Baby Scobies.......
Baby Scobies grow on the top of your brew or as a new layer on top of your scoby. This will happen every time you brew (can take up to 14 days before its thick enough to see).
When your scoby grows as a new layer it can be a bit worrying at first as it just looks like a funny looking layer of slime/white is growing on the top of your brew. This is normal and good.
If your scoby grows as a new layer on top of your mother then your mother will just get bigger and bigger, you might find it helpful to remove the dark layers from underneath the scoby to prevent your scoby from taking up too much room in your brew,
If your scoby grows as a new layer on top of your brew:
- Leave the baby scoby where it is until you are ready to bottle your brew
- Gently lift the baby scoby out of the brew and place it in a container with the mother while you bottle your brew and prepare your next brew.
- when you are ready to put your scobies back in your brew place the mother scoby in your brew first then the baby scoby back on the top.
- You will need to keep mother and baby scoby together until the baby is about the same size as the mother. You cant really do any harm leaving the baby with the mother for too long but you can remove if too soon and try to brew with it.
When brewing with a baby scoby for the first time.
Make sure that you start off with small brews you can slowly and gradually increase the volume that you brew with as your baby grows but for the first few brews don't try and brew too much as this can leave your brew vunerable to mould. The ratio of tea/sugar and scoby is vital to prevent invasion by other pathogens and mould forming so remember to brew small batches at first.
If you spot mould forming on a scoby, THROW IT OUT along with the kombucha it had brewed and sterilize all equipment you used.