Kefir -- not chicken related, need experience

So, friend gives me Kombucha and Kefir.

Day 2, I have killed kombucha (somehow there's a skiff of oil on the top despite washing, rinsing, washing, drying and so on. Anywho

My kefir needs troubleshooting, and I can't quite find what I'm looking for online. The kefir was transported a distance of 2 miles, freshly pulled from a batch and then put back INTO another batch when I got home. Same raw milk as my raw comes from the same place theirs does.

It's 24 hours, the kefir is sooomeone thicker (leaves a skim on the jar) but still very milkish. It smells of yeast and tastes of cheese. It does not taste bad. The problem is, I'm not sure what it is supposed to taste like LOL.

And my cat with IBS, won't touch it and I'm so annoyed by that.

Anyone experienced with this? Am I doing something wroooong perhaps? In order to keep it in a dark spot, it has to go in the cupboards. the cupboards are cooler, probably low to mid 60s. If I put it on top of the fridge, it wont be out of the light. I suppose I could towel them?

Any hints = much appreciated

Sweetened wrote:So, friend gives me Kombucha and Kefir.

Day 2, I have killed kombucha (somehow there's a skiff of oil on the top despite washing, rinsing, washing, drying and so on. Anywho

My kefir needs troubleshooting, and I can't quite find what I'm looking for online. The kefir was transported a distance of 2 miles, freshly pulled from a batch and then put back INTO another batch when I got home. Same raw milk as my raw comes from the same place theirs does.

It's 24 hours, the kefir is sooomeone thicker (leaves a skim on the jar) but still very milkish. It smells of yeast and tastes of cheese. It does not taste bad. The problem is, I'm not sure what it is supposed to taste like LOL.

And my cat with IBS, won't touch it and I'm so annoyed by that.

Anyone experienced with this? Am I doing something wroooong perhaps? In order to keep it in a dark spot, it has to go in the cupboards. the cupboards are cooler, probably low to mid 60s. If I put it on top of the fridge, it wont be out of the light. I suppose I could towel them?

Any hints = much appreciated

They say to use black or green tea with your kombucha only because other teas have oils in them and will kill the kombucha SCOBY.
I keep my kefir in a quart jar in the cubboard for 24 hours at room temperature. If cooler it will take longer, 48 hours. Do not use any thing metal with the kefir SCOBY they say. I only use a wooden spoon and a plastic mesh strainer. I would say the 1st day the kefir will taste like butter milk. The second or third day it start to ferment more and has a stronger taste with a vinegar zing to it.

dont know kefir, cant help u there, but why do you think your kombucha is dead?
As long as you didnt get it too hot or too cold (frozen) it should be fine. It takes about a week to get started unless you had a cup of kombucha tea as well as the scoby.
No metal utensils or container as they will react to the acid, it will eventually produce.
Goodluck, maybe it will still work for you

I don't keep mine in the dark. Sometimes when I remember I put a small paper bag over it. We keep it on the windowsill . We have an open plan house with the fireplace on all the time. It is quite warm in our house and our kefir is done in about a day and a half. We do it in a sealer jar and when it is ready you can see the separation with the thicker kefir on top and a layer of clear liquid below. I then strain it , mixing it all together and it is about the consistency of buttermilk or yogurt that is not quite done. We love the taste of it. It tastes quite tangy sort of like yoghurt but different too.. We have never tried it with raw milk. and have never had it taste cheesy. I wonder if that can happen if it takes too long. We only keep about two tablespoons of the grains because someone always needs some. I feed it to my chickens and dogs. My son has cured his athletes foot that has been chronic for most of his life. We drink a cup every day. You can just wash the grains off and start again if you need to. good luck.

Do you have kefir grains? I have kefir grains....
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Thanks everyone. The lady who gave me the kefir and scoby wrote me to say that her Kefir also tastes a bit like cottage cheese and that, on occasion, it smells yeasty.

She forewarned me about not using metal. Both Kefir and Kombucha are in glass, the kefir is sealed with mason jar lids, but not overly tight. and the Kombucha just has the lid put on it lightly so it doesn't seal but wont let anything in.

I used organic Rooibos and Green tea I bought in bulk from old fashioned foods, so there shouldn't be oil in it. She suggested it may be new colonies forming on the top and not to give up on it yet. It just looks like a skiff of something on the top, but not like hers ever looked, then again, I haven't seen it from the start. I'll wait and see how it goes.

Yup, I have grains

So how many grains do you have? I have about 3 table spoons in a quart jar. I usually fill the jar half full of milk every morning after I drink yesterdays batch.

I love showing people the day old milk in the cupboard. I let them smell it and then I have a drink. I love the look in their eyes. They think your nuts, milk in the cupboard for more that 24 hours. My wife will finally drink it with me after watching me drink it for 2 weeks without getting sick.

LOL. She gave me about a cup of starter. So I separated it into 4 and put it into the jars with the milk about 3/4 of the way. Maybe too much milk.

Oh Sweetened make a thread about kombucha please. I will contribute to it....you have a lid on the SCOBY in the tea? That is wrong. This is a living organism and MUST have fresh air to live. The tea should be brewed in glass or something similar, but have a breathable lid on it like a cotton tea shirt, muslin cloth, cheesecloth, as long as nothing can get through the material. It must have air to live and work its magic. I have began to brew my kombuchas again and have a good many with great success. I use a gallon jar and have several very large mothers. If you need another mother, I will send you one, or even Mirycreek could, she is much more close. Sounds like something weird happened to the SCOBY and I bet it is the lid that is not breathable.....have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

My wife just pulled a kombucha drink out of the fridge that was about 3-4 weeks old, no mother or anything but just the fizzy drink. It now looks like it has a jellyfish growing in it, I half expected it to start pulsing when I saw it!

Essentially, I think it's safe to keep your kambucha as long as it doesn't grow actual mold.

Also, in terms of the actual culturing process Anna says that a skiff of oil on top of the kambucha is totally normal.That's just residue from the tea.

Here is exactly what Anna has to say on the matter: People say it takes roughly 7 days for the kombucha to ferment the tea, in our house it takes closer to 10-12 days for the new mother to develop. You'll essentially end up with several layers of "Pancakes" as each new "baby scoby" that develops adds a layer to the pancakes. (You can regift layers- you only need one to brew. You could even just use the liquid, but then it takes much longer)

I test the kombucha with a straw at about day 7-10 to see how ready it is. If its very sweet the Kombucha hasn't eaten all the sugar yet and the brew isn't ready. If it develops a tangy flavour with just a hint of sweetness, that's when I like to call it done. I then keep 10% of the liquid plus the pancakes, brew the new tea, stir in sugar and let it steep for several hours until cool. Strain out the tea once it is at room temperature, and now you can stir in your scoby and the liquid. Your kombucha for drinking should be kept in the fridge- it will ferment much slower. I still prefer to drink it within a week or so, even if kept in the fridge. Otherwise it gets way too tangy and vinegary (like the jar that my husband mentioned at the beginning of the post)

Keep it covered with a cheese cloth or jelly straining bag. The kombucha needs air flow to survive and not grow mold, so the mesh allows the air flow while preventing insects and debris from getting into your kombucha.

Caffeinated tea makes the strongest kombucha scoby. You can get away with using Roobios, but the scoby might get week. Green tea and different black teas (I often combines green and black for a really smooth flavour) are ideal, especially when you're still getting used to brewing the kombucha.

Hope this helps! Also, as I was writing this post I forgot exactly what you were asking about the kefir, but if you have any unanswered questions still I could give them a shot. I am not as experienced with the kefir. Have you checked out Weston A. Price? Most cities have a chapter and as a group are really into culturing and fermenting foods. Might be interesting for you to check out because we frequently share advice, ask questions of each other on this kind of stuff. If you're on facebook, you could join the WAPF Red Deer Chapter. We're quite active.

Cheers!