To begin, check out what a school friend hooked me up with...
my very own scoby, and a big fat healthy one at that! So I had to get up the courage to give it a try ;)
isn't she pretty? like science experiment pretty ;)
After picking up some sugar and a big jar we were ready to roll.
Supplies:
organic black tea
organic fairtrade sugar
glass bowl
glass jar
scoby
I did a little quick research online and learned that raw sugar isn't the best to use (hence the trip to the store), real tea should be used (not herbal), metal damages kombucha, and that I didn't have a good cover for the jar...
so first I brewed the tea for 15 minutes, 5 bags. I used 2 quarts of water.
stirred in sugar ( I think I used about 1 cup, which may be more than necessary), and let cool to about room temperature, then transferred to the jar and placed the scoby inside, (Scoby is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture/Colony/Collection Of Bacteria and Yeast) and added half of the kombucha that came with the scoby.
What I ended up using to cover with was gauze, which we have a bunch left from hubby burning his hand a few years ago, so I thought I'd try it and a rubberband. I don't know if this is ideal, but we didn't have any fruitfly problems which is what I've been reading about.
and placed her in the corner (out of direct sunlight) and patiently waited...
for 14 days until I got the feeling it was time. So I peeked in to discover that a little baby scoby had indeed grown!
again I don't know if this arrangement is ideal...
I tasted it and was surprised at how yummy it turned out plain. I poured into two jars and filled an old Bubbies jar with brew and the mother and baby. Our baby isn't a solid scoby as it grew around the mother sticking up since our jar was smaller than where she had grown in, but it separated well.
labeled and packed back in the fridge
we did get some fizzyness (which dissapated as the jars I stored in are not air tight)
and to one jar I added fresh sliced ginger
which was good, but not overly flavorful. I'm wondering if I have to let it like 2nd ferment at room temp to take on the flavor more? anyway, I chalk this up to a success =) We'll find out if it was beginner's luck as there is another batch brewing now!
Things that I learned the first go round:
I probably need glass with a bigger circumference for more air exchange and so the scoby can stretch her legs out (check)
I should research more about reuseable material for the top
I need a funnel (check)
EZ cap bottles may help keep the fizziness (check)
While it's fermenting you can smell it, I love it, I may start talking to it soon...
Here's hoping we have success for round two!
I welcome any suggestions/tips from you seasoned brewers.
I've been enjoying this combo a ton for snacking:
organic, 'raw', soaked and dehydrated almonds
and Theo chocolate, mmm. It's good with Kombucha too!
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