Re: A Word About Mold

[Guest guest]

Thank you Hanna.

In retrospect the " too cold " may have been a factor.

I live in Michigan and my basement stays at around 65.

Guess I'll move my operation to the kitchen (:

" The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. "

Plato

I have noticed that many people who actually get mold (as opposed to the

mistaken " mold " by many new brewers) have one of 3 things in common:

1. They have started with a*SCOBY that came from the fridge*.

- Kombucha SCOBYs never need to be in the fridge, and in fact as I think

Margaret said, the cold temps reduce the ability of the SCOBY to protect

itself, something it is very good at doing if given the chance. Never

put SCOBYs in the fridge, just set them in a dark cupboard in a SCOBY

Hotel and they will last essentially forever (keep them covered in

liquid). Not only that, cultures that have been in the fridge, even if

they brew without mold, often require multiple brewing cycles to " wake

up " completely, which means flat or even bad tasting batches wasted

trying to " re-awaken " the culture.

2. They have started with a *DEHYDRATED SCOBY*.

- While there are reputable companies that sell dehydrated cultures of

all types, my experience has been that when people write me asking for

help with mold they got from a Kombucha starter they bought, it almost

always turns out to be a dehydrated one. To me it makes sense: while you

can preserve things by dehydrating them, we know it robs much of the

nutritional value of the food (think fruit leather or powdered

potatoes). So starting with a dehydrated SCOBY only stands to offer more

potential risk for an unhealthy brew. Water is the basis of life. Why

start with an inferior culture?

3. The brewing environment is *TOO COLD*.

- Not as much a problem this time of year, but if the SCOBY was neither

refrigerated or dehydrated, this is often the culprit. 72 degrees F is

the minimum. If you're not sure what the temp of your brew is, get a

fishtank thermometer from the pet store, they're cheap and work great.

72-85 degrees equals success.

The Kombucha Culture is extremely hearty and it is rare that it cannot

recover from difficult circumstances. However, *NEVER ATTEMPT TO SALVAGE

A MOLDY CULTURE*. The spores are much to small to see and nearly

impossible to wash of completely. It is not worth the risk to your

health. Get a new one and don't give up!

Happy Brewing!

Hannah Crum

The Kombucha Mamma