Kombucha

About a year ago, I discovered and delighted in the joys of Kombucha, a magically delicious fermented tea that apparently has a lot of health benefits. The problem is, it's kind of pricey. And can usually only be found at health food stores. And did I mention pricey? BUT, I refuse to continue compromising my budget for that fizzy, tart deliciousness. So I make my own! Thanks to Alison, queen of homemade creations.

So. This is about to get crazy. This is a SCOBY, which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. The kombucha sits in a jar with the mother scoby for about a month. And they multiply. So you put one in, and one month later, you have multiple little scobys. Coooooooooooool.

I'm not going to get too far into it since it's not really about farming, but here's a recipe for those of you who know someone who has a mother scoby and want to make your own:

for 1 gallon of kombucha:

14.5 cups water

8tsp tea (green or black or half and half)

13 oz of old kombucha

1 cup minus 1 tbs sugar

boil water, add tea, cover and let sit for 15 minutes

rinse scoby (in tepid water), add 13 oz of old kombucha to scoby, set aside

strain the tea and add sugar after it steeps

set tea in cold water in sink until the tea reaches 75 degrees.

bottle in a gallon jar. instead of cap, use a piece of fabric - cut an old sheet - and wrap with rubber band.

It should ferment for at least 3 weeks (in a dark, cool place), then take scobi out and bottle individually and refrigerate for another week or so.

Alison sent me on my way with this little guy, whom I dubbed Scooby. The scoby. We've had a great trip thus far. Scoob's been trying to stay out of the heat in my car, so he's couchsurfing with me and lovin downtown Burlington.

Alison, in all her graciousness, also sent me away with a quart sized jar of already made kombucha. With a top from 2008 labeled "Rabbit No Salt," which I think is incredibly appropriate.