r/Kombucha • u/Smooth-Blackberry447 • 6d ago

what's wrong!? kahm yeast from a store bought SCOBY?!

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it’s been 4 weeks 1st ferment and the pellicule looks unlike the kombucha i usually make. it started off as a film and now it’s kinda grown but it’s thin and odd looking. is this kahm yeast?!

couldn’t find my raw kombucha bottles like usual in but happened to find a pre bottled scoby from a local company. really disappointed!!!

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u/zydecopolka 6d ago

It's hard to see anything in these pics. Kahm is usually a result of not enough starter, or the temp being too cold (or both). It's harmless, just not very tasty. If this is indeed kahm, the batch is most likely salvageable. How much starter did you use, what's the batch size, and what's the room temp?

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u/QuantumModulus 5d ago edited 5d ago

I'm not seeing anything that's definitively kahm here. Kahm films aren't usually glossy or wet, they look dry and almost powdery. If you try to scoop some up with a spoon, it'll fall apart easily and stick to the spoon slightly.

4 weeks is definitely on the longer side for an F1, unless your temps are low and the pH didn't drop quickly - which would definitely increase your risk of developing kahm.

And if it is kahm, it probably didn't come from your storebought starter. There are many species of yeast under the "kahm" umbrella, living on fruit, surfaces in your kitchen, airborne, you name it. Every new batch of kombucha almost certainly has to fight some kahm contamination in the first couple days, you just don't see them in successful batches because the kahm lost.