Kombucha is one of my favorite drinks. Definitely my favorite carbonated drink. It's organic, fermented green tea that produces natural carbonation during the fermentation process. And it's so cheap to make! First, I make about a gallon of green tea and add a cup of sugar. I know it sounds like a lot, but the mushroom or scoby needs it to 'feed' on. A scoby stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. It sounds very gross and looks disgusting too, but the resulting kombucha is yummy, delicious and super healthy as it adds good bacteria to our bodies. Much more on this can be found at Dom's fermenting site.
Step 2: After the green tea has cooled to room temperature, put it in a glass container and add a scoby with some previously made kombucha.
You can see the scoby floating around in the glass container in the photo on the left. Also, cover the container with paper towels because you don't want your kombucha to get contaminated. It's going to sit out on your counter or in your cabinet for about a week.
The picture on the right shows the new "baby." Every time a batch of kombucha is finished the original scoby grows a new one on top- it kind of looks like a big pancake. This is because the scoby is living. If it never gets contaminated, you should be able to keep the original scoby indefinitely. Also, you can give away the new "babies" to friends who'd like to start making their own. I just gave away my first one to my sister Jessica!
Step 3: Ok, after it's sat out for about a week, taste a spoonful. You shouldn't be able to taste any sugar. The longer you let it sit, the stronger it gets. Since I have a cold and today was tasting day, Jim did the honors for me... thanks hon! Let me tell you, he must really love me because well, let's just say that kombucha isn't his drink of choice. When you can't taste any more sugar, take out the scoby and a couple ladle fulls of the kombucha for the next batch. Divide the rest of it into glass containers ( I also add in a small amount of raspberry juice) and stick it in the fridge. It's ready now, but if you can wait a couple weeks longer, it gets so fizzy and delightful! YUM!
3 comments:
Ang--I tasted mine yesterday, still a little sweet. I'll let you know how the process turns out!
this is so cool!! i am a sucker for carbonation, experimentation, and things that look like that big scoby of yours.
supposing i don't know anybody with a scoby? how would i get one?
For anyone who wants to know~ I got my organic scoby and some kefir grains from ebay. For both the total was around $7.
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