Guest guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Hi, I am brewing kombucha tea for the first time. It has been four days so far. Is that layer of what looks like scum on the top of the tea, a baby scoby? It takes up the entire circumference of the top of the tea. Also, what should I do when it's ready? I know I have to strain the tea, but what do I do with the scoby and baby scoby? thanks, phine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 Hi phine.... Yes...the film is the baby SCOBY forming. As is grows it will thicken and become opaque. You did strain the tea leaves from your sweet tea mixture, did you not? You need only remove the SCOBY and baby from the brew when it is to your liking/taste and decant the finished kombucha into bottles. If you wish you may strain off any yeast bits at that time. I use a nylon knee hi to do this. The SCOBY and baby can then be used to start another brew, either together or singly. Good luck and welcome to Kombucha brewing! Gayle new scoby > Hi, > > I am brewing kombucha tea for the first time. It has been four days so > far. Is that layer of what looks like scum on the top of the tea, a baby > scoby? It takes up the entire circumference of the top of the tea. > > Also, what should I do when it's ready? I know I have to strain the tea, > but what do I do with the scoby and baby scoby? > > thanks, > phine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 24, 2008 Report Share Posted August 24, 2008 There are many helpful posts under the " Files " link in the left hand navigation area. This is a detailed play by play on brewing KT http://f1.grp.fs.com/v1/IBKySFAP9hUFjKgJlnNuXLbGI5bbO3pbnzb6LVRCguZKNwYa1YH\ SjUlJ2mGzg2E2Q-nE-VJoCuaX_5dH--n-6ATRkkblTtbITwM6qtc1cZLa/Kombucha%20Tea%20Recip\ es/How%20To%20Make%20Kombucha%20Manual%20 I've only been around here a few weeks - but have found the search tool in the upper right hand of the screen to be an indispensable tool! Have answered a lot of questions for myself with that thing! Have fun with your new hobby! I'm on my 3rd and 4th batches > > Hi, > > I am brewing kombucha tea for the first time. It has been four days so > far. Is that layer of what looks like scum on the top of the tea, a baby > scoby? It takes up the entire circumference of the top of the tea. > > Also, what should I do when it's ready? I know I have to strain the tea, > but what do I do with the scoby and baby scoby? > > thanks, > phine > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 You tasted it, I bet that means you disturbed your forming scoby so it looks like a jelly fish. It's my understanding that every time the scoby is disturbed it stops and restarts. So sounds like you do have a scoby, even the pretty ones are ugly lol. If *I* was going to try to create a scoby from a bottle: 1. Boil 2 cups of water for 10 minutes 2. After 10 minutes, turn off heat put in 2 tea bags for 5 minutes 3. After 5 minutes remove tea bags 4. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar, stir till all sugar is dissolved 5. Let pan sit til it's room temperature. 6. Pour room temperature sweetened tea into glass bowl. 7. Add the starter fluid into bowl with the sweetened tea 8. Criss cross tape over bowl (so cloth doesn't sag into liquid) 9. cover bowl with muslin or clean Tshirt 10. use rubberband to hold cloth in place over bowl. 11. find a warm spot (not greater than 84F) for bowl that has consistent temperature, no drafts or direct sunlight. 12. leave it alone for at least 30 days, you can look at it but don't pick at it, jostle it, poke it, tease it and definitely don't taste it lol. > > hello > i wrote earlier and didn't see it post anywhere so i am trying again. I have been making kombucha for sometime but my scoby turned bad and i have had to start over. since i originally started with a full scoby i am starting at kind of a noobie point. i have read over and over that you can use GT to make a new scoby so that is what i have done. i started with a cool bottle made tea and little over a cup of sugar. then poured the whole bottle into the bowl. it has been 5 or 6 days since i started it and i found i just have a jelly fish floating. i never got a slimy film or anything else. the jellyfish is still growing just very slow about 1.4 inch in diameter a day. right now it is about 3 inches across. is this normal to not get a film or to have just a jelly fish. i tasted it today and it tastes just fine so i know it hasn't gone bad but not growing fast. i have read it can take about 3 weeks. so i am just wanting know if i need to wait that long or something i can do to quicken the growth of the jelly fish. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 When you say starter fluid do you mean GT? How much do you recommend?  Thane From: <cyn_texas@...> Subject: Re: new scoby kombucha tea Date: Sunday, May 24, 2009, 3:55 AM You tasted it, I bet that means you disturbed your forming scoby so it looks like a jelly fish. It's my understanding that every time the scoby is disturbed it stops and restarts. So sounds like you do have a scoby, even the pretty ones are ugly lol. If *I* was going to try to create a scoby from a bottle: 1. Boil 2 cups of water for 10 minutes 2. After 10 minutes, turn off heat put in 2 tea bags for 5 minutes 3. After 5 minutes remove tea bags 4. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar, stir till all sugar is dissolved 5. Let pan sit til it's room temperature. 6. Pour room temperature sweetened tea into glass bowl. 7. Add the starter fluid into bowl with the sweetened tea 8. Criss cross tape over bowl (so cloth doesn't sag into liquid) 9. cover bowl with muslin or clean Tshirt 10. use rubberband to hold cloth in place over bowl. 11. find a warm spot (not greater than 84F) for bowl that has consistent temperature, no drafts or direct sunlight. 12. leave it alone for at least 30 days, you can look at it but don't pick at it, jostle it, poke it, tease it and definitely don't taste it lol. > > hello > i wrote earlier and didn't see it post anywhere so i am trying again. I have been making kombucha for sometime but my scoby turned bad and i have had to start over. since i originally started with a full scoby i am starting at kind of a noobie point. i have read over and over that you can use GT to make a new scoby so that is what i have done. i started with a cool bottle made tea and little over a cup of sugar. then poured the whole bottle into the bowl. it has been 5 or 6 days since i started it and i found i just have a jelly fish floating. i never got a slimy film or anything else. the jellyfish is still growing just very slow about 1.4 inch in diameter a day. right now it is about 3 inches across. is this normal to not get a film or to have just a jelly fish. i tasted it today and it tastes just fine so i know it hasn't gone bad but not growing fast. i have read it can take about 3 weeks. so i am just wanting know if i need to wait that long or something i can do to quicken the growth of the jelly fish. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 i tasted because it is just a jellyfish sitting there no other developments so wanted to see if was correct or gone bad. it has never had a film on it and i have read you can shake it once a day other say no. so everyone has a different response. but i didn't mess up what was started if there was a film them i wouldn't have touched it but just a single jellyfish in the middle is why i tasted it . yeah maybe not best idea but was tasting ok just not a scoby forming. i will keep in mind that not to do anything to it and let it grow from now on. > > You tasted it, I bet that means you disturbed your forming scoby so it looks like a jelly fish. It's my understanding that every time the scoby is disturbed it stops and restarts. So sounds like you do have a scoby, even the pretty ones are ugly lol. If *I* was going to try to create a scoby from a bottle: > > 1. Boil 2 cups of water for 10 minutes > 2. After 10 minutes, turn off heat put in 2 tea bags for 5 minutes > 3. After 5 minutes remove tea bags > 4. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar, stir till all sugar is dissolved > 5. Let pan sit til it's room temperature. > 6. Pour room temperature sweetened tea into glass bowl. > 7. Add the starter fluid into bowl with the sweetened tea > 8. Criss cross tape over bowl (so cloth doesn't sag into liquid) > 9. cover bowl with muslin or clean Tshirt > 10. use rubberband to hold cloth in place over bowl. > 11. find a warm spot (not greater than 84F) for bowl that has consistent temperature, no drafts or direct sunlight. > 12. leave it alone for at least 30 days, you can look at it but don't pick at it, jostle it, poke it, tease it and definitely don't taste it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 Ugly scobys work fine lol BUT if your whole purpose is to CREATE a scoby from scratch just from liquid KT then I personally would want a traditional scoby and not something that confused me about what it was. If you hadn't disturbed it, I'm thinking it would have created a traditional scoby. I'm assuming your jellyfish is the scoby but . . . The shaking once a day is to discourage a scoby from forming or at least matting in a big chunk. I ate a filmy baby one that had formed in my bottle the other day and it tasted like a lemon gel. > > > > You tasted it, I bet that means you disturbed your forming scoby so it looks like a jelly fish. It's my understanding that every time the scoby is disturbed it stops and restarts. So sounds like you do have a scoby, even the pretty ones are ugly lol. If *I* was going to try to create a scoby from a bottle: > > > > 1. Boil 2 cups of water for 10 minutes > > 2. After 10 minutes, turn off heat put in 2 tea bags for 5 minutes > > 3. After 5 minutes remove tea bags > > 4. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar, stir till all sugar is dissolved > > 5. Let pan sit til it's room temperature. > > 6. Pour room temperature sweetened tea into glass bowl. > > 7. Add the starter fluid into bowl with the sweetened tea > > 8. Criss cross tape over bowl (so cloth doesn't sag into liquid) > > 9. cover bowl with muslin or clean Tshirt > > 10. use rubberband to hold cloth in place over bowl. > > 11. find a warm spot (not greater than 84F) for bowl that has consistent temperature, no drafts or direct sunlight. > > 12. leave it alone for at least 30 days, you can look at it but don't pick at it, jostle it, poke it, tease it and definitely don't taste it lol. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 thank you for the answer cindy. it is growing great today it seems to have taken off and doubled in size now there is starting to get a skin as well. the jelly fish appears to be the scoby it looks like others pictures. so i think i will just wait and see for a few weeks. i will continue to let it grow for about 3 weeks and let it takes its turn to grow correctly. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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