Newbie Paranoia

[Guest guest]

Hello All

I started my first scoby from a bottle brew and everything's been going

magnificently. After 2 weeks I got a robust film on the top of my 1

gallon jar and a sweet-n-sour tasting brew that was flat. I brewed a

new batch of tea and added 2 cups of the brew and the scoby and bottled

the rest.

After all that, I was reading Dom's site and saw his vehement warnings

against mold and although I don't recall seeing any mold on my scoby, I

also didn't really check it over that carefully over. The film was

quite crenelated with countless nooks and crannies. It had crept up the

side of my jar and there were, of course, brown edges where the scoby

met glass. I had kept the jar in my oven for the entire brewing period

with a paper towel held on by a rubber-band.

Is it too paranoid to wonder if I should have checked the scoby over

more carefully? Would a small or unnoticeable amount of mold be

something to worry about? The only other thing that concerns me is that

I had left some lemon peels in a yoghurt cup with some other waste to

compost next to my sink, about 10 feet away from the oven. I was

dumping the waste into a bag and noticed the lemon peels covered in

green mold and some of the mold dust floated up and I could smell it. I

opened up the kitchen window to let fresh air in and ran out of the

room. The kombucha was in the oven with the paper towel over it, but I

don't know how easily mold spores travel or how likely they would be to

get through a paper towel or linger in the air for several days until I

opened the kombucha to check on it...

Hahaha, I feel like a total obsessive compulsive or something right now,

worrying about such little details, but Dom's warning about mold causing

liver cancer scared the daylights out of me! Am I taking the warning a

little too seriously, or should I throw the whole batch out and start

over again?

Your help and patience is greatly appreciated!

[Guest guest]

In message <4827B2CF.6030003@...> you wrote:

> Hahaha, I feel like a total obsessive compulsive or something right now,

> worrying about such little details, but Dom's warning about mold causing

> liver cancer scared the daylights out of me! Am I taking the warning a

> little too seriously, or should I throw the whole batch out and start

> over again?

Hello , :-)

Congratulations on a brew developing well.

In a kitchen environment, there will always be things floating about.

This does not necessarily mean that your brew will be negatively affected -

after all it was sitting covered over in the oven!

It will most probably be alright. Leave it to brew on and don't disturb

the brew by peeking and prying if you want a new scoby to develop.

If any mold should develop, you will definitely be able to see it in the

end and it will be fuzzy. Don't confuse it with ooglies, slimy stringy yeast

bits which are completely harmless. These are not fuzzy, however.

You can see some on my pictures taken during scoby development.

http://www.therpc.force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html

Be at peace :-)

Margret :-) UK

--

+------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+

<)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<><

http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com

In a consecrated life there are no accidents.

[Guest guest]

Margret,

I have a few questions, totally newbie here! I checked out your pics, I

have to admit, they look a bit scary growing especially for someone who is

allergic to mold! But I've been drinking KT from the health food store and

I know how good it makes me feel.

I have two jars of old KT that a friend gave me, before she lost her

scobies. I didn't know I still have it and it was stored in the back of the

frig and is quite old. I was just going to feed it to the chickens and

turkeys, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to feed it and it would

form a scoby??

Also, how warm do the jars have to be, sunlight or no, what room of the

house do most people find the best to keep them in? Is a closet good,

because it would be dark? Would bread or cheese cultures affect the

brewing/scobies?

Vickie, in VA

Congratulations on a brew developing well.

In a kitchen environment, there will always be things floating about.

This does not necessarily mean that your brew will be negatively affected -

after all it was sitting covered over in the oven!

It will most probably be alright. Leave it to brew on and don't disturb

the brew by peeking and prying if you want a new scoby to develop.

If any mold should develop, you will definitely be able to see it in the

end and it will be fuzzy. Don't confuse it with ooglies, slimy stringy yeast

bits which are completely harmless. These are not fuzzy, however.

You can see some on my pictures taken during scoby development.

http://www.therpc.

<http://www.therpc.force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html>

force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html

Be at peace :-)

Margret :-) UK

__

[Guest guest]

Hi and EveryOne,

While mold can occur on Kombucha and if it does, it is serious enough

that the whole thing should be thrown out and after cleaning

everything very well starting again with a new Kombucha Colony and

Kombucha tea that has never been exposed to mold. However....

I doubt that you have mold....chances are you would have noticed it.

It looks just like the mold on fruit or bread, it can be any color and

it is fuzzy. Since you used some of your finished Kombucha tea to

start the next batch, that acidified your new batch right away and

goes a long way to prevent mold from forming. It is also a good idea

to pour some of the acidic KT right on top of your Kombucha Colony in

the new brew.

If you don't see any mold when you are ready to decant I would just go

ahead and enjoy my KT.

We all worry in the beginning....I worried that I had cooked my KT by

adding the tea, sugar, water mixture that was lukewarm instead of room

temperature.....my Kombucha survived and has gone on to reproduce

continually since 1994. It's offspring are all around the planet!

Peace, Love and Harmony,

Bev

>

> Hello All

>

> I started my first scoby from a bottle brew and everything's been going

> magnificently. After 2 weeks I got a robust film on the top of my 1

> gallon jar and a sweet-n-sour tasting brew that was flat. I brewed a

> new batch of tea and added 2 cups of the brew and the scoby and bottled

> the rest.

>

> After all that, I was reading Dom's site and saw his vehement warnings

> against mold and although I don't recall seeing any mold on my scoby, I

> also didn't really check it over that carefully over. The film was

> quite crenelated with countless nooks and crannies. It had crept up

the

> side of my jar and there were, of course, brown edges where the scoby

> met glass. I had kept the jar in my oven for the entire brewing period

> with a paper towel held on by a rubber-band.

>

> Is it too paranoid to wonder if I should have checked the scoby over

> more carefully? Would a small or unnoticeable amount of mold be

> something to worry about? The only other thing that concerns me is

that

> I had left some lemon peels in a yoghurt cup with some other waste to

> compost next to my sink, about 10 feet away from the oven. I was

> dumping the waste into a bag and noticed the lemon peels covered in

> green mold and some of the mold dust floated up and I could smell

it. I

> opened up the kitchen window to let fresh air in and ran out of the

> room. The kombucha was in the oven with the paper towel over it, but I

> don't know how easily mold spores travel or how likely they would be to

> get through a paper towel or linger in the air for several days until I

> opened the kombucha to check on it...

>

> Hahaha, I feel like a total obsessive compulsive or something right

now,

> worrying about such little details, but Dom's warning about mold

causing

> liver cancer scared the daylights out of me! Am I taking the warning a

> little too seriously, or should I throw the whole batch out and start

> over again?

>

> Your help and patience is greatly appreciated!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yo! Vickie. . if you need a new scobie, I have some brewing from babies that

were offspring. Check the jars too. Often old kt will form scobies on the

top and you can grow from there.

www.Majesty Farm.com

" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change

the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. "

-Margaret Mead

_____

From: kombucha tea

[mailto:kombucha tea ] On Behalf Of Vickie Liguori

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 1:48 PM

kombucha tea

Subject: RE: Newbie Paranoia

Margret,

I have a few questions, totally newbie here! I checked out your pics, I

have to admit, they look a bit scary growing especially for someone who is

allergic to mold! But I've been drinking KT from the health food store and

I know how good it makes me feel.

I have two jars of old KT that a friend gave me, before she lost her

scobies. I didn't know I still have it and it was stored in the back of the

frig and is quite old. I was just going to feed it to the chickens and

turkeys, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to feed it and it would

form a scoby??

Also, how warm do the jars have to be, sunlight or no, what room of the

house do most people find the best to keep them in? Is a closet good,

because it would be dark? Would bread or cheese cultures affect the

brewing/scobies?

Vickie, in VA

Congratulations on a brew developing well.

In a kitchen environment, there will always be things floating about.

This does not necessarily mean that your brew will be negatively affected -

after all it was sitting covered over in the oven!

It will most probably be alright. Leave it to brew on and don't disturb

the brew by peeking and prying if you want a new scoby to develop.

If any mold should develop, you will definitely be able to see it in the

end and it will be fuzzy. Don't confuse it with ooglies, slimy stringy yeast

bits which are completely harmless. These are not fuzzy, however.

You can see some on my pictures taken during scoby development.

http://www.therpc.

<http://www.therpc.

<http://www.therpc.force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html>

force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html>

force9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html

Be at peace :-)

Margret :-) UK

__

[Guest guest]

In message <49363782333F40F089A1C5367D4C4282@VickiesLaptop> you wrote:

>

> I have a few questions, totally newbie here! I checked out your pics, I

> have to admit, they look a bit scary growing especially for someone who is

> allergic to mold! But I've been drinking KT from the health food store and

> I know how good it makes me feel.

Hi Vickie, Yes, many people confuse the benign ooglies with the nasty mold.

No wonder, they ain't exactly beauties ;-)

Mold will always be on the top (from airborne spores) and always be fuzzy,

which ooglies aren't.

> I have two jars of old KT that a friend gave me, before she lost her

> scobies. I didn't know I still have it and it was stored in the back of

> the frig and is quite old.

Oldness does not matter as long as it was in sufficient liquid.

Coldness does. You will need to bring it out of hibernation by putting

the jar on your counter and feeding the culture with a small amount of

sweet tea (in proportion to your recipe).

You could make sweet tea from

1 quart water

a generous 1/3 cup of sugar

2 teabags or 2 tsp of open leaf tea.

Cool thoroughly and blend sweet tea and culture together.

Leave to stand undisturbed in room-temperature place, well covered over.

It will probably take about 2 weeks for the microflora of yeast and

bacteria to spring back into action.

A lot do, but there are some for whom the wintery condition have been the

final rigor mortis.

I would go for the experiment. You might be pleasantly surprised at the

outcome.

> I was just going to feed it to the chickens and turkeys, but I'm wondering

> if it would be possible to feed it and it would form a scoby??

You can feed chopped up scobys to life stock - very healthy and makes

them thrive. ;-)

Referring back to your scoby that came out of the cold and then fed sweet

tea and left to get on with it for a few weeks maybe ....

Yes, the likelihood of it growing a new scoby is very good. :-)

I keep my many brews in the kitchen in a very peasant environment, and

they thrive. I've never had any mold or other contamination.

As long as you use enough acidic starter at the beginning of each brew

you should not have any problems.

The experiment should yield a really good acidic starter for you with which

to begin a new larger batch ... provided that yeasts an d bacteria are

willing.

Maybe, that makes sense to you? ;-)

with best wishes for a happy day ... greet your merry fowl from me!

I'd love some, but I only have a small garden :-(

most kombuchaly,

Margret:-)

--

+------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+

<)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<><

http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, All, for your helpful advice!

That's all interesting advice about the mold. I really don't remember

seeing any, so if there was any, it would have been a pretty small

amount. I'm just going to continue as if there were no mold, as I have

no real good reason to suspect otherwise, but I am curious... What are

the effects of drinking Kombucha with some mold in it? Dom mentioned

liver cancer, but you wouldn't get that just from drinking it one time,

would you? I assume that's something that builds up over time as a

risk? I'm guessing as an immediate reaction you might have some kind of

allergic response? Just curious

Generally, in life, when I get concerned about such things, I tell

myself, " its not good for you, but then its probably not going to kill

you just once either. "

[Guest guest]

Hi and EveryOne,

Seems to me if there were mold you would have noticed it...chances are

your KT is fine!

The effect of mold on Kombucha depends on the type of mold that it is.

Some molds are very toxic and others aren't. Since there is no way of

knowing which is which for the home brewer it is just safer for them,

and for all of us who want to keep brewing Kombucha, to have people

throw out any moldy batches and start fresh. Usually when people try

to save a moldy kombucha their next batches also have mold because the

mold grows inside as well as on top of the Kombucha Colony.

From my standpoint, I am trying to be sure that no one really gets

sick from drinking moldy or contaminated kombucha because that would

surely start an uproar about the safety of Kombucha etc. etc. etc. It

is bad enough with the groundless rumors that fly from time to time

and it would be a shame if someone really did get sick from Kombucha.

Of course the same could happen with any food that gets mold but

somehow that wouldn't get as blown out of proportion if it was bread,

or fruit instead of Kombucha.

Kombucha, being acidic is not very apt to get mold. I have been

brewing since 1994 and never had mold. One practice that could

contribute to mold is to let your tea, sugar, water mixture sit out

overnight to cool. Mold spores could develop in that mixture and then

get transfered to the Kombucha. Some people have reported the transfer

of mold spores from potted plants growing near the Kombucha and years

ago they used to say that smoking near the Kombucha can cause mold.

Fortunately the mold that forms on Kombucha is fuzzy and quite visible

so there is ample time to find out if a brew has mold or not. If it

does, don't use it, or any part of it, to make future batches.

Peace, Love and Harmony,

Bev

>

> Thanks, All, for your helpful advice!

>

> That's all interesting advice about the mold. I really don't remember

> seeing any, so if there was any, it would have been a pretty small

> amount. I'm just going to continue as if there were no mold, as I have

> no real good reason to suspect otherwise, but I am curious... What are

> the effects of drinking Kombucha with some mold in it? Dom mentioned

> liver cancer, but you wouldn't get that just from drinking it one time,

> would you? I assume that's something that builds up over time as a

> risk? I'm guessing as an immediate reaction you might have some

kind of

> allergic response? Just curious

>

> Generally, in life, when I get concerned about such things, I tell

> myself, " its not good for you, but then its probably not going to kill

> you just once either. "

>

>

>