Kombucha

It's funny how things work out sometimes. I read a lot of food blogs, as anyone who has read this blog can probably assume. I started reading this really good one called The Kitchn. They have all kinds of great things - not just recipes but tours of awesome kitchens and tips from their various contributors. A while back, I stumbled across this recipe for kombucha. At the time, I thought that it was interesting but where would I find this mythical mother? Cue a few days later, I'm at the farmer's market and there's a lady selling kombucha! After chatting with her she agreed to bring a part of her mother for me next week - and this is how I started brewing kombucha. Well the limoncello is done with, I need another project!!

Have you met my mother?

Well, actually, this is my mother. (center, I'm in coral)

If you have not heard of kombucha, do not worry, most people have not (well at least most people around here in central PA). Kombucha is a fizzy, probiotic drink that is made using a mother or a scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). The process is similar to making vinegar. You have a sweetened liquid - for kombucha, it's a black tea base; for vinegar it would be grape juice - then you add the mother at it ferments for a period of time. Vinegar can take quite a while, for the kombucha, you want some of that sweetness so you can drink it, so it takes 4-10 days to ferment, depending on the ambient temperature of the room (in the summer it takes less time, the winter it take more time). Kombucha is nonalcoholic and I happen to like the somewhat vinegary taste.

First make the base - black tea, water and sugar. Let cool to room temp

Put in gallon container, cover with cheesecloth. Sit in dark corner of kitchen

The mother usually ferments from the top, but it can also sit diagonally

After the fermenting time, taste the brew to see if it is to your liking

Pour into bottles to carbonate at room temp for 1-3 days then refrigerate 

Once you pour the kombucha into bottles, you make a new batch and keep going. There are a lot of variations you can do as well. The last batch I made, I put 100% cherry juice in the bottom of the bottles - tasty. This batch, I did half green tea and half black tea. Easy, right? I think so. Also each batch breeds a new mother, so if anyone wants to try this let me know and I will share :)