I recently posted a blog about making my first batch of kombucha. In our house, we have gone mad for probiotics. We have jars of all-natural sauerkraut in the fridge and we pop probiotic gummy bears (a supplement made by Schiff) nightly. Not to mention the Greek yogurt! So when my friend offered me a trio of kombucha baby SCOBY's (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) I simply HAD to try making my own kombucha. Without ever even tasting the stuff beforehand!
After all the effort, I was terrified that I was going to hate the final product. When I took a sniff, I thought it smelled exactly like apple cider vinegar. And although that product is extremely healthy, I would not want to drink a cup of it.
Yesterday, after a week of fermentation, I tasted my first batch. Slightly fizzy, slightly sour, slightly sweet, it tastes very similar to hard apple cider. I also read that there is a very small amount of alcohol in kombucha, maybe about 1% or so. Not enough to get anyone drunk, though, unless a very large amount is consumed.
If you want your kombucha to be sweeter, you can simply harvest it sooner. Once you remove the SCOBY and place your beverage into the fridge, fermentation will stop. If you want a tarter final product, leave your kombucha to ferment for more than a week. Most instructions say 7-10 days, but this length of time varies according to the temperature in your home. The warmer it is, the faster your tea will ferment.
The SCOBY can also be reused in your next batch. As long as you are feeding your SCOBY with freshly brewed tea and sugar, it will continue to live a healthy life. And your SCOBY mama will also grow baby SCOBY's which can be gently separated from the mama and used by themselves or given to adventurous friends. By the way, I have read that white sugar is the only sweetener to use. Apparently more "natural" sweeteners such as honey or agave syrup make the final product quite sour and unappealing. However, some folks choose to add small amounts of whole fruits, like blueberries, or flavorings like ginger root.
I have already begun another batch of kombucha because after tasting it, I decided this is definitely something I can add to my daily diet. Once the drink has fermented, there is very little sugar left in the final product. Plus loads of antioxidants and polyphenols from the tea. And of course we can't forget the probiotics. So it is really quite healthy!
If you want to taste kombucha without going to the trouble of making it yourself, you can find it at natural food markets, such as Roots, David's, or MOM's. I would guess Whole Foods must carry kombucha. Probably Wegman's, too, but after the beef tongue episode, I no longer count on Wegman's to carry every possible product under the sun. Let me know if you try some and what you think!
After all the effort, I was terrified that I was going to hate the final product. When I took a sniff, I thought it smelled exactly like apple cider vinegar. And although that product is extremely healthy, I would not want to drink a cup of it.
Yesterday, after a week of fermentation, I tasted my first batch. Slightly fizzy, slightly sour, slightly sweet, it tastes very similar to hard apple cider. I also read that there is a very small amount of alcohol in kombucha, maybe about 1% or so. Not enough to get anyone drunk, though, unless a very large amount is consumed.
If you want your kombucha to be sweeter, you can simply harvest it sooner. Once you remove the SCOBY and place your beverage into the fridge, fermentation will stop. If you want a tarter final product, leave your kombucha to ferment for more than a week. Most instructions say 7-10 days, but this length of time varies according to the temperature in your home. The warmer it is, the faster your tea will ferment.
The SCOBY can also be reused in your next batch. As long as you are feeding your SCOBY with freshly brewed tea and sugar, it will continue to live a healthy life. And your SCOBY mama will also grow baby SCOBY's which can be gently separated from the mama and used by themselves or given to adventurous friends. By the way, I have read that white sugar is the only sweetener to use. Apparently more "natural" sweeteners such as honey or agave syrup make the final product quite sour and unappealing. However, some folks choose to add small amounts of whole fruits, like blueberries, or flavorings like ginger root.
I have already begun another batch of kombucha because after tasting it, I decided this is definitely something I can add to my daily diet. Once the drink has fermented, there is very little sugar left in the final product. Plus loads of antioxidants and polyphenols from the tea. And of course we can't forget the probiotics. So it is really quite healthy!
If you want to taste kombucha without going to the trouble of making it yourself, you can find it at natural food markets, such as Roots, David's, or MOM's. I would guess Whole Foods must carry kombucha. Probably Wegman's, too, but after the beef tongue episode, I no longer count on Wegman's to carry every possible product under the sun. Let me know if you try some and what you think!
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