Kombucha troubleshooting

It needs more time. Taste again from day 7 onwards. Temperature below 21°C slows fermentation significantly — try moving your jar somewhere warmer and check again in 2 days.

Over-fermented. Still completely safe — use it as starter liquid for your next batch or in salad dressings. Next batch reduce fermentation time by 2–3 days.

Check your bottles are sealed completely airtight. Room temperature must be above 20°C for carbonation. Add a little more fruit juice or sugar and leave for another 1–2 days before checking again.

Completely normal — don’t worry about it at all. A new SCOBY will form on the surface within a few days regardless of where the original one settles.

These are yeast strands — completely harmless and a sign of active, healthy fermentation. Strain them out when bottling if you prefer a cleaner look.

Discard the entire batch — do not try to save it. Sterilise your jar thoroughly with hot water and vinegar. Next time use at least 200ml of starter liquid and make sure all equipment is very clean before starting.

Check the temperature — it may be too cold for fermentation. Also check you used enough starter liquid. The new SCOBY may take 5–7 days to become visible. Be patient.

Cloudiness is normal and means live cultures are active. Kombucha is not meant to look like clear shop-bought versions which are often filtered and pasteurised.