Guest guest Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be patient, it will come up again. I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know if this looks normal. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 , Maybe it is the yeast. When I got my scoby from the HH it had a patch of it and I left it. I kind of was sorry I did just because it grossed me out. LOL If it's the yeast though, it's totally safe. jan <tracydianeschu@...> wrote: We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be patient, it will come up again. I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know if this looks normal. Thanks, http://www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps-english.html --------------------------------- Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 , Maybe it is the yeast. When I got my scoby from the HH it had a patch of it and I left it. I kind of was sorry I did just because it grossed me out. LOL If it's the yeast though, it's totally safe. jan <tracydianeschu@...> wrote: We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be patient, it will come up again. I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know if this looks normal. Thanks, http://www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps-english.html --------------------------------- Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 In message <fc7gdj+lj3ueGroups> you wrote: > We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch > of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot > growing, it kinda looked scary. Hi , I just had a close look at your pics - very good! I can soothe your fears: Everything in your brew is completely normal. It's just a very often occurring brown spot made up out of yeasty and tea bits. These spots very often happen in places where there is vigorous bubble activity. You may see the occasional hole in the middle of such brown spots through which bubbles/fermentation gases will escape from the brew. So, the grossness does not lie in the brew, but in the mind of the beholder ;-) > We brewed for 22 days and then bottled > it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about > the possibility of contamination. You can lay aside the fear of contamination. At the VERY rare occasion when one happens (and I have not had one in over 20 years of brewing!) you would immediately know because the brew tastes and smell horrid - and even such brews aren't normally poisonous, but suffer from an imbalance in the yeast/bacteria balance.. Mold is of course always a reason to discard all the brew because some of the aspergilli can be poisonous/carcinogenic. Again, provided you add good acidity to your brew initially, mold is extremely rare and will present so you can deal with it. > Has anybody read the article > Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the > brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I have read his paranoid article, yes, and there are many things that I disagree with. 1) He is writing on a fungi/mushroom site and keeps associating the Kombucha culture with 'mushroom'. This is erroneous. Biologically, Kombucha is NOT a fungus, but a symbiotic culture of yeasts and bacteria. 2) I am not a 'New Ager', but I would recommend Kombucha without the slightest hesitation because it is a superfood and has (in many cases) amazing healing powers. mentions quite a few of the beneficial effects of Kombucha himself, but remains himself sceptical of Kombucha and seems not to have consistently tried KT. He is a sad case of trusting the negative rather than the positive, prejudice rather than proper research (of which there is a considerable amount about Kombucha and Kefir, especially in Russia and Germany). He says that 'he does not see any advantage of taking Kombucha by people in good health', and then puts Kombucha on par with antibiotics - what rubbish! As a pro-biotic Kombucha undergirds the body's own systems while anti-biotics kill all bacteria indiscriminately - that's why many get stomach upsets and tummy problems. Kombucha and Kefir build the body's immune system up and strengthen it to withstand the bugs that afflict us all around ..... Most importantly, it is NOT a drug, but a wholesome food, which treated carefully like other food in your fridge and larder - using basic hygienic precautions - should serve you well. Let common sense prevail! Enjoy brewing and drinking Kombucha and be glad that you are not Tamnet hyperventilating in dread and fear ;-) Greetings most kombuchaly, Margret:-) UK -- +------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+ <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ Not liking someone is no excuse for not loving them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Hi , Looked at your photo album but couldn't tell from the photos whether or not that brown spot was fuzzy.....if it was fuzzy like mold on bread or fruit, it may be a problem and you should start again with all fresh ingredients. However, if it is not fuzzy, it may just be tea stains or yeast particles....which are natural to Kombucha and are not a problem. Peace, Love and Harmony, Bev MANNA INTERNATIONAL Kombucha Manna Drops Manna Green and White Tea Extract FREE: KMI Newsletters Kombucha Center and FAQ Original Kombucha Mailing List http://users.bestweb.net/~om/MI > > We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch > of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot > growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled > it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about > the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article > Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the > brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am > attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: > www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html > The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be > patient, it will come up again. > I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know > if this looks normal. > Thanks, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Hi , Awhile ago when I tried to view your pics I couldn't find them, I check the home page to find pics with ease. Anyway, I just checked again and they were listed. What I am wondering is what are you covering your jar with? It looks like a plastic bowl. Your jar needs a covering that is secure (keeping out fruit flies, etc), but that allows the KT to breathe, such as T- shirt cut down or a tightly woven towel. jan > > We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch > of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot > growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled > it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about > the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article > Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the > brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am > attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: > www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html > The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be > patient, it will come up again. > I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know > if this looks normal. > Thanks, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Hi , Awhile ago when I tried to view your pics I couldn't find them, I check the home page to find pics with ease. Anyway, I just checked again and they were listed. What I am wondering is what are you covering your jar with? It looks like a plastic bowl. Your jar needs a covering that is secure (keeping out fruit flies, etc), but that allows the KT to breathe, such as T- shirt cut down or a tightly woven towel. jan > > We were given a scoby almost 3 weeks ago and started our first batch > of kombucha tea. After a few days we noticed a gross brown spot > growing, it kinda looked scary. We brewed for 22 days and then bottled > it up. I tasted it and it tastes good, but we just aren't sure about > the possibility of contamination. Has anybody read the article > Stamets wrote on Kombucha? He warns against the possibility of the > brew becoming contaminated and making healthy people sick. I am > attaching the link, let me know what everyone thinks: > www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html > The fungi.com site might be under construction right now, but be > patient, it will come up again. > I have also created an album with pics of our first brew, let me know > if this looks normal. > Thanks, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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