No, it’s not safe! Throw the tea and the SCOBY out immediately. As for why this happened, there are a couple of possibilities. Sometimes people do not follow the recipe exactly, throwing off the ratio between the ingredients, which in turn throws off the fermentation process. Be exact in your measurements. The other cause can be airborne molds in your home. A few people I know developed this problem because of a leaky roof or because they placed their pot of kombucha in a closet that had poor air circulation.
Insulated Packaging & Ice Packs
If it's hot in your area (between 90°-100° F), we recommend having your order shipped with insulated packaging and ice packs.
Here are a few things you should know:
- This will help your cultures stay cool for up to the first 72 hours of travel
- The package usually won't arrive cold
- This is ok, we just don't want your cultures to get too hot along the way (over 100°F)
- If it's hotter than 100° in your area, we recommend not ordering until it cools down.
- You'll still need to be home when the package arrives so you can bring it inside right away
- This shipping add-on doesn't count toward the $99 needed for free shipping
- We recommend selecting UPS Next Day Air or UPS 2nd Day Air for shipping.