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Jun 23, 2012

Kombucha Kitchen-Witchery

This week I'm embracing my inner kitchen witch.  See?  I have an apron and everything!


I'm learning to make Kombucha and this is my first batch.  Kombucha is a delicious fizzy drink made from fermented tea and is reported to 'prevent and fight cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases'  amongst other wonders.

 It all starts with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast).  I got mine from a small class I attended on making Kombucha.  It's those little light and then darker layers at the bottom of the jar.  I have named mine Spongebob :)


 Last night I brewed my sugar tea.  The tea made such a beautiful deep red.  I used less sugar than some sources suggest.  The sugar is what the SCOBY feeds on, so I hope this batch turns out fizzy enough...




I let that cool overnight and tonight I got to work disinfecting EVERYTHING before transferring my SCOBY into the tea.  I used Apple Cider Vinegar and hot water for this very important job.


 Apparently SCOBYs are very susceptible to contamination and so one has to be extra careful so the proper bacteria is grown instead of mold.  Mmm...bacteria...delicious...

I carefully (and splash-ily) transferred the sweet tea, the SCOBY, and the little amount of kombucha that was also in the SCOBY jar into my very clean, large jar.



This SCOBY is pretty thick, and I think it might actually be two.  So I probably could have split them apart when I transferred them, but I left them together.  I hope this won't make a difference.  Look how stringy it is!  Imma drink that!


 Spongebob's new home!  Doesn't she look cozy in her very own cabinet??  I should mention, another name for the SCOBY is the 'Mother'.  So Spongebob's totally a lovely she.


Now I just have to wait about a week while little Songebob has a sugar feast and makes another SCOBY!

I really hope I cleaned everything well enough and that little SCOBY is able to grow properly. 

My hands smell like vinegar :)