Kombucha!

Have you ever had kombucha? It's a delicious fermented tea that I was introduced to over a decade & 1/2 ago by one of my fellow hippie friends. It was like a secret drink, only those in the know drank it. Most of us were on the crunchy side-plant eating,yoginis, farmers market going, organic eating, co-op buying-and it was just part of the lifestyle. SCOBYs were passed around from brewer to brewer and last for years. Today,you can get it at the supermarket.

As I continue going back to my crunchy roots (much the chagrin of my husband), I decided to try my hand at making my own kombucha. I'm a little tired of paying $4/bottle and quite frankly, it doesn't taste the same as home brewed. The biggest issue was finding a SCOBY in Sioux Falls. I tired hooking up with a few other brewers, but either they didn't have enough of their mother to share or flaked out. 

Desperate, I turned to my favorite resource: Pinterest. There, I found a way to make it from a pre-purchased bottle that had some of the mother floating in it. It looks a bit like jellyfish and it's good bacteria & yeast, things that make your digest track sing.

I strained out my SCOBY, brewed my tea, added some organic cane sugar and now I'm waiting. You have to use sugar. It's the SCOBY's food, and it helps it ferment. It takes about a week for it to "brew" and then you can save the mother and start a new batch. My friends from back in the day would usually brew several batches at once, since they drank it daily.

Fermentation row l-r kombucha, sauerkraut, fermented brown rice

Now that I'm making my own, I can too!

To make your own, you need:

Tea bags (I used earl grey & green)

2 c water

SCOBY

1/3 c kombucha 

1/2 c sugar (do not use sugar substitutes!!)

Boil water, then brew tea for 15 minutes. Discard bags (I save mine & use them to de puff my eyes). Add sugar & let dissolve. Pour into brewing jar. Add kombucha & SCOBY. Cover loosely. You need some air flow but not let anything get in.

Put in a safe place out of direct sunlight. It takes about a week to go. It should have a slightly vinegary smell. 

When it's done brewing, pour into bottles (I save mine) and refrigerate. You can take your mother & start letting her have kids & start brewing new batches.