Real Kombucha Tea!

As crazy as it seems I have yet another little side passion I am working on or rather that I purchased and will have to continually keep track of. 

A few months ago I backed a campaign on Kickstarter called The Easiest Way to Make Real Kombucha at Home. I was intrigued mainly because I missed my best friend's homemade Kombucha when he lived closer. It was the most deliciously healthy thing I have ever had and I am beyond excited that I'll get to start enjoying it again soon.

I actually received my package a few days ago, but am planning on waiting until I move into my new place to start the process. Scobies can be quite fragile and I wouldn't want to destroy it after having it less than a month. 

My pledge level got me a cute jug to raise my scoby in, as well as the starter seed. With these things I have all the pieces to make wonderful Kombucha tea. The steps are simple, brew either black or green (whichever you preference) with sugar in a jug. Once it cools to room temperature, add the starter seed. This will eventually turn into a live symbiotic culture or Scoby that is pumped full of probiotics that are super good for you. The process then becomes endless as you can feed your scoby sugar tea over and over to have it continually produce Kombucha.

Thea Kombuca Kickstarter Campaign

From what I remember you need to keep it in a dry place that stays between 65-75 degrees. You also need to be careful not to suffocate it by closing off the jug with a lid, though the one I received does come with a nice bamboo one. It also comes with a cloth cover, this is what you will be using for the duration of creating your Kombucha.

I'm not going to lie, once this thing starts growing and converting your tea into Kombucha, it will start to look like some sort of alien slug. Don't be alarmed, that is how it is meant to look. It took some time for me to even get over it when my friend had his, but you won't be drinking any part of the Scoby, so it's best not to think about how it looks.

PSA: Not An Alien

Seven days later, you'll have your first batch of freshly brewed Kombucha tea.

And then comes the part that I love; making the Kombucha your own. There are so many ways to do this, but I will just tell you my favorite. I like to make mine slightly carbonated with mandarin oranges. It is truly the most amazing thing!

Here's what I do, I pour the Kombucha into a separate container, usually those Simply brand juice jugs you get at the grocery store. Then I place about five pieces of mandarin oranges in with it. I let it sit out for a day or two until it starts to carbonate. It's important to watch your jug as you are doing this because it will start to expand. Be sure to unscrew the lid every once in a while to keep it from popping.

From there, you can place it in your fridge for a refreshing mandarin flavored carbonated Kombucha tea. Not only does it taste AMAZING! it is good for you too.

Now you don't have to use mandarin oranges you can use many kinds of fruits or not use any at all. The choice is yours. 

Thea Kombucha Kickstarter Campaign

It's a shame that I can't start the process right away due to my living situation, but perhaps it's a good thing as I would want to grow my Scoby in the best possible environment and currently I wouldn't agree that I have that.

Of course I will be documenting my experience with this and showing you all the finish product. This is one of those things that I can get behind and say that more people need to try it. 

If you have a friend who makes their own Kombucha give it a whirl or better yet, check out the website of the company that created the campaign on Kickstarter that I backed. It's called Thea Kombucha and while they don't have a mass production of the product it looks like they are trying to attempt some sort of public production for those that happened to miss the campaign.

Did I mention that by making your own you are also saving roughly $5 a bottle in the grocery store. That's too much for simple store brand Kombucha, which lets be real, will never taste as good.

Next up: My second Sipsby Box Taste Pairing

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