In follow up to my January 23rd post about promoting culture, in the form of yogurt, here is a post about taking it to the next level – Kombucha.  So beyond a beverage I enjoy, What is Kombucha?

• Pronounced – kŏm’bū chah  (kobooocha)
• In a nutshell: Effervescent fermentation of a sweet black tea
• Who does the work? SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), comprised of Acetobacter and a yeast or two.
• Who is this SCOBY character and what do they doo (pun intended)? SCOBY forms a zoogleal mat (this is a great example of a pictures being worth a thousand words!)
• Health Benefits – Ancients claimed it was “a beverage with magical powers enabling people to live forever”, obviously this has not been reviewed and approved by the FDA, nor have the claims of detoxification and general godliness. This probiotic libation does however wet the whistle,  quench the thirst, and tickle the taste buds.
• Drink formerly known as – Manchurian mushroom, chai of the sea, champagne of life, spumonto
• Etymology – just see the wiki on it, if that is your gig
• Brew –  1 cup of sugar to 1 gallon of brewed tea, fermented over several weeks once, bottled, fermented again with flavor then refrigerated
  • Too much brew action = apple cider vinegar or really weak hooch
  • Not enough brew = lame, no bubbles

My Experience:

Fabulous hubby bought me a K-kit for Christmas from Brooklyn KBBK. Complete with everything you need (but could totally round up somewhere else) and an IOU for Señora SCOBY.

Just completed my first batch all the way through consumption. Talk about two good lookin’ SCOBYs and I am so far still standing!  Next time I will let the second batch ferment a little longer for more bubbles but other than that turned out great and will save big bucks over buying at the store. Kombucha is fun to drink and may make you mortal but will have to wait and see.  Try some different flavors in the store to see what you think but save the bottle, so when you start making your own you already have the vessels.

Conclusion: You CAN have your culture and drink it too.

Cheers!

Big thanks to Wikipedia and general tubes of internet for random party trivia.