I am always interested in fermenting new things. After all, I ferment things to make beer and kefir already. Why not expand the idea?
Kombucha, also called mushroom tea, actually has nothing to do with mushrooms. People saw the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (S.C.O.B.Y.) floating on top of the fermenting tea and thought MUSHROOM!
Well, it's bacteria.
Gross? How dare you. Ok, well it's a sort of gross idea and process, but the pay-off is a naturally fizzy, 1% alcohol, vitamin-rich beverage made from tea.
Pictured above, are two separate colonies afloat in the jar. One disk, called the "mother" actually "birthed" the other. But, that's a topic for another day.
I drank the liquid straight-up after about two weeks. It yielded a pleasant, fizzy, slightly sweet/vinegary flavor. I kind of liked it. Now, I am trying a "second fermentation" for a few days to imbue some of the liquid with berries to enhance the flavor.
Kombucha, also called mushroom tea, actually has nothing to do with mushrooms. People saw the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (S.C.O.B.Y.) floating on top of the fermenting tea and thought MUSHROOM!
Well, it's bacteria.
Gross? How dare you. Ok, well it's a sort of gross idea and process, but the pay-off is a naturally fizzy, 1% alcohol, vitamin-rich beverage made from tea.
Pictured above, are two separate colonies afloat in the jar. One disk, called the "mother" actually "birthed" the other. But, that's a topic for another day.
I drank the liquid straight-up after about two weeks. It yielded a pleasant, fizzy, slightly sweet/vinegary flavor. I kind of liked it. Now, I am trying a "second fermentation" for a few days to imbue some of the liquid with berries to enhance the flavor.