Last night was a fun development in my real food journey!
While I was participating in the Real Food Challenge last month, Annette of Sustainable Eats (hello, lacto-fermentation blog carnival, how strange and cool is that!) hooked me up with the Seattle area chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation so that I could try to find someone near me who had kefir grains and a kombucha SCOBY to share. Sure enough, two days later my new little buddies were on their way home with me, all snug like little bacteria colonies in jars. Exactly like little bacteria colonies in jars. In my cupholders.
Once home, I transferred them to the fridge where they waited patiently for me to get my move on. One of the first things to move into my new house was my kombucha SCOBY, newly housed in a one gallon jar, munching on its sweet tea nutrient mix.
Huh? Kombucha?
Some of you may have had kombucha before. They sell it in health food stores, co-ops, nice “real foodie” places like that. I’m most familiar with GT’s Kombucha, but there may be others as well.
For those of you who haven’t ever heard of kombucha, let me first say that kombucha is a drink. A very weird, carbonated, fermented tea drink. I can’t decide if it’s delicious or completely gross. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. I’m really not sure. But I recommend you try it once or twice, in several different flavors. Just understand that mileage may vary. At the least, kombucha is an awesome food adventure.
In spite of not being able to figure out how I really feel about kombucha, I can’t seem to get enough of it. A few years ago I went on a kombucha kick and ended up stopping because store-bought kombucha is just plain expensive. But brewing your own at home is pretty close to free! So last night I was thrilled to pull my first batch out of the cupboard and transfer it to bottles for its second fermentation and flavoring. I took a shot at blueberry, apple, orange, and black cherry.
The great thing about kombucha SCOBYs is that they multiply each time. So now my one SCOBY has become two SCOBYs, which are back in the cupboard working away at a whole new (bigger!) batch of kombucha. And I can’t wait for my second fermentation to finish so I see how it turned out!
Do any of you have any experience brewing your own kombucha or drinking someone else’s? Any tips, hints, or flavor suggestions?
I’m crazy about fermentation, but I hate kombucha! Just never could come around to it. My partner brews kombucha with his third-grade class and he likes it a lot, along with our kids. From watching him I know that there is another option if you can’t find somebody with a baby to start your own batch. He couldn’t find a baby after months of looking, so he tried to make kombucha with the bottled stuff, just pouring in 2-3 bottles with the tea and sugar, and it worked just fine.
I totally understand hating kombucha, because I seriously feel like I fell into loving it by accident. It so easily could have been hate!
And thanks for the really good tip for those people who are unable to score a SCOBY. It’s so cheap and easy, brewing your own almost feels like cheating to me.
I tried to brew my own kombucha last winter and it was gross but I love what CommuniTea sells at the market in the winter so I just buy it as a treat.
I do know that you can put the babies in the garden when you plant things and the probiotics are supposed to be great for soil health.
I hope you participate in the lacto-fermentation carnival!!!
xo,
Annette
So far mine is still pretty sweet compared to the GT brand stuff. I’m thinking either not enough time, not quite strong enough a SCOBY, or a combination of both. But actually… it means mine is more tasty than “right” right now.
I’ll have to try the CommuniTea when I take my field trip up to the Ballard market!
And am definitely planning on participating in the carnival. It was perfect timing, because I have all this whey in the fridge and was trying to figure out what on earth I could even use it for… marmalade…yum…
If you’re in Seattle, you should definitely take a Sunday morning and check out the Ballard Farmer’s Market for some amazing, locally made kombucha!
Chris, owner/operator of “Communi-Tea Kombucha” makes his drink from a local tea supplier’s oolong tea and cane sugar. It is a lot smoother than the typical home made stuff, and leagues better than GT’s kombucha. Plus, he reuses the bottles, has it available on tap, and rides his bike full of kombucha around!
It’s definitely perfect for those who where previously turned off by it – stop by and have a sampler.
It is wonderful stuff, and super inexpensive (especially compared to the stuff you buy in the stores). Check out the website here: http://communitea-kombucha.com/
Enjoy!
Joshua
p.s. Chris will sell you SCOBY’s too, with some notice ahead of time.
Thanks so much for the tip on Communi-Tea! I will definitely have to check it out. Kombucha on tap sounds awesome! (Plus now if I accidentally kill my SCOBYs I know where to get a new one without having to crawl in shame back to the lovely person who gave me this one…)
I’ve never had this, but now I’m very curious to try it. Do you think Whole Foods carries this?
Whole Foods should definitely carry it. That’s where I first tried it. Of the GT’s, my favorite is the Synergy (ginger, lemon, raspberry) and the mango. My mom really likes the straight raspberry. Definitely a personal taste thing.
Whole foods carries a few different types, including GT’s Kombucha. However, you can only get the good, local stuff at the Ballard Farmer’s market for now. Chris is working with PCC to eventually have it on draft there!
Cheers,
Joshua
I think he is at the UW Farmer’s market on Saturdays until May too. How cool is that – kombucha on TAP!
First, thank you for cracking me up,this post and the orange marmalade! Had a bad day and this made me laugh, no small feat!
Second, we make about 11 batches of Kombucha every ten days! We have a big family and love it, though the poor younger children don’t get much because mom and dad are hooked on it! LOL
I taste it after about 7 days and if it is still sweet let it go another couple of days, usually 10 total. We have gotten it down to a science, though it does vary from batch to batch a little. The only kind we make now is ginger. After the first ferment we bottle and add ‘juiced’ ginger root to the kombucha and let it ferment for another week. Beyond delish!!
Thanks for making me smile.
You are most welcome. So glad I could bring a smile to your crummy day!
Wow – how big are your batches! That is a LOT of kombucha! My next goal is to get mine on a rotation schedule, but I’m so bad at figuring out the timing of those kinds of things. I’m also curious as to why mine takes so much longer than other people’s to reach full strength. Maybe I keep my house colder or something.
Juiced ginger is TOP on my list of ones to try for my new batch, which should be finished now… or a few days ago – oops!