Something's Growing in My Kitchen.....

A couple of weeks ago we had a new arrival at our house. Very much like a special visit from the stork, my new friend - Amy - from our Tulsa raw food meetup group, brought a new baby to come be part of our family. Until that day, I was unfamiliar with "Scoby," and you may be unfamiliar with her too. A scoby looks looks like a beige/white rubbery pancake or a gigantic portabello mushroom, but it's name actually stands for - symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. Sounds delightful, no? Well, this very special culture is what is placed into a mixture of sweetened tea and turns it into an amazing concoction that's full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids.Kombucha is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with this kombucha culture, or scoby. The result can taste like something between sparkling apple cider and champagne, depending on what kind of tea you use. It's not what you'd imagine fermented tea to taste like. Although the scoby is placed into sweetened tea, the culture actually utilizes and digests the sugar and it then produces a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes. And of course there are all the benefits of the probiotic microorganisms themselves. The Kombucha culture is a biochemical powerhouse in your kitchen.With every brew you make, the kombucha forms a new layer, or scoby, on the surface of the liquid. These can be left to thicken the scoby or can be divided, giving you spare cultures that you can store in some tea in the fridge in case something should happen to your active culture. Or you might want to pass on spare Kombucha cultures to friends, which is how we received our baby scoby.Many health claims are made for kombucha and there is some research that has been done on its benefits, but clinical information is not easy to find. It has certainly been shown to have similar antibiotic, antiviral and anti fungal properties in lab tests as fermented milk products, such as kefir and yogurt with live cultures, although kombucha is dairy free. In rats, it’s been shown to protect against stress and improve liver function. Of course the internet is full of experiential evidence from people who have been using kombucha over many years. Many of the benefits reported include improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer, digestive problems, candidiasis, hypertension, HIV, chronic fatigue and arthritis. It ‘s also used externally for skin problems and as a hair wash among other things.You can buy Kombucha at your local health food store for around $3 a bottle or you can make it for pennies in your own kitchen. If you're in my area, I can hook you up with a baby because my scoby is apparently quite fertile. Or there are many sources online from which to order. Below is an overview of how to brew your own delicious and nutritious kombucha.
Instructions for Brewing Kombucha

1. Bring 3 quarts of distilled or purified water to boil in a stainless steel stock pot (scoby does not do well aroulnd metals such as aluminum).

2. When boiling, add one cup of white sugar. Stir until dissolved.

3. Turn off the heat, remove the cooking pot (in order to stop the boiling). Add four Black Tea bags (I use a combination of organic white, green and black tea), cover the pot with the lid. Let steep until cooled.

4. Remove and discard tea bags.

5. Allow sweetened tea to cool to room temperature, even if it takes overnight.

6. When at room temperature, pour the sweetened tea into a one gallon jar. (This is where the tea will ferment.)

7. Before pouring the cooled tea into the jar, pour 8 oz. of the starter tea (which will come with the scoby) into the jar. Then pour the cooled tea into the jar, to ensure an even mixture of the tea with the starter. For future batches you will use your own Kombucha tea starter.

8. Place the Kombucha scoby on top of the sweetened, cool tea, making sure that the darker rougher side faces down. (Don’t worry if it sinks to the bottom, it’s O.K.) Also, do not wear metal jewelry when handling your baby.....remember, no metal!

9. Cover Jar with a piece of loosely woven cloth (the scoby has to “breathe”. Cotton or linen or paper towel will do just fine.)

10. Secure with a rubber band to keep cloth in place and to keep out any insects or contaminates.

11. Place the Jar in a ventilated place to ferment for at least 8 days, without moving it, but away from direct sunlight and kitchen odors, plants and pets. The ideal constant fermenting temperature is 85-89 degrees F.

12. At about 8-10 days remove cover and taste. I have been letting mine ferment for 8 or 9 days since it's summer and the warmer weather seems to create a perfect environment for fermentation.

13. After the fermented tea has passed the tests, it can now be called “KOMBUCHA TEA.” Remove the scoby that has formed on top of the “KOMBUCHA Tea” If the “mother” and it’s “baby” are stuck to each other (the baby on top of the mother), separate the two carefully and place each in a jar with enough “Kombucha Tea” (as a source of nourishment) to cover it, for future use. However after several batches of tea have been brewed, discard the old scoby.