Kombucha Update

This is my first time making kombucha and the process has been really interesting. I know it is a SCOBY (see my earlier post http://littlefieldofgreens.blogspot.com/2008/08/kombucha-and-coconut-kefir.html), but the whole thing is still so surreal to me. Let me walk you through it.

Here is a picture of the kombucha after a week. It has been sitting in a ceramic bowl in our cabinet covered with a paper towel to keep bugs and such out. Let me tell you, the smell is not light. This stuff is good, but there has been a faint vinegar smell in that part of the kitchen. Kind of freaks me out, but I am willing to sacrifice some things in the name of food and traditional eating!

So what happens is the 'mother' SCOBY I started this with last week has now duplicated and spread to the size of the vessel I put it in. This SCOBY started out as only about 3x3 inches - and grew to the full size of this bowl. Underneath this white mass is the kombucha liquid.

What I did today since it appeared to be ready (smell was right - fermented (NOT rotten), taste was mostly un-sweet as the SCOBY used the sugar we brewed with the tea to feed itself), and jarred the liquid and put it in the fridge. The liquid not being sweet is what you look for because it shows that the sugar has been consumed by the SCOBY. Here is a picture of our kombucha for the week:

By tomorrow, because I put a lid on this jar, it will have some natural carbonation forming and we can drink it. You really should have no more than 8 oz a day (more if you are sick, stressed or had some trauma).

I then took some of the liquid, plus part of the SCOBY (it grew too large for the new vessel I bought for this) and put it in a jar. I brewed some organic oolong tea, mixed it with organic turbinado sugar, and let it cool to about body temperature. Then I mixed the tea and the SCOBY from my original batch in the jar and put a new paper towel on, put it in the cupboard and there is going to be another batch ready for me next week.

What is so odd to me about this beverage is that it starts with something, the SCOBY, that just about can't be killed. You want to keep the process sanitary, but basically, that SCOBY will just keep replicating and producing as much kombucha as you choose to make. The kombucha itself then has these amazing properties of other fermented products such as aiding in digestion, providing good bacteria and promoting good cleansing.

Fermented food is actually pretty easy to make (with the exception of the coconut kefir -that is best done with a group because of all the work). I think when people hear that term though, they think rotten and gross. When I say people I don't mean all on earth, because the Russians love kvass (fermented beet juice which is a great blood tonic and was often drank more frequently instead of water because water was tainted), and the Koreans love kimchee (fermented cabbage with carrots and radish and chilies), and the Germans love sauerkraut - just to name a few. Making the kombucha looks disturbing, I know this. But, it is producing an amazing beverage and like other fermented foods deserves a try.