Kombucha Adventure

About fifteen years ago my parents brewed and drank the 'Manchurian Mushoom" tea. As a kid I remember my Dad making their batch weekly. The 'mushroom' looked like a tan pancake and the brew smelled and tasted like vinegar. I didn't much care for it but they seemed to like it and took their shots daily. Well I guess the trend is still alive and well, now more popularly referred to as Kombucha.
And I bought one online.
You can learn/buy more about Kombucha here but essentially, it's a fermented tea that you make by leaving a culture of yeast and bacteria in sweet tea for about a week and let it do it's thing (technically it's not a mushroom). Yeah it sounds gross, putting a slimy bacteria-pancake in some tea and leaving it out on the counter for a week and then drinking it is probably unsettling to most. But I'll eat stuff off the floor and like science experiments. The bacteria also grows a new 'baby' after each brew, you can so kindly share with friends and family. The 'booch is supposed to aid in digestion and be cleansing and energizing. Maybe now that I'm an adult, my tastes have changed, as I I find it rather tasty.  It's is slightly vinegary, mildly sweet and fizzy as the fermentation process naturally carbonates the tea. 
So far I've been drinking it for about a week and a half. Honestly I haven't felt much of a difference in my general well being, but I have been using it as a replacement to my daily afternoon diet soda so that's probably an improvement to my health in general. I'll keep you posted on any revelations....

Stuff You Would Need to Brew Some 'Bootch"

 

 

A Completed Batch.