The SCOBY has formed. Next step is to make a gallon of sweet tea, add the SCOBY to it (and some of the liquid from the mother), and let it ferment into Kombucha for a week or two.
After the kombucha is ready, I'll add sugar to it, and yeast to ferment it into 5% ABV (or greater) hard kombucha.
Started fermenting again. This one is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) mother for future hard kombucha.
It is on day 3 and a white film is developing on the surface. It has a sweet and tarty smell. This one will not be for consumption though (I am growing the mother for future use).
The process is symbiotic in that the yeast eats the sugar producing ethanol (and CO2), which is eaten by the bacteria to create the acidic/tarty taste of kombucha. The white film will form into a membrane which provides a place for the yeast and bacteria to live.
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