The Happy Kombucha blog

Is this Mold or a yeast chain? Happy Kombucha
Is it mould or yeast? A photo guide to healthy and mouldy SCOBYs
Kombucha isn’t the prettiest of brews. SCOBYs split, sink, grow lumpy layers and sprout brown strings, and “is this mould?” is the question we get asked most. So we’ve put... Read more...
Milk kefir- Some FAQ Happy Kombucha
Milk kefir- Some FAQ
  How much kefir should you drink a day? It’s recommended you drink about one cup of kefir a day, which is around 200-250ml. When you first start its a... Read more...
Flavouring water kefir-happykombucha
Why does water kefir/kombucha/ginger beer explode and how can i stop it?
Fermented drinks such as water kefir and kombucha and ginger beer are fun and very easy to make and drink. The bacteria and yeast in the cultures converts the sugars... Read more...
Myths about Milk kefir-Happykombucha
Lets de-bunk some kefir myths
Let's de-bunk some kefir myths. There are some very dubious myths that seem to have built up around kefir online, here we explore them to see if they are fact... Read more...
how do i know when my milk kefir is ready to bottle?
How do i know when my milk kefir is ready?..... When your Kefir looks like this basically. You should have little currents of clear liquid pooling round your grains in the curds. When your kefir looks like this, bottle it.   Read more...
Frequently Asked Questions-Part 1-
Question: I have had my new grains for a couple of days now, i have just come to check on them after 36 hours and nothing seems to have changed, help? Have i done something wrong? Answer: What you have described is normal for new grains as they need to settle into their new environment. Kefir grains are very sensitive to temperature and other atmospheric conditions and therefore it takes them a little while to re-adjust to their new surroundings (this is because they are live and natural). The grains... Read more...
How can I tell if my water kefir grains are working?
When you first receive your grains it can be difficult to tell when your water kefir is ready and if anything has happened Color: The liquid will change color over the 48-hour culturing process. For example, if using white sugar, the plain sugar water will be yellow but finished water kefir will be a more opal color and less translucent. If using a whole sugar containing molasses (e.g., rapadura, Sucanat, etc.), the liquid will change to a different shade of brown (typically a lighter shade of brown). Taste: After the... Read more...
Yeast chain-Happykombucha
Pictures of Scobies/Troubleshooting
These are pictures of all the normal things that can happen when brewing with a scoby...some look a little funny but really its all normal... I have included these pictures... Read more...
How to get more fizz in your Kombucha. Happy Kombucha
How to get more fizz in your Kombucha.
  It is not unusual for the first couple of batches to not be very fizzy, this is due to the scoby settling in. If after a few batches you... Read more...