Something has been moving behind my wood stove. It lives in a 2.5 gallon glass carboy and resembles a floating placenta. My husband has been using phrases like, "It has moved." "It has tendrils!" "It changed position again." My response to all of these was a sarcastic, "Great."
I shouldn't be sarcastic because it is actually a great thing. It's kombucha, which is a collection of yeast and bacteria that feeds on tea (typically black) and sugar. It is a slightly fizzy fermented drink that provides your gut with much needed good probiotics (if it is not pasteurized). My husband started buying it several years ago from an Amish family at our local farmers market. I won't go into the science or actual process of making it because there are a lot of resources for that. The basics are that my husband bought a scoby (the starter) and put it in the carboy with black tea and white sugar and stashed it behind the wood stove to keep it warm. After about 10 days, he started sampling it to see if it was ready to bottle. If it is too sweet, then it needs to ferment a bit more (use up more of the sugar). When he decided that it was ready, he and the little babe "bottled the 'bucha." (Kombucha is a bit too much for the little babe to say.)
Since I had been declaring my disgust for the weird floating thing all week, my husband was surprised when I asked him to pour me a glass also. It was slightly sweet and fizzy - sort of like ginger shrub. You have to use unchlorinated water, so for the next batch, my husband took us on a little adventure to collect two gallons of spring water.
He is pretty sure the water is safe, though he did boil it before starting the next batch, just in case. I think a Happy Hour cleanse might be a good habit to start. It is better than fruit juice for the little babe and definitely healthier than the Happy Hour beverages that her parents normally enjoy.
How about you? Are you a kombucha fan?
I shared this post on The Self Sufficient HomeAcre for the HomeAcre Hop.