Kombucha

This is an extremely easy drink to make, it uses only a few ingredients and is super healthy. Homemade kombucha can be flavored with whatever flavoring you choose – fresh berries, honey, sweetened flavored tea, fruit juice and more and it is so much cheaper than store bought!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar,

4 teabags (at least one black tea) and

14 cups of water.

1 cup kombucha from previous brew or plain, unflavored store bought kombucha (preferably with mother)

Instructions:

Add boiling water to sugar, stir until all the sugar is dissolved and then add the teabags.

Allow to cool with teabags in the liquid. When cold, remove and discard the teabags.

Add the sweet tea to the scoby plus about 1 cup of reserved kombucha from the previous batch.

Cover the glass container with a breathable cover like cotton fabric or a coffee filter.

Secure with a rubber band or a piece of string.

Leave on the counter or a dark, cool place out of direct sunlight for at least 7 days.

Dispense into bottles with tight fitting lids (I use colored wine bottles with a screw top), add about a half a teaspoon of honey to each bottle and seal airtight for at least 3 days for carbonation to take place. If you don’t like carbonation, don’t seal the bottles to tightly so that the carbon that forms can escape.

At this stage you can also add your fresh or freeze-dried berries, juice, flavored tea or whatever you want to use to flavor your kombucha.

Your kombucha is now ready and can be refrigerated to stop the fermentation process.

If you allow it to ferment for too long, it becomes very sour and vinegary.

I don’t drink it when it is too sour, but rather use the scoby plus about one cup of the liquid to start a fresh batch.

One of the added benefits of homemade kombucha is the price:-) Compare it to a store bought 16oz bottle that typically cost around $4. Homemade kombucha’s cost is equivalent to 4 teabags and a cup of white sugar – pennies for a gallon (128oz)of healthy, yummy kombucha!

Don’t forget, kombucha is good for more than just drinking! Because a new culture is created with nearly every new batch of kombucha, it is easy to quickly become overrun with SCOBYs. Some people use new SCOBYs for making extra batches of kombucha. However, at some point, most people find they are overrun with extra SCOBYs. If the SCOBY hotel fills up, try these ideas for using up the extras.

1. Share! The best way to use extra kombucha SCOBYs is to help others start their own kombucha brew.
2. Experiment. Try making a batch with a different sweetener, tea, or juice. Since the SCOBY is extra, it can be discarded once the batch is finished culturing.
3. Add to a Smoothie. Add a piece of SCOBY to a smoothie or other blended food.
4. Make Jerky. Marinate the SCOBY in your favorite sauce for 24 hours before drying, if desired, for extra flavor. Lay SCOBYs flat on a piece of unbleached parchment paper and dry at 80°-90°F until they reach the consistency of jerky. Cover with a cloth to keep pests away. Consume as a treat or cut up and add to a salad, trail mix, etc.
5. Make Candy. There are a few ways to make kombucha SCOBY candy. Choose one that works for you, using your sweetener of choice.
6. Substitute for Raw Fish in Sushi. With a texture similar to squid, kombucha SCOBYs can be cut up and eaten along with the nori, rice, vegetables, etc.
7. Use as a Face Mask. Kombucha SCOBYs can be used as a face mask, either whole or ground up.
8. Use As a Bandage. SCOBYs can be used as a live bandage, or under a bandage. It will sting a little. The acidity is believed to help support healing.
9. Feed to Pets. Kombucha SCOBYs can be fed to pets either fresh or using the same process for making kombucha jerky to make a dried pet treat.
10. Add to Chicken Feed. Many chicken owners find their chickens really appreciate a fresh SCOBY as a treat.
11. Compost. SCOBYs can be added whole to the compost pile or ground up and added directly to the soil of plants.
12. Make Crafts. Kombucha SCOBYs can be dried until they are stiff but flexible. Use as a replacement for leather in toy drums, shoes, or other craft items.
13. Make Jun Tea. Jun Tea is another ancient fermented drink. You can make it at home by slowly converting a kombucha SCOBY to feed on green tea and honey. This experimentation works best with backup SCOBYs so trying out this delightful drink is another way to use up extra SCOBYs.