A collection of photos and questions from different points in the kombucha brewing process! Take a look if you are a visual learner! Have a great picture or a question about your brew? Submit a photo and/or your question to support@buchabrewers.com –we will get back to you and potentially add your photo to the gallery!
Question: How often should you check on your kombucha during fermentation?
Answer: It is tempting to check our baby SCOBYs daily, but it is important to remember you SHOULD AVOID DISTURBING YOUR KOMBUCHA JAR FOR THE FIRST 7-10 DAYS DURING FERMENTATION! (We know this is difficult, but your kombucha will thank you for it!)
Every time you move your jar, forming baby SCOBY particles may sink to the bottom of your jar and the new SCOBY’s growth can be inhibited
If you are very eager to check on your SCOBY, try to check without moving your jar. Briefly shine a light on the jar and take a peek!
Question: How long can I set my SCOBYs aside for?
Answer: Ideally, you will only set your SCOBYs aside while you are transferring them from your previously brewed kombucha into a fresh batch of room-temperature sweet tea. In this “transition” period, it is okay to place your SCOBYs in a glass bowl or dish of some sort along with about 2 cups of fermented kombucha. However, we would recommend waiting until your fresh sweet tea is cooled in order to minimize the amount of time you will need to set your SCOBYs aside.
You do not want to place your SCOBYs on a dish without starter tea (as you see in the image above). The SCOBYs may begin to dehydrate, and they will also be more vulnerable to pests and bacteria without the protection of their highly-acidic fermented kombucha tea.
Some brewers prefer to empty most of their fermented kombucha from the last batch to bottles for drinking, then pour SCOBYs and 1-2 cups of starter tea to a clean jar, and finally add cooled sweet tea to top off the jar. We would recommend doing this if possible as it is easiest, doesn’t require you to handle your SCOBY, and allows you to clean one jar while fermenting with another! If you do not have a spare jar, it is fine to use the guidance above instead.
If you are looking to store your SCOBYs long-term, check out our articles on SCOBY Hotels.
Question: I have been brewing for a while. Why isn’t my kombucha getting carbonated?
Answer: FIRST, are you doing a SECOND fermentation (2F)? Most of the carbonation created escapes during first fermentation. That is why we use airtight bottles during second fermentation. Check out this brewing article if you are unclear on where second fermentation fits into the process! If you are not doing second fermentation, start now to get the kombucha fizz of your dreams!
If you are already doing second fermentation and are low on fizz, we have a bit more troubleshooting to do. Make sure you are:
- using an additional source of sugar in your second fermentation.
- placing your 2F bottles in a warm, dark place where they will not be disturbed for fermentation
- not “over-burping” your bottles
- stirring your kombucha after first fermentation to evenly distribute yeast throughout the brew
- not using oils or artificial flavoring in your 2F bottles
For additional troubleshooting, check out this article on kombucha carbonation.
Question: My kombucha has been too sweet for my taste. Can I reduce the amount of sugar I use in the brew?
Answer: If you like your kombucha on the tart side, the best way to achieve it is with a longer fermentation period. Anywhere from 7-21 days of fermentation is standard, so don’t feel like you need to call it and drink your kombucha on day 7. Extend that fermentation time to get the tart brew of your dreams!
You do NOT want to reduce the amount of sugar you add prior to fermentation; you might limit your carbonation or even end up providing your SCOBY with less fuel than it needs to stay as healthy as can be! The sugar and tea in your kombucha brew “feed” your SCOBY to keep it brewing and fermenting as efficiently as possible.
Question: I noticed lots of floating bits and sediment at the bottom of my kombucha. Is this normal? Can I drink it?
Answer: In short, this is totally normal and you can drink it!
The “sediment” that you see at the bottom is primarily yeast. Live yeast strands form and hang from SCOBYs (such as the strands you can see hanging from the round SCOBY on the right). When the yeast dies, it generally sinks to the bottom of your kombucha brewing vessel. However, it still has nutritional benefits to offer and is actually healthy for you to drink!
You may also notice bits floating through the kombucha, which can be more clearly observed in the second picture above. Again, this is perfectly healthy and fine to drink! This is simply more SCOBY matter (yeast and bacteria bits) doing work on your kombucha. In fact, if you look closely, you can see some bubbles on the rise thanks to the live yeast at work!
So, if you are comfortable with it, leave all of these bits in for an extra health boost! We recommend this and assure you that you will hardly notice them! If you are not yet comfortable with it, you can also go ahead and filter the bits out when your kombucha has completed its primary fermentation. If you choose this route, hopefully you will eventually embrace the SCOBY bits and choose to keep them in your brew 🙂
Question: I put my SCOBY into the jar of sweet tea and it sank to the bottom. This seems bad– what should I do?
Answer: You should do nothing! Fortunately, a sinking SCOBY is not a bad thing! The picture above contains a jar of sweet tea filled with SCOBYs; as you can see, they all settle in different places! This is perfectly fine!
SCOBYs can sink, float at the top, float sideways in the middle—it doesn’t matter what position they are in. In fact, they will likely move throughout the brew! Many variables are at play here, but it is largely due to yeast. As yeast on a SCOBY becomes more active, it may create bubbles that cause the SCOBY to float upwards. However, you should not be worried if your SCOBY remains closer to the bottom of your jar throughout the brew.
Question: Will my SCOBY survive being shipped in this freezing winter weather?
Answer: In short, YES– your SCOBY will survive the freezing winter weather during shipment! However, we do recommend picking up your SCOBY shipment and bringing it inside to room temperature ASAP once it has arrived.
Fortunately, your SCOBY should be in heated buildings and mail trucks for most of his journey. The cold your SCOBY endures might make him a little dormant, but he should return to full speed quickly at room temperature with fresh sweet tea to “feed” him!
Worst case scenario: your SCOBY is left in a mailtruck by mistake and ends up frozen solid like this fellow. While this is scary and not ideal, your SCOBY should still make a full recovery from this trauma! If this happens to you, do not panic! Simply bring your SCOBY into room temperature ASAP. Once he has thawed, you can brew as you otherwise would have. Simply give the SCOBY an extra few days (10-12 days for primary fermentation) to allow it to get up to full speed again!
Question: When I make my first batch of kombucha it says a scoby will form. Do I keep that one and use for future batch? How do I store it and what do I do with original scoby?
Answer: That is correct—each time you brew a batch, a new “baby” SCOBY will grow across the top of your brew.
We recommend using both this new SCOBY and the old SCOBY in your next batch along with 1-2 cups of the finished fermented tea (starter tea), but you can also choose to use the new one and discard the old SCOBY. If you use both in your next batch, your tea will ferment slightly faster, and you will have an extra SCOBY on hand should you want to give one to a friend or brew two batches at once!
SCOBYs should always be stored at room temperature in a glass brewing jar with a coffee filter covering the top. To store for longer periods of time, prepare a batch as you would for a regular brew. Then, you can leave the SCOBYs stored in the jar for up to 30 days! After 30 days, either begin brewing with the SCOBYs again or drink/remove at least half of the fermented tea and replace it with fresh sweet tea to provide the SCOBYs with more “food”. This is called a “SCOBY Hotel”.
Question: I am new to kombucha brewing and I just made a big batch but I noticed something weird this morning. It looks like a thin film. Is that just another scoby forming?
Answer: Our brewer answered her own question– this is a baby SCOBY beginning to grow in! The baby SCOBY initially looks like a clear and kind of gelatinous film/layer covering the top of your tea. It will gradually fill in more and more, becoming more opaque and less “jelly” looking. By day 7 it should be a creamy white color!
Question: Is this mold on my scoby? I am a week into my first brew and noticed this dark spot on the scoby. Help!
Answer: The above SCOBY does NOT have any mold! What you are referring to is simply a dark spot on the surface of the SCOBY caused by yeast growth. Congrats, you have healthy yeasts growing! We know it can be hard to tell the difference, so we also included a photo of an actually moldy SCOBY, seen below. As you can see, the white mold growing on the surface of the SCOBY is clearly fuzzy. If you are concerned about whether you have mold on your SCOBY, do a fuzz test! While your SCOBY will always look somewhat slimy, mold almost always has a dry, fuzzy look to it. If you do end up with mold on a SCOBY, discard the entire batch! While we understand it is sad ridding of your precious SCOBYs, you do not want to carry the contamination with to the next batch. Start over, thoroughly sanitize the brewing vessel, and make sure your next batch is at the appropriate acidity (4.5 or below) to start!
Question: How do I test-taste my kombucha without disturbing the scoby? I’m afraid I will damage it & interrupt brewing.
Answer: Test-taste your kombucha by gently slipping a straw or an eye-dropper below it on one side of the jar (as seen in the photo). Your SCOBY is tough– it should pop right back up when you are done! Even if it doesn’t, it is nothing to worry about. A new layer will eventually grow in across the top of your kombucha if you continue to ferment it for long enough!
Question: My kombucha seems to be forming mini scobys in the second fermentation bottles. Is this normal? What should I do with them?
Answer: This is totally normal! In fact, it indicates the remaining yeast and bacteria in your kombucha are so active and healthy that they have formed a small SCOBY at the top of your bottle. (Look at that cute little guy!)
Store-bought kombucha is often pasteurized, meaning remaining yeast & bacteria are killed off before they reach you. This also means home-brewed kombucha offers benefits that most store-bought kombucha cannot!
If you are feeling brave, go ahead and eat the mini-SCOBYs that form! If anything, they will give you a health boost and speed up your digestive system a bit! Too nervous? Throw a mini-SCOBY in your next smoothie! Get the benefits without even knowing it’s there!
Of course, you can also toss out the mini-SCOBYs if they creep you out too much. We understand they are not the most attractive!
Question: My kombucha SCOBY is very bumpy and slimy looking. It also has some darker patches. Is this mold? Is it anything else I should be concerned about?
Answer: Good news! This is a perfectly healthy and happy-looking SCOBY! Bubbles will often form on the surface of your SCOBY when the yeasts in the SCOBY are very active– CO2 is being released as the yeasts consume the sugars, and it is essentially being trapped by your SCOBY.
This is not mold– in fact what you call “slimy” is good to see! Your SCOBY will have a slimy look while mold generally looks dry and fuzzy/furry. No mold here!
The yellow/brown spots are also nothing to be concerned about. These frequently appear due to yeast collecting on your new SCOBY!
Question: My SCOBY is looking like a science project. Is this normal?
Answer: If your SCOBY were to be a science project, it would probably win the science fair! This is totally normal and healthy! It looks like your mother SCOBY has probably floated up and attached itself to your baby SCOBY. The strings and strands you are seeing are actually yeast strands. It looks like you have very healthy and active yeasts, which you can also tell from all of those big bubbles at the top! Something tells me you’ll be enjoying some extra fizzy kombucha soon!