Fermentation Support Forum

I have been fermenting kombucha for a long time, and this is the first time that my kombucha tastes weird.

When tasting it, there is a good aroma and a nice acidity at first. But then the acidity ends and an unusual aftertaste appears.I would describe this aftertaste as ¨the smell of wet paper or cardboard¨ with a slight bitter note.

Do you guys know why this happens?
Thank you in advance.

Best regards!

I think the exact same thing happened to my current batch. It smells normal, but the initial flavor is milder tham usual with barely any tartness (or sweetness) and the aftertaste has an almost plastic taste, which after reading this could also maybe be interpreted as a papery taste. If i don't exhale through my nose during or right after tasting, it is barely detectable, but if I do it is a bit unpleasant.

I added a few grams more tea this time but I don't think it would be enough to effect the flavor this much. I also changed sugar brands to a cheaper non organic cane sugar in my last batch so I was planning to switch back and see if that fixes anything. I tested the PH and it seems more acidic that normal. I usually get a LOT of long yeast strands but now i get very few short ones. I still did a 2nd ferment and it turned out very nicely carbonated, but kept the odd aftertaste. I didn't have any bad effects from drinking it so far, so I'll probably finish it off. Im hoping a few days in the fridge will smooth it out some.