SCOBYs, Mould, and how to tell if my booch is healthy

Kombucha is one of the easiest ferments to master. Believe me when I tell you, anyone with any confidence level, can easily master kombucha brewing within a few tries. 

SCOBYs are hardy, difficult to kill and incredibly determined to grow. There are a few basic rules to live by when making kombucha but even if you make a few mistakes while brewing, your SCOBY is likely to pick up the slack and keep on keepin' on.

With that being said, SCOBYs are funky to look at and can be very deceiving to first-time brewers. SCOBYs will quite easily trick you into thinking your batch is mouldy and question yourself...but don't fret!  This is likely just the yeast & bacteria mingling - creating the classic SCOBY disguise.

What to expect from your brew

Fermenting is a process that continuously changes and evolves. When you start a new batch of kombucha, the SCOBY will begin to form a new layer of SCOBY across the top of your batch. This new growth, we call a 'baby SCOBY' usually starts out mostly transparent with whiter and darker areas dispersed throughout.

The lighter and darker areas are caused by yeast that has connected and collected within the layers of the SCOBY. It can turn the surface lumpy and look blue, black, green and cause a bubbly surface - but it’s all very normal. SCOBYs can be strange and are a bit weird to look at, but that's just the way they are.

The blobby bits, bumps and bubbles are all signs that your brew is happily fermenting along! :) 

The following photos all show HEALTHY kombucha batches. 

What causes kombucha to actually mould (what you don't want)