# Ruined? (Kombucha)



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

The weather has turned cold here and I've had difficulty finding ways to keep the temperature of kombucha stable as it ferments. The last batch I made sat on the counter for two weeks and still was too sweet to drink. 

I spoke with the gentlemen from whom I got my initial kombucha (the 2 vials) and together we came up with the idea of sitting the gallon jug in a slow cooker. He suggested I *first* take the SCOBY (extremely thin this time and quite dry on top) and some of that cold/sweet liquid and refrigerate it, then set the rest in the cooker. I did and after 7 days the kombucha was still as sweet as it was when put into the jug and was extremely warm with over a third of the liquid gone. Talking with this gentleman again I discovered I probably cooked the liquid and, thereby, killed the bacteria that would have created kombucha.

So what I did was let that liquid cool, then add the thin SCOBY I had refrigerated to it and set it on a shelf with a small electric blanket wrapped around the shelving. (I keep my trailer set at 68 degrees during cold weather; however, this pine shelf with the electric blanket wrapped around it kept the liquid nice and warm without getting it hot.) After 7 days I tasted it and it was not sweet at all but just had that nice sour taste to it. The SCOBY in it showed no signs of mildew and seems to have even grown a little...I think. It did have that brown stringy stuff attached which I've seen on other "healthy" SCOBY mushrooms. Thus, I "think" the bacteria inside is working.....not sure.

What I did then was remove that thin SCOBY and only use some of that liquid with some sweetened black tea. It is now sitting behind the electric blanket in hopes it will create a good SCOBY. (If it does I think that will show me the bacteria is still healthy....won't it?)

Thus, my post here: How do you know when your SCOBY is ruined? How do you know what you have fermented (no longer sweet but is sour) still has the "healthy/live" bacterial substances in it that creates the kombucha? Will the forming of a new SCOBY prove it is still good?


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Caring for the SCOBY is half the battle with brewing kombucha. Lots of reasons for this. Too much temperature fluctuation for an extended period, consistently too cold or too hot for an extended period, contamination from competing cultures which won't yield the desired sour/acid kombucha, or inappropriate media or tea type.

Sometimes they just peeter out with age and you need to start with an entirely new SCOBY. Sometimes you can save it like you're trying to and grow a viable SCOBY from scratch again. 

The things that a SCOBY needs to be healthy and robust (and therefore produce good, probiotic filled, sour and acid kombucha) are, consistent temperature, protection from contamination, and appropriate media and tea type. The type of tea a SCOBY needs is almost exclusively black tea. You can get away with mixing green, white, or a little bit of chia teas with the black, but if you don't keep a back up with pure black tea you run the risk of losing your very robust strains from the SCOBY and never getting them back from subsequent batches.

The other issue is the sugar you use. I've heard from enough people that beet sugar tends to ruin SCOBY's with continued use. Most sugar is made from sugar beets and most sugar beets are GMO, so the bacterial altering chemical contamination could be a problem. I've seen the best results with Cane sugar, that doesn't necessarily need to be organic, but I use the cheap unprocessed stuff. 

I've kept robust SCOBY's going for years with simple black tea and cane sugar, nothing else. If I want to use some other tea for a different flavor, use a baby SCOBY to make it and throw it away after because it will not be as robust as your original and will still have off flavors compared with the parent SCOBY even after being in the black tea/cane sugar for several generations. 

Just IME


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

DC that is great information. Given that, I guess I've ruined my SCOBY in that I've used it with black as well as green tea. 

The batch I just created did develop a 2nd generation SCOBY under the one that was in that glass jar. It was not very robust but it looked quite healthy. (The old SCOBY in there had grown significantly!)

I used some apple cider vinegar to wash off this SCOBY, then rinsed it well with some of the tea it had just given me. I now have it with some more of its own tea sitting in the fridge. (The tea it made for me is mostly sour with just a hint of sweetness. I had only let it sit behind that heat blanket for 7 days. I strained it into several glass jars, added some elderberry syrup to each jar and set them all in the fridge. This should help deter colds this winter.)

Thus, I'm guessing I didn't destroy too much of the bacteria needed or it would not be making the SCOBY.  Right? Wrong? Isn't it true that it is "kombucha" if a SCOBY forms?


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## thekibblegoddes (Jun 24, 2014)

I've been making kombucha for 9 (?) months with decaf, black tea + 1 Tbs of organic hibiscus tea & cane sugar & it's still a very robust scoby. When i can't stand the brown threads/yeast strings, I just rinse them off with well water. Our house is very cold in the winter, so i did buy one of the heaters you wrap around the kombucha crock, but i need to use this only 1 or 2 days when i start a new batch. I did try to use a heating pad, but it was too warm. Be sure to use at least 2 cups of the old kombucha to start the new batch.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

motdaugrnds said:


> DC that is great information. Given that, I guess I've ruined my SCOBY in that I've used it with black as well as green tea.
> 
> The batch I just created did develop a 2nd generation SCOBY under the one that was in that glass jar. It was not very robust but it looked quite healthy. (The old SCOBY in there had grown significantly!)
> 
> ...


If you get the flavor of kombucha you like in a reasonable amount of time, then the SCOBY is good  

The SCOBY isn't necessarily 'ruined' by using other types of teas, it just is not the optimal type, which just means it will not be as robust as it 'could' be. Brewing kombucha, wine, beer, mead, is an art and some people go a long way to keep their strains 'pure'. If you're okay with the flavor and the consistency at which your SCOBY performs, that's is really all that matters. 

You can make all kinds of different flavors and types of these ferments, but the resulting culture from those differing flavors is a strain or ratio that is slightly different from the original. Continuing along generations that small difference will grow and eventually you have a unique strain of SCOBY unto itself. There are many such strains not only in brewing kombucha but any type of ferment. Different strains have difference strengths and weaknesses. Your new strain may be more able to handle diverse temperature fluctuation, but less able to compete with contaminating wild yeasts or bacteria. It's a toss up, and you don't really know unless you're specifically selecting for those traits. 

All this to say is brewing is a subjective art; your SCOBY is a product of the environment it's in, and if you're happy with the kombucha it produces, then that is a success in my book!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Thanks for the information. What I'm needing to understand is: How do I know the fermented tea is 'kombucha"? Couldn't it simply be a "sour" tea? Is it the mushroom on top that tells you it is kombucha? Does plain sour tea form that mushroom? Yes I know how ignorant this sounds; but that is exactly how I'm feeling...ignorant!


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Well, sweet tea will ferment on its own, yes..

It will be from opportunistic yeasts and bacteria colonizing in the sweet tea. I really do not think that wild yeasts and bacterias would form a healthy looking SCOBY at all... it would appear patchy, fuzzy, moldy, maybe even different colors. A healthy SCOBY has a pale color, is never fuzzy looking, and has a slippery/rubbery feel to it, not slimy.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Thanks DC. From what you've said, I'm of the impression the SCOBY(s) forming in my teas are "healthy". They certainly look pinkish & plump; and they are spongy.

The last few weeks I've experimented with using only a bit of the kombucha tea and discovered it forms a very nice SCOBY. I've also washed off a mushroom and used only that to discover it forms an addition to itself. So I think I must be doing something right.  (During these winter months when I'm keeping my trailer at 68 degrees, I'm using an electric blanket to wrap the gallon jars; and this is working beautifully!)


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

I set my kombucha, along with sourdough and other ferments, on a seedling heat mat in the winter. We keep the house at 60-65 usually, so even sauerkraut needs a boost.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Thanks. A seed-heating matt would work great too.

I have another question: I tasted what I had set up and it was more sour than I like. It obviously ferments quickly! It was not sweet at all; so I could not drink it. I strained it, added some regular sugar (same type always use for it) and set it back to ferment more. That was 2 days ago and I have no idea if I'm ruining it or not. I just checked on it and it is still sweet yet has a thicker SCOBY in it now. I really have no idea what I'm doing!!!


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

Check out Cultures for Health. They have a lot of information on their website on brewing kombucha, even if you didn't get your scoby from them. 
Have you had store bought kombucha before? When I first started making it, I bought a bottle so I could compare the flavor to see if I was doing it right.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Ok Thanks Kyweaver.


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

How's your kombucha doing now? 
Your questions inspired me to get back into brewing it again. I switched to water kefir for a few years, but killed my culture through neglect when the twins were born this summer (only so many things one person can feed!). Kombucha only needs attention once a week or so. I think I can manage that.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

The kombucha is doing quite well Kyweaver. The mushrooms in each jar were so large today I threw them out for the chickens. Since I had 3 jars going, I still have one mushroom (SCOBY) as that particular jar was still too sweet. I am preferring 99% of the sweetness be gone before I strain it and put it in the fridge...just a matter of taste. 

I did realize the 2 jars I strained today were extra strong! I had to use a different type of tea for them as I picked up the wrong kind in the store. [What I discovered when I got the tea home was that it was not "bags" but was "cups". So when I created the tea last time I opened 5 cups and poured the loose tea out into the water, got the water to boiling, turned burner off and then let it steep until it was barely warm. Then I strained it with a paper towel and added the sugar. When the sugar was melted well, I strained it again, poured it into the jars and then added the kombucha I had left over from the last batch. I suspect it was the tea that has made this kombucha extra strong this time, though don't know for sure.] Not gonna waste the tea I bought though....


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