 |
| The brewing process |
The latest thing to come across my radar is kombucha (kawm-boo-chah) which is a fermented tea. Now, before rumors start about how I've turned into a day drinking lush, let me clarify that ferment doesn't automatically mean alcoholic. While kombucha can contain trace amounts of alcohol, it's typically less than 1%. Compare that to pure
vanilla extract that has at least 35% alcohol or
beer that is usually 4% - 6% alcohol by volume. So if it's not alcoholic, what exactly is it?
Kombucha is an effervescent fermentation of sweetened tea that is high in probiotics and healthy bacteria and is said to promote healthy gut flora as well as detoxing effects. I started drinking it for the health benefits, but am totally in love with the flavor! My first taste of kombucha was a bottle of
GT's Kombucha. It was great, but at $3 - $4 for a single serving bottle, it wasn't practical to have on a daily basis. So I googled and googled and decided the best route was to start brewing my own. Fast forward to today - I have 2 brews constantly going.
It's really not that hard to brew at all. In fact, the hardest part was waiting for the SCOBY to come in the mail! The SCOBY is what ferments the tea. It's a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. Yah, it sounds and looks gross, but once you get past that, it's a great drink! You feed the SCOBY freshly brewed green or black tea and sugar. The bacteria and yeast eats the sugar and multiplies - lowering the sugar content of the kombucha.
 |
| Beautiful SCOBY |
 |
| My beautiful thick scoby |
