KOMBUCHA/JUN TROUBLESHOOTING - PART 2

[@coryserratore5951]

I'm in Canada so it's great to hear about Jun, Kendra! In the meantime, it's late April and the weather is starting to turn the corner as I'm just starting my kombucha journey, and it sounds like the timing is perfect for me to work out the kinks in my kombucha game over the warm summer season. By fall, I'll be ready to move to Jun with confidence for the cool season.

[@crazykenz4203]

Yes, that sounds like great timing for your brewing. We use air conditioning in the summer, so I was never able to get a good batch of kombucha going once we moved to Wisconsin (no AC when we lived in California, which was amazing for kombucha). One thing you will notice when you switch to jun is that it brews very quickly - much quicker than kombucha! Happy brewing! Let me know if you have any questions!

[@chantalwright5248]

Hi Cory, I'm in Canada as well and since I don't use our oven I keep my kombucha in the over with just the light bulb on. It works very nicely.

[@davidblank9043]

We are using hot water bottles changing them out often to keep these little premises toasty warm.

[@crazykenz4203]

That sounds like quite the spa treatment, like a nice little kombucha sauna!

[@paisleyplaid4074]

So informative!!!! Love it Kendra!

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks, Jeannie! How is your brewing these days?!

[@paisleyplaid4074]

Kendra - I took a break thru the winter and will start again in Spring. My husband and I both loved the Jun...tastes like a light champagne (just as you said 🙂). Can't wait!

[@crazykenz4203]

Mmmmm jun in summer on a hot day - so good! And think of all of the amazing fresh fruits you can flavor with!

[@pamelabratton2501]

I have a four~ 5 year old continuous brew going. Never had a problem. North TX. Going to try Jun! We have bees and I just found Yaupon Holly (Only native tree with caffeine that grows in the US) on the property and want to experiment! PS: Chickens AND compost both love the extra scoby!

[@crazykenz4203]

Ooooh I wonder how the yaupon will work with kombucha/jun. I have a couple boxes of yaupon tea - don't drink it too often, but think it's really cool! Def give jun a try - it's soooo tasty and I find that a lot of kombucha has too harsh of a flavor now. Plus if you have bees, why not?! I used to give my excess scoby to friends with chickens - most of them said the chickens loved it, but there was one friend who said her chickens were kind of divas and didn't like it, haha. Happy brewing!

[@beachbum8751]

Hi again Kendra, just note on fizz. I always think it's funny that people are so confused by it as it's really not that complicated. Think about what produces fizz (carbonation). It is yeast consuming sugar and producing gas in the processing of the sugar for it's energy. When my little step daughter asks where the bubbles continue to come from in the s-bubble airlock on my ginger beer I tell her their are millions of tiny bugs in there eating sugar and it makes them fart. She thinks it's hilariously funny. I tell her that is where the bubbles come from in my homemade sourdough as well. So if you leave kombucha long ferment, there will be less sugar carried over into your second ferment and thus less fizz will be produced. If you shorten the primary ferment time that means more sugar is left for the second in bottle ferment and there will be more fizz. As you well know, ferment times also effect flavor. Sweeter kombucha at bottling will be more fizzy after second ferment So the reason why your Jun is more fizzy is simply due to your shorter primary fermentation time. There is more sugar left to be consumed and produce gas in the second ferment. It's not like Jun yeast and bacteria are more voracious eaters. But the Jun may still be healthier as the glycemic index of honey is lower than plain sugar. But if you want lower calories, then a longer primary ferment is better as more sugar ends up in your SCOBY. So you can't get the best of both worlds, high fizz and lower calories, The biology and chemistry just doesn't work that way. The sugar content of what you add will also have an effect. Things with higher sugar content will create more secondary fermentation. However, too much sugar will also shut down fermentation. So if you put a little fruit juice in one bottle and get fizz and then double it expecting to get more fizz, you may shut down fermentation by having too much sugar there resulting in no fizz from the higher dose. For beer brewers, they primary brew until it almost goes flat, then they precisely prime with sugar in the second in bottle fermentation to produce the desired level of fizz.

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Wow that is very helpful. My brain can understand much better. And that will help me to apply much better methods

[@gabybop]

The infusion method helps a lot with keeping the flavors per bottle consistent.

[@crazykenz4203]

For sure, excellent point!

[@juliebarquin5670]

If I don’t have the flip top jars can I use ball jars in the fridge?

[@crazykenz4203]

Definitely, just make sure to put the lid on fairly tight so the carbonation remains!

[@AGREENERLIFE]

Thanks Kendra! Awesome, and informative video, as usual!

[@crazykenz4203]

Thank you!

[@dougc3086]

Tip: Never clean your hotel when you clean everything else; clean either one or the other, in case one dies you have a backup.

[@crazykenz4203]

Awesome tip!

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Question does the caffeine remain just as strong after it ferments?

[@crazykenz4203]

I believe that the level of caffeine reduces as it ferments. Just googled it and saw that Kombucha Kamp says that kombucha will have about 1/3 of the caffeine as the original tea that was used. So yup, looks like it is less once it has fermented.

[@xavierveys3790]

Thanks for the video! One question from me: for how long can I keep my second fermented kombucha in the fridge? Does it go bad, or does it keep very well for a long time if kept unopened?

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Xavier, thanks for watching! Ok, so I wouldn't worry about the kombucha going bad, but the flavor will change as it sits in the fridge. It also will continue to slowly get more and more carbonated. I like to have my brews consumed in about two months (preferably one month). I've definitely had some kombucha or jun explosions after trying to open a bottle that was a couple months old. I also just recently opened a bottle of plain jun that was probably three months old - it tasted a lot like a really dry cider, actually! I've never had a bottle in the fridge turn to vinegar, but that could also happen. And if carbonation gets too high, the bottles could explode if left in the fridge for too long.

[@maureenperez9999]

I've been frustrated with the past six months of Jun making. I had no problems with carbonation the first year and a half I made it. Perfect every time. We like it fizzy so 2nd ferment is where my problem seems to be. My scobies are pink and healthy but I get a ton of yeast in my 1st brew. I also live in California and it does get hot but even then I had no problem with carbonation. To combat the yeast...about a year ago I started straining the 1st ferment thru cheesecloth. I use about 1.5 cups of honey for a one gallon of water. I steep the tea. Wait for it to cool...and add the gunpowder green tea which I have always used and about 3 months ago nothing I tried would result in 2nd ferment carbonation. I didn't think the scobies are the problem but I am beginning to wonder if I have to start over with a new scoby from a vendor. But... my scobies look great so I don't understand the yeast stuff throughout the fermenting vessels. I have six failed batches in the past 2 months which has never happened before. I am pouring them down the sink because yeast is all over the bottom of the growler and it is too sweet. I add 1-2 TB sugar in each bottle...depending on how warm it is plus about a 1/4 cup of white grape juice which worked perfectly until a couple of months ago. I test the fermenting vessels with PH strips to insure it is fermented at 3.0-3.5. WHAT ELSE CAN I POSSIBLY DO TO FIX THIS? WE NEED OUR JUN FOR GUT HEALTH. My husband is a diabetic and cannot drink the sweet uncarbonated 2nd ferment. I've let them sit for up to 10 days and still no fizz. Honestly... there are millions of people and information on the internet...and I cannot find one phone number I can call for help, can't find one blog that addresses the problems I am having with any new information I haven't already watched and tried. This absolutely sucks!!!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Maureen! So sorry to hear about all of your troubles with jun. Hopefully I can help! First, where did you get your scoby from and was it a proper jun scoby (or a converted kombucha scoby)? Also, have you ever cleaned your brewing vessel? It sounds like there is an imbalance of yeast and that could be causing problems. I suggest cleaning your brewing vessel every 4 to 6 months (I aim for every four months, but then get lazy and end up doing it more like every 6 months :D ). I have a video about how to clean the vessel, but basically you just remove a finished batch and do your thing with that, then put the scoby and some starter liquid in a container, then really wash out the vessel well. Then restart a new brew with the scoby and liquid you saved. I'd also suggest removing layers of scoby once it starts to get thick and take up too much space. What temperature are you brewing at? I keep my apartment around 72 degrees and I can usually have about 2 gallons ready for flavoring in four or five days. I'm wondering if your room temp may be too hot and it's causing things to ferment too quickly, thus turning your jun into vinegar. How long are you generally brewing each batch for? If I hear that something isn't fizzy, I immediately think it's being overbrewed and turning straight into vinegar (and good luck trying to get fizz into that!). If you want, you could always contact Kombucha Kamp - they wrote The Big Book of Kombucha and are very knowledgable about jun, too (I got my original jun scoby from them). I hope some of this helps!!! Keep me posted!

[@maureenperez9999]

@@crazykenz4203 Hi Kendra. Thank you so much for your response. I didn't expect one since the video you put out about the troubleshooting was from a couple years ago. I went ahead and threw out all my scobies in their hotels and my current two gallons of 1st-ferment and scobies after I posted that question today. I had 3 -4 inches of yeast at the bottom of each gallon vessel but my scobies look healthy and mold-free. I ordered 2 gallon size lab-grown scobies from Fermentaholics which come tomorrow and I will be starting over...dangit. KombuchaKamp and other sites like them were useless for Jun troubleshooting. It's all Kombucha/Kombucha...REPEAT... so I was on my own. I will go back to the ice bag method this upcoming spring/summer so I hopefully will be able to make Jun and not lose the new scobies I just purchased. I've been dealing with excessive yeast overgrowth in 1st Ferment for almost 1 year so...perhaps it is best that I start from scratch again. I thought that straining the 1st ferment thru a cheesecloth would remove the yeast...but I suspect the yeast is inside and outside the scobies so all I was doing was using yeasty Jun for bottling...perpetuating the problem with yeast in following batches. I bought the original exclusive Jun Scoby from Fermentaholics...I believe. I had ZERO issues with carbonation for almost two years until last spring/summer 4 months ago. I 1st ferment for 5 nights and the temps in my home ranged during that time from 78-90 degrees. I know Jun prefers cooler temps...so 2 summers ago I started using ice bags in the cabinet where it ferments. I never got to do that this past summer...because all the batches failed no matter the temperatures and I have thrown out probably 36 bottles of flat Jun in the past 3 months. What a shame. Since the PH strips always showed 3.0-3.5 ph I thought it should be fine...even with the excessive yeast...but I was wrong. Right now...our temps are high but soon will become lower again...in the Bay Area of California where I live. I apologize for this painfully long email...but I wanted to address your questions. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond back to me. I will let you know how it goes come spring/summer. Have a great rest of 2020 in spite of Covid...ugh.

[@crazykenz4203]

Wow, 3 to 4 inches of yeast - that sounds crazy and I think that's definitely part of the problem!!! Are you cleaning your vessel every few months? Also, make sure you stir up your brew before taking it off for flavoring. If you don't stir it and just take it from the top (if you aren't using a spigot like I use in my videos), then the spent yeast will stay at the bottom. I absolutely feel your pain. Throwing away a batch of kombucha is not a big deal cuz the ingredients are cheap. But throwing away a batch of jun kills me every time because honey is expensive and it took all those bees so much energy to produce! Good to know about Kombucha Kamp not being helpful regarding jun. That's so strange because they do sell jun scobys, so why wouldn't they give good customer service for that? Weird (but thanks for telling me that!). I definitely think the high temperatures could also be affecting your jun and causing it to just brew way too fast. If the temps are still really high, I'd recommend tasting it every day (maybe even twice a day). I have to be careful to not overbrew my jun here in Wisconsin and our apartment is always around 72. If I leave if for five days instead of four, I already am well on my way to vinegar (and so I either put it in gallons to continue to turn into vinegar or I'll just use it when I take a bath, haha yes I sometimes bathe in jun!). Also, just for reference, when I say four days for me, that's 2 gallons of jun (so if you are only doing a gallon, it could be really fast in those temps). So yeah, I think the main issues for you are related to an overabundance of yeast (could be from not stirring and also not cleaning out the vessel enough) and also temperature. I hope your new scobys work well for you and you are able to get back to brewing amazing jun! Where in the Bay Area are you?! We lived in Redwood City for a year and a half and Mountain View for a year. :D I really enjoyed my time out there, but yowza it was expensive and the traffic was crazy (although I will say that I'm glad I experienced that traffic because now I feel like I can handle any sort of traffic...and when I hear people in Wisconsin complain about traffic, I just have such a giggle).

[@maureenperez9999]

@@crazykenz4203 I'm about an hour from San Francisco with minimal traffic. I live in Antioch, which is about 20 mts past Concord. I am familiar with both cities . It is expensive here... but I'm more liberal and appreciate California's version of politics. I'm retired now...so commute no longer kills me. I strain the gallon jars thru cheesecloth and a large strainer into the bowl I use to fill the bottles, but I don't stir it when in the bowl. I will try that next time. I don't use a spigot or continuous brew system because CBS is expensive to purchase. One day when I have 300 dollars or more to spend...I will switch to that method. Less mess for sure. I just checked my first Jun ferment with new gallon size scobies in two ONE gallon bottles. The temps here have been in the low 70's for most of the 7 days (72 to 74) so I waited 7 nights to make sure they fermented in those cooler temps. Instructions said 5-7 days depending on temps. One Jar was clear and one inch yeasty again...and tasted "off"...(kind of like juice or wine in a bottle that sits at room temperature after opening for a couple of days) so I dumped that one into the sink but kept the scoby of course. The other one has new scoby growth and a more normal color(I add hibiscus flower 1 TB or 2 in my sweet tea for blood pressure and color/taste.) so I'm using 4 cups of that brew as starter liquid. This time I will use heat bands a few hours a day. When temps were at 78-80 my Jun used to ferment perfectly in 4-5 nights. Over 80 degrees results in yeast but below 78 tastes like crap when I taste test it...while the alkaline strips always show proper alkaline 3.0-3.5 regardless. I'm still miserable but trying this method with intermittent heat bands. I have the temp stickers on the jars so I see the temp in the cabinet I keep them in. I'll let you know how this works. If you have any other suggestions...I'm open...lol. Thank you again for your help. I appreciate you very much, Kendra.

[@maureenperez9999]

@@crazykenz4203 Are you counting 4 days or 4 nights? I also forgot to mention that I do sterilize my gallon jars every few months but keep a little of the swill in the bottom of the jar to jumpstart the next batch...unless it's yeasty and I dump it out.

[@francesparker9471]

Thanks for the info Kendra. I'm brewing my first jun this week. And my second kombucha batch thus week. I was wondering if mizspore tea from Bangladesh is the same as a black tea? I wasn't sure.

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Frances! I have never actually heard of mizspore tea, but when I just looked it up, it said that it is orange pekoe black tea. :D

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Is it true that should keep them separate ? And how far should they be from each other/? I am using 3 brewing vessels .But they are all on the same counter .I only have so much room And on the continues brew should I remove the scoby when I ass more tea?

[@crazykenz4203]

I would suggest keeping your jun away from kombucha. I understand not having tons of space for this type of thing. I keep my kombucha in one corner and it's probably about 5 or 6 feet away from the jun in another corner. I think if you have several vessels of kombucha, they can be next to each other (and jun containers can be kept together, too). I generally remove scobys once they seem to be taking over and if I'm running out of space for new sweet tea (I usually remove them like once a month or every six weeks, but I am usually brewing two gallons in a three gallon container, so I have a bit of extra space for a lot of scoby growth).

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Can I bottle with out a second ferment.

[@crazykenz4203]

Yup, absolutely. You do not need to do the flavoring stage. Once your brew is ready, just bottle it. I would still recommend leaving the bottles out at room temp to build up some carbonation, though. Once they seem like they have a good amount of bubbles, then put them into the fridge.

[@nancylee1473]

Are any bottles like theese available at Amazon?

[@crazykenz4203]

I just re-use GTs kombucha bottles! I figure that those bottles can definitely withstand the pressure of carbonation being built up (I was told to not use the cute flip top IKEA bottles because the glass isn't meant for carbonation and will explode). I have bought other bottles on Amazon - they were 32 oz amber glass bottles and they were beautiful, BUT the caps had this weird thing in them to give them a tighter seal, but when I washed the caps to re-use, water got stuck under the little air lock device...and when I tried to remove it, it always ended up breaking off...so no more tight air locks for me!

[@bethculver3625]

Have you ever experimented with Maple Syrup instead of honey?

[@crazykenz4203]

I haven't, but let me know if you play around with it!

[@coryserratore5951]

Sounds like a good experiment a Canuck like me to try! I wonder if there is a name for such a concoction? Maple syrup is even more expensive than honey, though, so I won't be going there often and certainly not until I'm feeling confident in my kombucha and Jun brewing.

[@michaellicitra7632]

Excellent!

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks, Michael!

[@laydi533]

Can you flavor kombucha with shrub?

[@crazykenz4203]

Hmmm, you know, I've never really thought about it! I know that I've read to not use apple cider vinegar in kombucha (sometimes you will read about people adding ACV to their main vessel of kombucha), but it can actually cause vinegar eels to form (so gross, I know). You could always try a glass of kombucha with a bit of shrub in it and see how it tastes. To me, I think shrub might already be a bit too tart to use with kombucha, but it can't hurt to try it! (But just use shrub in the flavoring stage - I wouldn't add it to the initial fermentation stage because of the risk of vinegar eels if you did use ACV in your shrub.)

[@laydi533]

Kendra Lee I'm sorry, what I meant to ask was can you use kombucha to make shrub, instead of acv.

[@crazykenz4203]

Yes you definitely can use kombucha instead of ACV, but I would let the kombucha continue to ferment for a couple months and let it turn into kombucha vinegar. I did a video about making shrub a few months ago and actually demonstrated making shrub with kombucha vinegar (I have so much kombucha always brewing that I inevitably end up with some over-fermented batches that I just let turn to vinegar). If you use kombucha vinegar, I use double the amount of that compared to what you would use for ACV. If I remember correctly, I use one cup of fruit, one cup of sugar, let that marinate together for 24 hours, then strain out the solids, then add in two cups of kombucha vinegar into that fruity syrup and voila, kombucha vinegar shrub!

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

Wow, you really got into this. :)

[@beachbum8751]

Hi Kendra, On heating pads, I assume you know you can get them with controllers to hold a specific temperature. I wrap the pads around my two gallon kombucha vessels and set them at 81. Also, on juicing, if you are trying to get maximum health benefits from the juices, I think it is best to still ferment in the bottle for a week before popping them in the fridge. There are some studies which suggest fermenting can increase bio availability and thus absorption. That's what I've been doing since I started brewing and what I believe cured my psoriasis using pineapple, ginger, and turmeric juice in the second ferment. Speaking of psoriasis, I'm in a couple FB and other support groups and have told them of my kombucha/jun elixir cure. When they ask how to make kombucha and jun, I tell them to find you on KZbin and watch your videos for basic instructions, but as I haven't seen your more recent videos, I told them you were big on infusing so after watching you, come back to me for my juice blend ratios. Hope that gets you more views. My new pineapple, pomegranate, ginger, galangal, turmeric and lemongrass blends are mad-man. If they won't naturally cure auto-immune, inflammatory diseases, and prevent cancer, nothing natural will. Haha. Galangal is really cool. When it first hits your mouth, it starts burning like a hot pepper that is going to set you on fire, then it very quickly dissipates. Juicing it did bust my juicer though cracking the housing and sending the end cap shooting across the kitchen. As it was still under warranty though, the company sent me two new juicers for free for spare parts. Regardless, I decided to upgrade anyway and went with an Omega. It is great and produces very dry pulp which is controllable through a machine end cap setting. It handles galangal and lemongrass easily as long as you don't overload it. Final word, I've used swing top bottles since I started and I've never ever once burped them during second ferment nor have I ever had an explosion. Sorry for such a long post, hope you are well and hopefully I've given you some more subscribers from my psoriasis pages. Maybe you should consider getting on Patreon if your following grows.

[@crazykenz4203]

Hello! Thank you so much for suggesting my videos to your Facebook group, so kind of you! I recently bought some dried galangal, but haven't tried it yet. Do you shop at Penzey's for spices? They often run really good promos and you can get free spices - that's how I got my galangal for free! I've never seen it fresh in stores in my area. Haven't been juicing turmeric recently because it's also really hard to find (unless I get conventional turmeric at my local Whole Foods, but prefer to find it organic). Ginger, though, yes - can get that organic at my local co-op and think that is helping to keep me healthy this crazy flu season. I started juicing pomegranates and adding that to my jun - oooooh so good and so pretty, too. Your blend sounds amazing! Are you doing that juice blend in kombucha or jun or both? I still do the infusion method about half the time when I flavor my brews - just depends if I have the motivation to clean up the juicer that day or not! Is the Omega juicer a centrifugal juicer or masticating? I had a really good Philips one in Korea and also the same model in France, but I don't believe they sell that model in the US (I hated the noise it made, but it was a very good juicer!). I've never used Patreon and have heard mixed reviews about it, but definitely need to look more into it - thanks for the reminder!

[@beachbum8751]

Hey Kendra, I am able to get fresh galangal root from an Asian market in Houston and juice it just like ginger. It's also available on line from importfoods.com, but more pricey than the Asain market I found here. I did order once from import foods before I found this new place and it was very fresh. The Omega is a masticating juicer (NC900HDC), just like my old Aicok unit that failed on galangal. The Omega works much better though and produces a very dry pulp. You essentially get turmeric powder out the pulp end of the Omega. It's been going in the compost pile thus far, but I'm sure it could be of some use. And the Omega is amazingly easy to clean. Much easier than my previous unit. But I have got to give it to Aicok though, they sent me two new units to cover parts for the broken one so now I have three masticating juicers. I do juice blends for both kombu and jun. I either go with pomegranate or pineapple as the primary (not both) then some mixture of the root juices. I like pineapple, ginger, galangal, turmeric 6/1/1/1 best of all. But pom, galangal, lemongrass 3/1/1 is pretty good too. I don't know much about Patreon either, I just know a couple youtube sailing channels I watch have people sending them money per video there. One even makes $13,000 per video. I just watch them on youtube for free as I'm not ready to directly pay someone else to be on permanent vacation. You have 6.6K subscribers, if just 1/6 would subscribe for $1 per video on Patreon, you'd make $1000 per video. May be hard to get a following though.

[@shakes1026]

I live in Ireland where it's very cold so I put my Buch in the cupboard over the stove with a towel around it and a hot water bottle on the other side of the cupboard.

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh that's an excellent idea. I think because I have gotten more into jun brewing that I just end up focusing on that and kind of neglect my kombucha. I'm a bad kombucha mama...

[@troublemaker3032]

WI e glass pens are great from writing on glass bottles and jars.

[@crazykenz4203]

That's a great idea! I could def use that for once I bottle it, but for the original brewing vessel, I like to use tape because it helps me remember to clean it every few months! Once I notice that the masking tape is getting a bit thick, I know it's about time to clean!

[@kleineroteHex]

Oh, I better feed my hotel more!!! My kombucha sits next to the coffee machine and at the top of the basement stairway where lots of warm air comes up, it seems to be enough for my boch, though over winter it takes a bit longer than in the summer. Another good place is next to the fridge I found. Thanks for all your info!!!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Keep that brew nice and toasty!!! Glad you are having great success with your brewing!

[@kleineroteHex]

Kendra Lee 😊 my hotel scoby look very healthy, they got new tea and most of their vinegar will be used otherwise. Since they did well so far I think I stick to giving them food once every four to six weeks. I composted one of the new ones and put one of the hotel guests in with the new brew, after all I get 2 more again.... I need to start selling them😁

[@kyliefan7]

Why is kombucha harder than Jun? Is it Jun or June? I Love your hair!

[@crazykenz4203]

I think that kombucha is harder than jun because kombucha likes it hot, like 80 F (whereas jun is good with 70 - 75 F). If you live in a cold climate, kombucha can be soooooo fussy. I made amazing kombucha when I lived in CA, but once I moved to Wisconsin, my kombucha started to kinda suck and I just didn't want to baby it and keep wrapping it with a heating pad. I saw joon (like the month June), but some say jun (rhymes with sun). I asked Hannah Crum, author of The Big Book of Kombucha, and she said either was fine.

[@bangkokhi]

miss u kenz~~~~~love it ♡

[@crazykenz4203]

Is this one of my old students?!

[@shakes1026]

I couldn't find any Jun SCOBYs from Amazon that shipped to Ireland so I had to order it from an expensive British website. I am gonna treat that SCOBY like a gold mine.

[@crazykenz4203]

I highly recommend daily serenades to your SCOBY. :P And you must name the mama and babies!!! I tend to go with French names for mine, such as Jean Paul, Jean Pierre, Francois, and Claude. So I guess I have a scoby dad and sons!

[@shakes1026]

@@crazykenz4203 PERFECT!! Forget SCOBY Hotels, I'm making a SCOBY Spa Retreat!

[@crazykenz4203]

YES!!!! You know what I'm actually gonna make today?! A face mask with SCOBY in it!!! Maybe I will put on that mask and have a glass of jun while soaking in the tub in jun vinegar, ahhhhhh!!!!

[@shakes1026]

@@crazykenz4203 lol, sounds BRILLIANT! My Jun SCOBY arrived today so I'm gonna be busy making and fermenting!

[@crazykenz4203]

YAY! Happy brewing! Where did you order it from?

[@amandaj8028]

Just bought a Jun Scoby from Amazon, and 3-4 days later, nothings happening. :( I think He's Dead! Also, my Kombucha REFUSES to carbonate!! You said that maybe my initial brew went for too long (17 days). I think you might be right.! Thanks alot!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Give your jun scoby a couple rounds - it often seems like nothing is happening the first batch or two (I just cleaned out both of my vessels and re-started - the jun seemed weird and flat after the first batch - letting that go to vinegar and re-started a new batch). Did you get any new scoby growth? Also, what's the temp on your kombucha? Is there new scoby growth on it? Does it taste kind of vinegary? It definitely could have been fermented too long (if it's on its way to vinegar-ville, yup, fermented too long and won't get fizzy).

[@amandaj8028]

I made my own scoby for my first time and let the kombucha batch go for like 17 days, so i'm gonna start fresh. Also I keep it on a heating pad that turns off every 2 hours ( annoying) so its not Constantly warm but i do my best lol. As far as the JUN goes, nothing has really happened in the last 5 days. except just this morning, i see a few teeny tiny spots on the surface, so maybe its not dead!! ( fingers crossed). I heard JUN ferments much faster, but its been 5 days already with no change ( Jun tea is still pretty sweet). My jun scoby didn't come with much starter tea, and i only put 1/2 gallon with 1/2 cup of honey so it could be I messed some stuff up. Thanks for your reply:)

[@crazykenz4203]

Hmmm, I would give your jun a bit more time. It could just be that it needs a lot of time to populate the brew with bacteria and yeast and get everything really cooking. Those proportions of tea and honey seem fine - I doubt you messed anything up. If the jun is still really sweet, it needs more time to do its thing. The issue might be that your scoby came without much liquid. Where did you get the jun scoby from? I ordered my original one from Kombucha Kamp and if I remember correctly, it came with enough scoby and liquid to start one gallon - so my first batch was only one gallon, but once I had enough scoby and liquid, I quickly scaled up to two. Keep me posted!

[@Nexus6.1]

This answered my question. I just brewed my first batch, and it was very blah. Good to know it will get better. thank you

[@crazykenz4203]

Yup, the first batch or two can be a bit hit or miss - don't worry, it will get better and better!

[@JimmyJusa]

Another spigot option is food grade abs plastic.

[@crazykenz4203]

Good to know!

[@meancuisine8]

So weird You began this video explaining the concept of separating Jun and Kom... i did this for the past two batches and no more smell of toots!!! Weird huh??? Everything else the same with that one caveat.

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh interesting, I never noticed the smell of toots when they were neighbors, but glad I separated them just in case!

[@davidturner2072]

Jump start with small amount of ordinary bread yeast.