Friday, January 6, 2012

Kombucha Challenge

I should have jumped right on this and shared with the world right away but I was neglectful of my poor blog. I'm doing the Kombucha Challenge for January.

Kombucha, a fermented tea, has many followers. Frankly, the stuff just tastes good and is a great substitute for sugary sodas or even diet sodas. It's fermented, so it carries many positive pro-biotics.

My goal is to use the KT (Kombucha Tea), to replace most (if not all) of my coffee. Then I'm going to start substituting KT for all but one glass of wine in the evenings.

Up to now, my brewing of KT has been very simple. Boil water, add teabags (I use organic tea), add organic sugar. Let cool to room temperature and then add the SCOBY (Symbiotic Collection of Bacteria and Yeast). Or maybe that C stands for Combination. I would let is sit in a nice quiet spot for about 10 days and then drink a little mixed with water (and usually some sort of stevia to sweeten it up a little).

My husband thinks the SCOBY is the most bizarre thing he has ever seen and cannot believe I drink the liquid that emerges from under that white mat, but he's rather conservative that way. He doesn't know it, but I use KT instead of vinegar in our salad dressing and I often use it for vinegar substitutes when I make bread, marinate meat or make other sour sauces. I think cooking it probably kills the pro-biotics, but since it's easy to brew, I have a lot of it. 

But I'm learning there is a way to put the KT into a secondary fermentation using swing cap bottles and adding a flavoring agent (like a flavored herbal tea), sealing it off then letting it sit for another day or two before refrigeration. I have lots of wonderful herbal tea flavors to try out (and fruits). 

Now, I'm waiting on a case of swing-top bottles.

I've also ordered a water crock with a spigot so I can set up a continous brewing station in or near my kitchen. My kitchen counters are pretty full, so it may end up living on the table in my family room. 

And I'm drinking my KT every day, several times a day!

Go check out the Kombucha Mama!

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