Like when I went to New York for three days for work recently. I took a jar of yogurt and a plastic bottle of kombucha and got along just fine with a minimum of fuss.
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| preparing the sweet tea to feed the big kombucha jar |
Kombucha is fermented black tea - you need to have the SCOBY (symbiotic community of bacteria and yeast) which is very strange looking in order to ferment the sweet tea. Any locals who want a kombucha starter SCOBY, please email me privately from the link on the sidebar and tell me, as mine is growing vigorously.
Per Rebecca's directions, I've been doing a secondary fermentation. I've got a gallon jar of kombucha just hanging out with its SCOBY. Then I pour off a bottle of the kombucha, seal it, and let it sit for a few days to build up a high level of fizz. I do this in a plastic bottle so I can press on the side to see how much pressure is building up; you want to be careful with this, as the pressure can make glass jars explode and I'm sure you can imagine the hazardous mess that ensues! Refrigeration slows the pressure way down, as does loosening the cap.
I am a novice at this sort of thing, so I'm not sure how many questions I can safely answer about kombucha.
8 comments:
I was recently reading about kombucha at Down to Earth, and the SCOBY kind of grossed me out, and I don't think I'm overly queasy. It's all seems so strange.
I tried my sourdough starter and it fizzled out - maybe the high heat from last week? So, I'll try again!
So can you buy SCOBY locally in health food stores or? I'd like to try some for my tummy...
Lisa, I agree, it is weird :)
Nancy, I doubt you can buy a SCOBY in a store. I got mine from a friend. I think there are online communities where you can see if anyone is close to you who has extra to share. There are also places online where you can buy a live SCOBY - always best to start with a live, activated one instead of a dried one.
This is so interesting. I'd never heard of this drink before.
Margo, I've just started with kombucha and I'm finding the "slime threads" unpalatable. From one beginner to another, do you have any suggestions?
Sara, I'm not getting any slime threads in mine - the SCOBY floats on top in one mass. hmmmmm. I wish I could help! (I wish I knew more - I just threw out a fermenting veg yesterday because it was slimy - I don't know if slimy is okay! and it looked pretty gross to me.)
Oh no! :) I'm pretty sure I've read that they are normal and harmless, but still... yuck. I wonder what you're doing differently that you're not getting them. For now, I'm sieving the liquid through a coffee filter. Thanks for answering!
I have a link from Rhonda at the Down to Earth blog about this and I think I'm going to give it a go. I could use some more live food in my life. One of the ladies at our community garden has some mother she'd told me she give me once, but at the time I didn't know much about it. I might have to see if the offer still stands.
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