Kombucha, Baby! Update

Hey everyone!

First, thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post, Raw Chocolate Lava Cake. Your comments were all so sweet...no wonder I love you all:)

Today's post is a quick update for those of you who may be interested in brewing your own kombucha. I have quickly learned how fascinating and fun this process is. I just LOVE it!

Check out my previous post where I actually grew my very own baby SCOBY from a bottle of commercial kombucha:)

My homegrown momma SCOBY was happy to reside in a brand new batch of tea. I used both green and black tea this time. The most fascinating thing to me is watching the ever changing brew, especially the interesting bubbles and yeast formations. This cluster looked like a tiny dancer to me...yeah, I have a vivid imagination:)

It was so exciting to see the bubble line between momma SCOBY and the beautiful new baby that formed on top:

After about 1 week I used a straw to taste the kombucha. Just dip the straw, and cover the top end with a finger, and release the sample in a shot glass.

It tasted wonderful to me and had lots of bubbles. Time to bottle this batch, and get a good look at the new baby!

The new baby SCOBY was well formed and even a bit larger than momma:)

I saved about a cup of this kombucha and separated the 2 SCOBYs for the next batch of brew.

The sparkly new kombucha was well sampled:) and bottled.



For bottling this time, I used re-cycled commercial kombucha bottles. A helpful tip to remove the old labels: use a hair dryer to warm the bottle and the sticker peels right off:) Any glue residue can be scrubbed off using a drop of oil and a homemade scrubbie:) The smaller jar was a spice jar filled with kombucha from my first brew...I called this my 'baby booch' :)

For the next batch of kombucha, I made a gallon of sweet tea to fill 2 half gallon jars, using both green and black tea again. Each new jar contained a SCOBY, and some reserved tea from the first batch. At first, Momma SCOBY went to the top of her jar, and baby went to the bottom of his:

After a few days, each started to form a new baby SCOBY on top:

The mature SCOBYs floated around a bit, and both were almost vertical while the new babies grew on top.

The newly bottled kombucha was also placed on the shelf for about 3 days for a 2nd ferment. Since the weather was still pretty warm, I was afraid to let it go too long at this stage since some people have written about the bottles exploding if left too long...yikes!

In another day or two, this new batch should be ready to bottle*. I am glad the weather cooled down a bit because it's been brewing too fast for me!

*New batch is delish!

And the latest brew is ready to go:)

I just had the last of my previously bottled kombucha and...

I'm not positive, but I think there was a tiny baby SCOBY in the bottle. EEK!!! Can any home booch brewers advise me about this. It was strained out since I noticed it before pouring:)

Next time about 2 gallons will be brewing, so I would also appreciate any tips on how to keep it from taking over the house:) Some day I'd love to get a system like Averie, check it out:) So awesome!

Well, I probably won't be posting much more than a quick update on kombucha from now on and get back to more raw food:) so...

Cheers everyone!

Have a wonderful day:)

Kombucha, Baby!

Hi everyone! Hope you are all healthy and happy!

Well, another post, another... science experiment:)

I feel a bit like a mad scientist in the happy raw kitchen lately. It was so much fun making fermented nut cheese, I actually got brave enough to try my hand at making kombucha!

It is something I wanted to do for quite a while now. Anyone who loves this wonderful brew knows it can get quite expensive to buy commercial bottles of kombucha. But now there is a sort of kombucha shortage due to recent concerns of "slightly elevated" alcohol levels contained in one particular brand. This shortage gave me the little push needed to brew my own:)

There is so much info about making your own kombucha, but most methods seemed simple enough. Make a sweetened tea, and add a SCOBY(Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) "mother". After making the mixture, just let it sit for a while. So easy!

Michelle and Lori make it look really easy:)

Wait...add a SCOBY???!!! I have heard you can usually get a "baby" one from a friend.

Hmmmm...That might be a little problem. As much as I love living in the middle of nowhere, I doubt any of the chipmunks around here have a SCOBY to share with me. Of course they can be bought on the internet, but there is another way to obtain the precious SCOBY.

Make your own SCOBY from a bottle of commercial kombucha! YAY!

I grew my very own SCOBY, after watching this video.

This method looks even easier!

Here is what I used:

Equipment: Pot for boiling water, wooden spoon, 1/2 gallon mason jar, new clean handkerchief.

Ingredients:
6 cups water, 6 tea bags 6 tablespoons of sugar, one bottle of Pure Essence kombucha.

Method:
1. Boil 6 or 7 cups of water, and remove from heat.
2. Add 5 or 6 tablespoons (approx 1/3 cup) sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Steep 6 tea bags for 12 minutes.
4. Cool the tea.
5. Add a commercial bottle of raw kombucha to a big jar, and pour in the cooled tea.
6. Cover jar with a clean cloth, secured it with just the ring from the top, and let it sit, undisturbed and out of direct sun.
7. Wait......... :)

All the sites for making kombucha stressed how important it is to have everything very clean, so I washed and rinsed everything very well. We have well water, so I boiled it for a few minutes before adding the sugar and tea bags. So, I was a little concerned, and thought it was the dreaded mold when I saw a dark mass of something floating on top after two days. I was going to dump it, but let it go a while just to see what would happen.

That same night there was a thin white film floating on the top of the tea.

The third day, the lumpy thingy was about the same, but the white layer was a little thicker. There were also bubbles forming all around the perimeter.

By the fourth day the white layer was even thicker...and the dark blob was actually lifting the film a bit,

and even looked back at me!

I was still concerned, and searched the internet for more information. I sent a few pictures to a really nice person, Todd, who has a blog about kombucha, and had made a SCOBY from a bottled kombucha. He answered me right away, and said the pictures looked like a healthy SCOBY. I was so surprised and excited. Thank you, Todd! He said to taste it at this point, but it was still sweet like tea.

It also dawned on me around this time that it was July, not June like the sticker on the jar said:)

I left it for a few days longer, just a week total, and tasted it again. This time it was slightly sour and had more bubbles.

OMG, kombucha!

It really tasted good, and was quite bubbly:)

This all happened really quickly...everything I heard or read said it would take a few weeks, but here is what I think happened...

The room where the jar was is very warm and quiet. You are supposed to use only plain green, black or white tea, to start. I went to a tea and health food store to pick up some plain tea, and the lovely girl there said she had used Yogi brand kombucha tea to make her kombucha, so I bought some.

Also, I made a little mistake, and only used a half gallon jar, so the mixture was stronger than it would have been in a gallon jar like the video.*

*uh, never mind that last sentence :)...it was a 64 ounce jar in the video...yup, a half gallon like I used.

My Serendipity Kombucha:)

Here is Momma:)

And a better look at the lumpy thingy:

I reserved the mother and 1 cup of brew for my next batch, and filled 3 bottles (hubby's saved beer bottles). You can find bottles like these easily online or at local home-brew stores. They even come in a gorgeous cobalt blue:)

I used 1/2 cup of a different sugar, and the black and green tea this time. I used the Florida Crystals sugar because it is organic and vegan. As you probably know, some white granulated sugar is not vegan. Click here to see a few vegan and non-vegan brands of sugar. I will keep you posted about the new brew:)

Quick update on day 10...new batch has a nice, thicker SCOBY:

Is making lots of bubbles:

And seems quite happy:)

I know some of you may have made your own kombucha, but if you haven't and want to, give this a try. It is so easy, you won't believe it!

Here are a few great resources for making your own kombucha. I will probably add new links on this post as I find them.

Kombucha making basics from eat living food (PDF)

Kombucha Journal...30 languages and The Worldwide Kombucha Exchange.

The Happy Herbalist

Kombucha Kamp

15 tips for making kombucha.

Troubleshooting/Balance

Kombucha Unveiled

Click the links below to answer some FAQs about kombucha:

Organic-Kombucha.com

Kombuchatea.wordpress.com

Cultures for Health

Sulis Health

Kombucha America

Funny Kombucha links :)

Adorable toddler Noelle eats a SCOBY!

SCOBY gone wild!

Are you a kombucha fan???