Making a SCOBY Mother

Last night I brewed some tea so that we can make a SCOBY mother. That SCOBY mother will allow us to brew kombucha.

Kombucha

Kombucha is a tea-based beverage that has various health benefits. It's a fermented drink that tastes good and is good for you. Kombucha contains active cultures. SCOBY stands for, "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast." (source)

The process involved boiling 2 cups of water and adding 2 tea bags to steep (i.e., I made tea). I then poured the tea into the jar, and poured the (baby) SCOBY--found floating in bottles of kombucha--into the jar. I covered the jar with mesh cloth and put the jar into a dark closet. The jar will sit in the closet for about 4 weeks until we have a SCOBY that covers the surface of the liquid.

Here's a video that explains the process:

Here's a second video on how to make the SCOBY mother:

Here's a video of how to make kombucha once you have the SCOBY:

Happy holidays, btw. Ring in the Solstice Bells!

More Fermentation Projects

I visited my parents last night. I, of course, shared my beer making enthusiasm, and general DIY/homesteading fervor. While talking, I must have said something about wanting to get one gallon jugs because my mother offered the two wine bottles that she had. I was happy to take them off her hands. Within minutes I had stoppers and air locks from the local homebrew shop. Ta da!

One Gallon Bottles with Stoppers and Airlocks

We plan to do the following projects with these little fermentation vessels:

• Brew mead. Mead is a honey wine. I'll be doing more research on making mead over the next week. Here are some instructions on YouTube. Here is a link to suitable yeast on Amazon.
• Brew kombucha. Kombucha is a tea-based beverage. It has active cultures and many health benefits. Here are some instructions on YouTube.

I'll post updates as we go. Should be neat. : )