kombucha. One other issue could be if the tea you used for the kombucha is too warm it can kill the good bacteria. I let mine get to room temperature before I put it into the jar with the scoby. Not even slightly warm to the touch.
Good Morning,
I was wondering what I may be doing wrong if anything. when I brew my Kombucha; my scoby only produces a very small slimy film on top of my scoby, not a scoby of any real thickness. It’s not something that you would give to anyone else to start a new kombucha. I also am realizing that each batch has an odd flavor but not a bad or moldy flavor. I don’t know what’s happening. I just wanna brew Kombucha and everyone makes it sound simple but it’s not the case for me. I can’t seem to get a good fizz on my second ferment. I may throw it all and try to find a new scoby.
If it has an odd flavour, much different from store bought kombucha, you may have gotten a bad bacteria in your batch. In that case starting over with a fresh kombucha scoby and starter may be the best recourse.
The scoby makes a thin film each time you brew a new batch. If you leave the scoby in the batch for each new batch, over time a thick scoby forms from all the layers of thin scobies. It takes several months to achieve a scoby a 1/2 inch thick.
Do you thoroughly clean and sanitize your kombucha making jars and equipment between batches. You may have an off bacteria harbouring. If you make other ferments in your kitchen like sour dough bread, yoghurt, or cider vinegar this can also lead to off bacteria in your kombucha, since kombucha is always open to the air.
I am just getting started making Jun. The last batch was slightly overfermented but drinkable. This most recent batch had no fizz at all (when I tried to burp the bottle, nothing came out). It’s possible I didn’t allow it to ferment in the hotel long enough or I might have forgot to add a cup of the old batch to the new (but I doubt it, I’m pretty sure I did).
What might have gone wrong? Is it drinkable with no fizz, and will it affect the next batch?
Is it possible that it got too warm, Connie? If the tea is even warm to the touch or if it got too near a heater, it can kill the kombucha bacteria. If it isn’t fizzy within 3 days, I’d try again with a fresh batch and a fresh starter. You can’t take honey and green tea, though and use a kombucha starter that was previously used for black tea and sugar. It needs a transition time growing on part sugar and part honey for the bacteria to adjust.
That sounds likely, that it might have been a bit too warm. I did use a scobe that was always used for Jun. Can I assume the batch that is housing the scobe is not good either? If so what should I use for starter?
Is it completely dead or is there some souring happening? If the pH is falling it may just need a reboot with fresh tea and honey. If the pH is remaining at 6 or above, you might want to get another scoby and try again.
I have left my kombucha too long and it tastes like vinegar. I left the scoby in it as I don’t know how to keep the scoby when you don’t want to make another batch. As a result of leaving it in the vinegary solution, it is about 2cm thick so I assume it is still healthy. How do I make another batch of Kombucha as I don’t have any starter tea because the last batch turned to vinegar. Thanks, Sharon
You’ll just use one cup of the vinegary kombucha and the scoby you have. Plus fresh tea and sugar. Your next batch won’t be as vinegary. Use the kombucha vinegar as vinegar. It’s good in salad dressing, for marinating meat, for making sauces. You can even use it as cleaning vinegar.
Great post. I have been using my too vinegar kombuca for cleaning but great to hear it is safe to use in salads.
Hello,
I let my kombucha ferment longer than I’d intended-20 days. It still tasted ok to me but was not very fizzy, no bad smells no mold forming on new scoby, just a little more vinegary. I transfered it to sterilized mason jars and popped them into the fridge. The low temps in the fridge are supposed to basically keep it from fermenting any further right? I opened the fridge a few days later to find that the jars of kombucha had a thin brown slimy looking thing in the bottom of the jars – it kind of looked like the yeasty chains that form when brewing a batch but this almost looked like a thin mini brown scoby… What is this? Have you seen this? Did something go wrong? Safe to use still? I have been looking and looking but haven’t come across any info about this… Please advise. Thank you
Deva, the lower refrigerator temperatures will slow down the fermentation but not stop it. The kombucha continues to ferment in the fridge. The brown is probably a combination of yeast and scoby. That’s totally natural. It’s safe to drink. If it tastes slightly vinegary that’s normal, too, and expected. You can stop the ferment before this stage and drink it or wait till it’s quite sour.
Thank you!
Hi. Recently moved into a new home that uses a septic tank. I use a berky water filter and usually boil my water but this time I made the mistake of letting it sit overnight and not boiling. It fermented fine and so I went to go on and do a second ferment. Long story short, I can’t seem to drink it or even smell it because of a strong ammonia odor! What happened and will I get sick because I have consumed some already last night as it didn’t smell as bad as this bottle did.
An ammonia odor doesn’t sound safe to drink. A properly fermented kombucha may have a vinegar odor, getting more pronounced as it gets older. But not an ammonia odor — that would be weird. If you consummed it and you feel fine, you’re probably fine. Your stomach would get upset if there was something amiss.
A septic system doesn’t mean your water is bad. But if you have a well for household water, you may want to have your water tested for nitrites or other contaminants. It wouldn’t necessarily be from the septic system but might be because of chemical fertilizers used in the area.
Hoy Chris! I was casually looking at the internet for some bad tasting kombucha of mine and I fell on your site! I wooffed with two of my friends, Cedric and David back in 2010 (or 2011), at your farm! Good times were had and life has changed and improved since then. I have a wife and a daughter of 8 months old.
Thank you for this, I didn’t clean my jar on my second batch and it tastes plain weird. My first batch it took only 4 days to have a very good and vinegary taste. I used maple syrup the first time, now I tried cane sugar, as well as boiled sink water, which I will not reuse for my third try.
Thanks and have a great year!
Paco, it’s so good to hear from you again. Congratulations on your marriage and the birth of your daughter. Amazing! Yes, I have good memories of your short stay here. So glad to connect again.
Now with the Kombucha, if you’ve had a bad batch, very likely the scoby is infected with off-bacteria. If your next try doesn’t come out satisfactory, I’d suggest dumping and starting with a new scoby. Go to my post on growing a scoby from commercial kombucha, or grab a new scoby from a friend. Most kombucha makers have several scobies in “scoby hotels” on the counter, just incase their working scoby goes off.
Good luck.
Fermented in glass container 2 gallons. Fermenting now 9 days on heating pad. Ph is 5.2. What is wrong? How do I fix?
It sounds right to me. Does it taste acidic?
Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! Hope to see you back on today’s hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/wildcrafting-wednesday-9.html
Years ago when I was a young adult, a friend of mine got this kombucha mushroom in a jar as part of a friendship train. She had to have a cup of tea for herself and the mushroom over candlelight and give a cup to the mushroom as well for a certain amount of nights. then if her mushroom split into 2 her friendship with the person who gave it to her was supposed to be eternal…then she was to take the second mushroom and put it in a jar and give it to a friend. We laughed over this, as she went through the steps having tea and conversation with her mushroom…and sure enough it split! Guess who got that second one? Yes it was ME! I too went through the steps and in the end passed mine off to another close friend of ours. Once a whole group of us had them all going we gave them all back as instructed to our friend of a friend who’s mother had cancer. I found the whole experience kind of a mystery and I am missing some of the steps in my mind… The whole end point in this excercise was to raise awareness and love for life and friendship and help dear Helen’s mom battle cancer by natural methods. I never knew exactly what they did with that mushroom but was told she injested it. At the time I thought it was strange but was glad to help. Now seeing all you have written on kombucha, it is begining to make sense. I am definitely inspired to begin trying this at home for my whole family. Thanks For this wonderful set of articles…oh and by the way Helen’s mom made it through her cancer battle…perhaps the kombucha really did help , as well as her other natural remedies. Cheers
That’s a totally awesome story, Nikkhi! Thanks for sharing it.