3a. newbie question

[Guest guest]

May be OK as others have said.

As long as the vinegar was pasteurized and not live.

Otherwise you may end up with MOV - mother of vinegar. One

difference between MOV and KT is that MOV will always sink

and not float on the top, as its density is heavier. While

KT may be floating, sideways, on the bottom or moving

around. That is the reason why (IMO) many KT authors say

your kombucha is dead and to throw out your kombucha if it

sinks.

The addition of vinegar is for the acidic value (pH) value

to protect the young kombucha from pathogens. It does not

add the SCOBY.

What is true for all ferments and more so because KT is

fermented with oxygen and exposed to the air we live in is

there always is a degree of risk of contamination from wild

yeasts and bacteria. The pathogens will show as common mold

that we are familiar with - Green, Black, Blue most common

and always fuzzy. First visible as small dots then spreading

out in concentric circles. They will always be on top of the

surface or on the sides of the container. Other more

friendly (and healthy) bacteria and yeasts may take up

residence and overtake the symbiosis of what we know to be

our kombucha. Or they may whack our KT out of balance and

produce something undrinkable to most.

see pictures of mold online as well as how the mushroom

forms overtime

http://www.happyherbalist.com/pictures.htm

Enjoy Your Health,

Ed Kasper L.Ac.

California Licensed Acupuncturist & Herbalist

www.HappyHerbalist.com eddy@...

........original message ...................

3a. newbie question

Posted by: " faithgrowing " faithgrowing@...

faithgrowing

Date: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:55 pm (PDT)

greetings!am new to brewing and drinking but thankfully

happened upon

this group.

received a scoby last week via the internet and thought i

was to stir

as long as it was sinking.

after further research, stopped stirring on day 5 and am now

on day

six.

my only activity is a thin short creamy line with a small

circular

spread of film going outward along the watermark wall of the

jar and

some " tendrils " formed on the bottom of my submerged scoby

that have

come up to the surfaced and another little piece of

separated creamy

tendrils at the top in another area-total of three different

things

going on in three different areas.

also figured out during my research that i did not receive

enough

starter tea to make up a 10th of a gallon and then over

dosed my scoby

with organic distilled vinegar on the same day i stopped

stirring.

smells like vinegar, looks like cloudy tea, seeing lots of

bubbles yet

wondering if that line and small spread of film is mold.

should i sit tight and wait this out or is it time to panic

and do

something else?

thanks! ><{{}} " >