If you know how to make Kombucha, you'll be able to enjoy years of healthful beverage for the cost of sweet tea. This B-vitamin and probiotic-rich drink has been used for centuries, and many think that it's close to the elixir of life. The FDA doesn't endorse this cultured tea, but you'll see hundreds of testimonials online.
To grow your own, you'll need a glass bowl to hold a gallon of water and the 'starter', which you buy or beg from a friend. You need black or green tea, two cups of granulated sugar, and cheesecloth or an old pillow case to cover the bowl during the week or so your Kombucha will be growing.
Since this is a health booster as well as a delicious beverage, you could use filtered water and organic tea and sugar. The 'mushroom', which is actually a dense pancake of yeast and bacteria, seems to grow well with conventional stuff off any grocery shelf. Cane sugar is probably best (for you, anyway), since most sugar beets are genetically engineered.
Once you're familiar with the one to two week growing process and the taste of the finished beverage, you can experiment with other sweeteners. However, regular white granules seem to satisfy the needs of the culture, and the fermenting action transforms this vitamin and mineral deficient food into a health booster.
Prepare the tea using five teabags and a gallon of water. Stir in the sugar. Add the starter and a cup of Kombucha if you have it when the tea is no more than barely warm. A starter mushroom may sink to the bottom or float. All finished brews will have the mushroom and its 'baby' at the surface. Remove the mushrooms and reserve a cup of the liquid to add to the next batch. Refrigerate the rest of the finished beverage.
A forgotten cup of tea will grow a perfect little mushroom, so you can try using a cup as a starter if you can't find a friend with a mushroom to give you. If the culture is happy, the result will be clear, sweet-tasting, and effervescent. It's great alone or with food when served cold, A new mushroom is formed with each batch and should be whitish-tan and slick.
It's like a sourdough starter; sometimes it's more active than others, and many feel that it responds to the phases of the moon. Find the spot where it's happiest by trying various locations. A cupboard is fine, so no light is necessary, but the back of a counter is good, as well. Choose a place where the tea can be undisturbed for the week or so it takes to make a mature mushroom, and try to locate it away from electrical appliances. Use common sense to evaluate whether the culture is growing or has failed. An unhappy mushroom will sort of fade away over several batches, giving you time to try new areas in your home.
Use your common sense to evaluate results. A 'happy' mushroom will give you a sparkling, faintly sweet drink that's delicious served cold. You can re-use your starter mushroom as well as the new one, or recycle the starter as plant food. Once you know how to make Kombucha successfully, you'll be telling your friends and giving all the babies away.
To grow your own, you'll need a glass bowl to hold a gallon of water and the 'starter', which you buy or beg from a friend. You need black or green tea, two cups of granulated sugar, and cheesecloth or an old pillow case to cover the bowl during the week or so your Kombucha will be growing.
Since this is a health booster as well as a delicious beverage, you could use filtered water and organic tea and sugar. The 'mushroom', which is actually a dense pancake of yeast and bacteria, seems to grow well with conventional stuff off any grocery shelf. Cane sugar is probably best (for you, anyway), since most sugar beets are genetically engineered.
Once you're familiar with the one to two week growing process and the taste of the finished beverage, you can experiment with other sweeteners. However, regular white granules seem to satisfy the needs of the culture, and the fermenting action transforms this vitamin and mineral deficient food into a health booster.
Prepare the tea using five teabags and a gallon of water. Stir in the sugar. Add the starter and a cup of Kombucha if you have it when the tea is no more than barely warm. A starter mushroom may sink to the bottom or float. All finished brews will have the mushroom and its 'baby' at the surface. Remove the mushrooms and reserve a cup of the liquid to add to the next batch. Refrigerate the rest of the finished beverage.
A forgotten cup of tea will grow a perfect little mushroom, so you can try using a cup as a starter if you can't find a friend with a mushroom to give you. If the culture is happy, the result will be clear, sweet-tasting, and effervescent. It's great alone or with food when served cold, A new mushroom is formed with each batch and should be whitish-tan and slick.
It's like a sourdough starter; sometimes it's more active than others, and many feel that it responds to the phases of the moon. Find the spot where it's happiest by trying various locations. A cupboard is fine, so no light is necessary, but the back of a counter is good, as well. Choose a place where the tea can be undisturbed for the week or so it takes to make a mature mushroom, and try to locate it away from electrical appliances. Use common sense to evaluate whether the culture is growing or has failed. An unhappy mushroom will sort of fade away over several batches, giving you time to try new areas in your home.
Use your common sense to evaluate results. A 'happy' mushroom will give you a sparkling, faintly sweet drink that's delicious served cold. You can re-use your starter mushroom as well as the new one, or recycle the starter as plant food. Once you know how to make Kombucha successfully, you'll be telling your friends and giving all the babies away.
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