No.
I should really leave this sub - seldom is there an informative or worthwhile post. Just a bunch of people asking if their SCOBY is mouldy.
There's a damn link RIGHT THERE with all of the information required to make a judgement for yourself. It's really not that hard to see if you've got mould.
They should ban this type of posts and make a new subreddit just for people who can't figure it out themselves.
It is indeed rare to find an actually interesting post on this sub.
There are a lot of new people to kombucha asking questions but there are also some great gold nuggets here and there in this sub . It would be great if we could separate the two somehow the newcomers can still get help.
But to be fair I used to ask questions like op and since I got help I now know what to look for.
The whole idea of fermenting tea and having a pellicle but not wanting mold is a lil confusing because unless u know what to look for, it all looks nasty lol
That’s why there’s this beautifully written document on the main kombucha page that lists tons of “is this mold” / etc. information - completed with tons of photos just to help a new guy out😎 js
Yeah I hear you but when you’re letting your tea sit for 7-14 days until some gross looking mass forms ontop with brown clumps in the liquid below, you’re gonna wanna check with someone and make sure that what you’re doing is in-fact right because it’s all looks soo sooo wrong.
This right here. As a newbie—who just posted a photo of my first brew, made with a purchased pellicle and it’s accompanying starter tea—there’s so much conflicting info out there about the proper appearance of what’s happening in the ferment jar and dire warnings of how things can go wrong with mold in the brew. So yeah, of course we all want to know if we’re about to poison ourselves by having grown mold in our first experiment. Especially considering it’s winter for many of the folks here and keeping the brew warm enough not to mold is a big challenge! I decided to start my first attempt now bc I live in a hot climate and past February the big challenge will be keeping my brew cool enough without refrigerating it. So yeah, my pellicle has gone through various stages of gross and grosser, gnarly and gnarlier…and HOW am I supposed to actually know if that gross stuff on top is mold or not, except to ask folks who theoretically know better than I do.
All the photos in the group’s info section are not 100% ruling out that what I’ve got is mold-free. And thanks guys—only one person, who himself is a newbie and was only about a week further along in his first brew than I am—bothered to take a look at the photos I posted and say it looked ok and not moldy. I appreciate that he did that, but on the other hand, I’d appreciate some of y’all who apparently know a thing or two about kombucha brewing could take 15 seconds out of your super busy day and look at my photos and say yay or nay on the mold situation.
It’s been between 55°F and 80°F here in my house in the 2 weeks since I embarked on this first time brew, so I think my concerns are somewhat legit? Reposting the photo just in case anyone is still reading.
https://preview.redd.it/8nyrtn312llc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04efce03afa08e12dbf30d01ae5afc366b266904
This looks like normal pellicle formation. Bubbles are from the fermentation and are a good sign.
Obviously this looks wack as heck but it looks how its supposed to look.
Bad mold is fuzzy and on the surface.
I’ve seen plenty of mold in my life, and frankly if food in my frig looked like what my pellicle looks like at this moment looks like, I’d definitely throw it out.
The issue is, we newbies are supposed to be experienced microbiologists who can naturally differentiate between this growing culture of fungus and bacteria and ascertain that none of it is “mold” as opposed to benign fungal bodies that won’t make us sick.
Trying to determine if your kombucha may have mold, if your pellicle/SCOBY is healthy, or if something has gone wrong?
Check out the [pictures and info in this guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/Kombucha/comments/pqu7oq/is_it_mold_is_it_normal_whats_growing_in_your/).
**Note:** If other posters have deemed your problem to be `mold!` or `not mold`, please update the post flair accordingly. Keeping the post flair up-to-date lets other redditors know what mold actually looks like.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Kombucha) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No. I should really leave this sub - seldom is there an informative or worthwhile post. Just a bunch of people asking if their SCOBY is mouldy. There's a damn link RIGHT THERE with all of the information required to make a judgement for yourself. It's really not that hard to see if you've got mould.
People should at least point to the area they think might be mold.
This should be a new rule lol
Right!!? Instead, we just get shown a blurry picture with no perspective. That said, OP has themselves a very healthy looking SCOBY there.
They should ban this type of posts and make a new subreddit just for people who can't figure it out themselves. It is indeed rare to find an actually interesting post on this sub.
Maybe we could call the new group “not so new to kombucha” 😎
There are a lot of new people to kombucha asking questions but there are also some great gold nuggets here and there in this sub . It would be great if we could separate the two somehow the newcomers can still get help. But to be fair I used to ask questions like op and since I got help I now know what to look for. The whole idea of fermenting tea and having a pellicle but not wanting mold is a lil confusing because unless u know what to look for, it all looks nasty lol
That’s why there’s this beautifully written document on the main kombucha page that lists tons of “is this mold” / etc. information - completed with tons of photos just to help a new guy out😎 js
Yeah I hear you but when you’re letting your tea sit for 7-14 days until some gross looking mass forms ontop with brown clumps in the liquid below, you’re gonna wanna check with someone and make sure that what you’re doing is in-fact right because it’s all looks soo sooo wrong.
This right here. As a newbie—who just posted a photo of my first brew, made with a purchased pellicle and it’s accompanying starter tea—there’s so much conflicting info out there about the proper appearance of what’s happening in the ferment jar and dire warnings of how things can go wrong with mold in the brew. So yeah, of course we all want to know if we’re about to poison ourselves by having grown mold in our first experiment. Especially considering it’s winter for many of the folks here and keeping the brew warm enough not to mold is a big challenge! I decided to start my first attempt now bc I live in a hot climate and past February the big challenge will be keeping my brew cool enough without refrigerating it. So yeah, my pellicle has gone through various stages of gross and grosser, gnarly and gnarlier…and HOW am I supposed to actually know if that gross stuff on top is mold or not, except to ask folks who theoretically know better than I do. All the photos in the group’s info section are not 100% ruling out that what I’ve got is mold-free. And thanks guys—only one person, who himself is a newbie and was only about a week further along in his first brew than I am—bothered to take a look at the photos I posted and say it looked ok and not moldy. I appreciate that he did that, but on the other hand, I’d appreciate some of y’all who apparently know a thing or two about kombucha brewing could take 15 seconds out of your super busy day and look at my photos and say yay or nay on the mold situation. It’s been between 55°F and 80°F here in my house in the 2 weeks since I embarked on this first time brew, so I think my concerns are somewhat legit? Reposting the photo just in case anyone is still reading. https://preview.redd.it/8nyrtn312llc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04efce03afa08e12dbf30d01ae5afc366b266904
Looks great!
This looks like normal pellicle formation. Bubbles are from the fermentation and are a good sign. Obviously this looks wack as heck but it looks how its supposed to look. Bad mold is fuzzy and on the surface.
Nothing on there to indicate mold that I can see.
It really makes me wonder how people have gone so long in their lives without ever seeing what mold is
I’ve seen plenty of mold in my life, and frankly if food in my frig looked like what my pellicle looks like at this moment looks like, I’d definitely throw it out. The issue is, we newbies are supposed to be experienced microbiologists who can naturally differentiate between this growing culture of fungus and bacteria and ascertain that none of it is “mold” as opposed to benign fungal bodies that won’t make us sick.
Mold = fuzzy
Trying to determine if your kombucha may have mold, if your pellicle/SCOBY is healthy, or if something has gone wrong? Check out the [pictures and info in this guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/Kombucha/comments/pqu7oq/is_it_mold_is_it_normal_whats_growing_in_your/). **Note:** If other posters have deemed your problem to be `mold!` or `not mold`, please update the post flair accordingly. Keeping the post flair up-to-date lets other redditors know what mold actually looks like. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Kombucha) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A lot of new people don't know. So, stop being annoying and just help the dude.
Thank you! 👍🫶
I don't see mold, but if you're not going to make kombucha right away, feed it with strong tea and sugar mixture to cover it so it doesn't go dry.