Why Is My Kombucha Cloudy?
Cloudy kombucha: where taste and texture meet.
My kombucha is cloudy?
Have you gone to check on your kombucha to find that it is hazy and cloudy?
Why does this happen? Cloudy kombucha is a result of over-active yeast. Yeast produces carbon dioxide, which is a gas. The more productive the yeast is, the more CO2, creating a turbulent environment for the yeast. Usually, yeast cells clump together and fall to the bottom, but due to the excessive gas, are forced into suspension.
What this can also indicate is that the yeast is dominating the brew.
While the “S” in SCOBY does stand for symbiotic, the bacteria and yeast are actually in competition as well. The bacteria feed off the yeasts’ byproducts, and they live happily together until one gets the upper hand. This means that due to seasonal changes and other turns of fate, your kombucha can become slightly off balance.
If your kombucha is off-balance, it has not gone bad. It simply means that you won’t get consistency among batches. You’ll experience variances in flavor, brew times, and alcohol levels.
Because yeast enjoy warmer weather, cloudiness and over-active yeast are most likely to occur during the summer months.
If this is the case with your kombucha, don’t fret. Balancing kombucha is a continuous journey. Cloudy kombucha is still perfectly delicious and safe to drink. Within a few brews, you can restore the balance of your brew by making a few easy adjustments.
Balancing your kombucha SCOBY
The goal is to raise the ratio of bacteria to yeast to bring balance back to your kombucha culture.
By manipulating a few elements in your brew, you can encourage the bacteria’s health while also slowing down the overactive yeast.
Adjust your kombucha brewing temperature.
Yeast has a pretty flexible productive temperature range, but are especially active in warmer temperatures, around 80°F. Bacteria prefer a bit colder
Kombucha Brewing Jar Temperature Strip
environment, in the 70-75°F range. You can use this temperature differential to your advantage in both directions.
Since we are trying to increase the bacteria count, in this case, brewing at colder temperatures will help achieve this goal. Try to locate a cold area in your house to place the brewing vessel. This could be a room with fewer windows or a spot underneath an air vent. Alternatively, you can set the brewing vessel in a cooler with an ice pack or glass of ice next to it (not touching it) and monitor the temperature to make sure it isn’t going below 70°F. This will slow down the yeast, giving the bacteria a chance to recuperate.
Filter out the yeast.
When the fermentation has finished to your liking, filter out the yeast. This gives you filtered starter tea for the next batch that will help restore the balance for your next batch. To filter, lay a tea towel, cheesecloth, or paper towels over a strainer and pour the kombucha through it to prevent the yeast from passing through. Remember to put a large bowl or pitcher underneath the strainer, so you don’t lose your kombucha! :D
Brew a weak batch of tea, and use mostly green tea.
Yeast feed on nutrients from tea, so giving them less to work or switching up their nutrient source slows them down and gives the bacteria a chance to catch up.
We’ve formulated our Fire Kombucha Tea Blend specifically to address bacteria health by relying heavily on lighter, less tannic teas. This forces the yeast to synthesize some of their own nutrients, reducing their productivity naturally and allowing the bacteria a chance to catch up.
Most importantly, take it as a learning experience.
Be patient, and don’t get discouraged. Your kombucha will bounce back. In the meantime, learn as much as you can and enjoy the process.
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Had not heard from you in a while. You were missed. Thanks for all your your tips, advice and overall great help.
Renee
Aw, thanks Renee! Good to be back. You should be hearing from me more often :)
Great post, really helpful! I would add that yeast tend to accumulate at the bottom. So, when collecting a starter for the next batch, it is good to carefully pour kombucha from the top of the jar and avoid stirring. I mean, you have to stir the starter into the new batch, of course, but you should try to avoid stirring before collecting the starter.
Hey Anna! Yes, great tip! Thank you for sharing :D
I’ve been brewing kombucha for a few years now, and this just happened: of my eight 1/2-gallon jars, three were cloudy but tasted weak. When I had brewed the tea, I remember being impatient with how slowly one of the two brewing pots was cooling off, and I ran out of ice cubes, so it was in the 90-93 degree F range when I poured it into the SCOBY jars (I normally pour at 80-90F). Did I kill off some of the bacteria? Why the weak flavor?
Hi Barb,
I think that your kombucha is just experiencing an imbalance. This does occur from time to time and just requires a few brews to balance out but is natural. Sounds like your yeasts are experiencing an upper hand, which will make it cloudy and can make the brew taste weak. The bacteria are the ones to create the acids which make it tart and vinegary so when they’re not as active or are stressed you wont get those flavors that you’re so used to. Just keep it brewing and you will see that they’ll bounce back. LMK if you have any other questions!
Hello! Great post! My batch went cloudy once I put it in the fridge (in bottles after second fermentation). It looks weird but tastes okay ?♀️ any advice would be most welcome! ?
Hey Gael! My best guess is that when you chilled it, the yeast may have become suspended rather than flocculate, which will make it appear cloudy. There’s no harm in this so I wouldn’t worry about it too much! You can try to strain if if you don’t like it or allow it to sit and the yeast may settle.
Can you use decaf green or black tea?
Hey Tammy! Sure, you can definitely use decaf tea and still have a happy SCOBY.
hello
i have to make non alcolic kombucha as im in islamic country.
I tried to use filter to decrease yeasts and bacterias, but become cloudy! I also tried to use pasteurizatio method (80°) but still have activities!
Please advise…
Bests
Hey there,
It would be hard to guarantee that any kombucha, or any ferment for that matter, wouldn’t have a little bit of alcohol in it, since that is a natural byproduct of the fermentation. The amount is minimal but taking a few steps could help make the percentage lower–1. use less sugar (try 3/4 cup per gallon) 2. Brew a weaker batch of tea, this forces the yeast to produce more of their own nutrients, slowing them down 3. Stir the kombucha during the brew, in the presence of oxygen, yeast tend to product less ethanol 4. brew at colder temperatures if possible–shoot for around 70F-72F
I’ve been brewing kombucha for a couple of years and needed to take a break as I was moving house. I just started a new batch using starter tea and scoby from my hotel that’s been sitting for about a year. I started small, first in a quart and now I’m at the gallon stage but I’m finding that my kombucha is taking a long time to ferment plus it’s cloudy. The temp here is in the high 60s/low 70s.
Ive since tasted the starter from my hotel and it’s like vinegar. Does this explain the imbalance in my brew? Should I start from scratch or just wait for my half gallon to ferment and become lose the sweetness? I was wondering if I should start a new hotel and toss out the old, especially the layers of scoby on top. Any suggestions are most welcome
Hi! I would suggest just giving your brew a little time to figure itself out. A year is a long period of dormancy and the bacteria have probably dominated your brew. While the yeast are still there, they are probably dormant and need a little pampering. Just continuing to brew should be enough to get them going. Use plenty of starter tea (~3-4 cups per gallon) to help provide a little jump start and also give it a vigorous stir to oxygenate it. Also your temperature range is on the lower end of the spectrum which will cause longer fermentation times as well–try wrapping your jar with some christmas lights, find a warmer spot in your house (on top of the fridge), or purchase a heating pad to wrap around it and this will certainly make a big difference in your brewing.
As far as tossing your hotel–you can definitely thin it out if it’s overrun because the starter is the most important part but you don’t have to toss the whole thing. I would suggest just feeding it every now and then with some fresh sweet tea so it stays active.
Thanks for this helpful blog. I just started making kombucha. First batch was gorgeous, second was cloudy. But now I have some tips to try to get it back to looking pretty. Agree, cloudy tastes fine. Third batch is “brewing” and I’m trying a spigoted jar. Hopefully this will help not stir up the settled yeast on the bottom (I was wondering what that was).
Let me know how it goes, Maureen! Cheers :)
Argh. Still making cloudy brew despite filtering with a coffee filter after initial brew before put into bottles and again after secondary fermentation – rebottle. Most disgusting is the development of mini scobys during secondary fermentation (hence the second filtering and rebottling before storing in frig.) Things left to try – 1) cooler brewing temp?? – already just sits on counter at room temp but temp does get up to 77 so going to try storing in basement, 2) green instead of black tea.
Hi Maureen,
If you’re getting mini SCOBYs during your secondary fermentation, that means that your bottles aren’t airtight. What kind of bottles are you using? Trying a colder brewing temperature and using green should definitely help with balancing your brew.
Swing top bottles but definitely don’t think they seal well.
Help.
I am trying to start brewing Kombucha and have begun trying to grow my scoby(s).
BUT, the entire liquid has gone cloudy, almost like a milk tea. There are some light brown floaties near the surface and a scoby film has started, but it seems to have stalled and I am now at 2.5 weeks.
I used tap water, but boiled it for a while before adding plenty of black tea bags & sugar. Then I added about 1 cup of a store bought Kombucha to just under 4 cups of my tea. I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong, or if it can be fixed.
Thanks, John
Hi John, It could be that your sugar to water ratios are off. You only used 4 cups of brewed tea? How much sugar did you use for that amount? If you have a photo I’d love to take a look, you can send it to info@fermentaholics.com
Thanks for your quick response!
I think it was about 3/4 of a cup of sugar or so, for 16 cups of water. A recipe I found online.
I will also email you a photo.
Hello!
i am in winter its cold in side, around 10-15 degrees,
and i have a very tart and vinegary brew, but an over population of yeast.
I have discarded the yeasty part of the brew, which had settled to the bottom, and retained the very vinegary remainder which I am about to add to to some weakly brewed black tea, 2 tea bags to a litre, with 50g sugar.
hopefully this will restore the balance, it wasnt super cloudy but not as clear as i would like.
my friend swears by rooibos… maybe thats an idea. what does caffeine have to do with the bacterial process?
thanks
Hi Benjamin! The steps you’ve taken are exactly what I would recommend to restore balance. I LOVE rooibos kombucha! It has such a unique flavor and natural, earthy sweetness. Caffeine acts as a source of nitrogen, providing nutrients for the yeast, however, it is not the only source so omitting it isn’t going to harm your culture at all. I’d recommend giving it a try!
Hi, I poured off most of the kombucha into jars for a second fermentation. The remaining part with the scoby is very cloudy. Usually I just use that and pour it into the newly brewed black tea. Should I just use the scoby and discard the rest or pour it all in and hope that it’s going to come around by itself?
Hi. I definitely don’t recommend just using the pellicle. While there are microbes soaked throughout the pellicle, the starter tea is how the majority of the microbes get transferred to your new brew. The starter tea also functions to bring the pH down to a safe level from the beginning. If you’re pulling starter from the bottom, it will be cloudy because of the settled yeast sediment. Don’t worry about that, just use it and brew like normal. If you’re noticing that your brews are getting a bit yeast heavy, pull starter tea from the top rather than the bottom on your next brew and it should even out over time. Cheers.
Hello, I am trying to brew kombucha in INDIA and here temperature ranges from 30-35 ‘c. I am constantly getting a brew with a no sugar as residue and my kombucha is also tart. I tried controlling temperature by switching my air-conditioner ON and OFF but the end result is fluctuating. Sometimes it is a little sweet and sometimes it is tart. I am taking a brew cycle of 10 days. During my second fermentation the kombucha instead of getting sweet with the flavors and fruits added is getting flat with no sweetness but with some tartness. Can you please help me get over this problem. I am using a simple recipe of 200gm sugar and 32gm black tea in 1 gallon. Also the fizz in my end product just vanish every time. there is no fizziness after i strain my kombucha from second ferment and store it in refrigerator.
Hi Lakshay. You are brewing at a pretty high temperature so you can expect that your brews will ferment very quickly. Try tasting it after 5 days and see how it has progressed. Tasting it daily after that point will allow you to catch it before it gets too tart. As far as fizziness goes, the key here is to use air tight containers. If the containers are not air tight, then any fizz that is created up during the secondary is allowed to escape. Are you using capped bottles for the secondary and how long are you letting them ferment at room temperature?
Great post! I just started brewing kombucha and was wondering how to store the hotel in between batches.
Hi Nick,
You want to store the hotel just like you would your main brewing vessel–at room temperature covered with a breathable cloth!
Happy Brewing!
Hi there,
I love your blog. It’s been so helpful! I’ve been brewing delicious kombucha since March, but the past two batches have been really yeasty tasting and cloudy. They just don’t taste right, but the also don’t taste like they’re bad or off. What would you suggest? Simply straining the buch to get rid of some of the yeast and brewing with some herbal teas? Thanks!
Kiley
Thanks for reaching Kiley! I would suggest exactly that–strain out the liquid well (even through cheesecloth) to get rid of the yeast and brew with a weaker tea or more herbal teas will definitely help. With time it will likely even out on its own, too.
Let us know how it goes!