How to Start Making Kombucha

Step 1: Make friends with teenage staff member whose mom cooks real food.
Step 2: Mention that we like real food too.
Step 3: Gasp when said "Healthy Mom" picks her son up for the weekend, and she suddenly presents me with an extra kombucha Scoby.
Step 4: Decide not to kill Scoby.
Step 5: Rationalize that if "Healthy Mom" can keep kombucha alive along with her 7 kids, I can probably manage it with just 3.
Step 6: Start brewing.

That's why we now have a gallon jar of kombucha on the kitchen counter.  I will admit, I was afraid of kombucha.  But it turns out, it's super easy, even easier than the water kefir I used to make (until I killed it when we moved to Oregon).

So, here's how easy it really is to make kombucha:

1. Boil 3 quarts of water, then add 1 cup of sugar to the hot water.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  
2. Add 4 teabags, and let steep.  
3. Let sugar/tea mixture cool to room temperature (you can just leave the tea bags in until everything is cooled)
4. Pour sugar/tea mixture into gallon jar, add 2 cups of kombucha from a previous batch, and plunk the old scoby into the jar.
5. Cover with towel, secure with rubber band, and ignore for a week!  That's my favorite part...

These instructions assume you've gotten a scoby from someone else, along with a little bit of kombucha to add to your first batch.  If you aren't fortunate enough to have a scoby foisted upon you by a friend, you can also order a dehydrated one online from Cultures for Health or a plethora of other online vendors.

Posted at Monday Mania and Fat Tuesday