About a year ago I caught wind of a fermented beverage called kombucha. This fermented tea is sweeping the nation, being touted as an elixir, a good dose of antioxidants, a probiotic, a cure all...and a new dietary fad that costs $4 for 12 ounces. Now don't get me wrong, I love fermentations of all sorts and it turns out that I like the taste of kombucha, but I'm not about to pay somebody $4 to make it for me.
Unfortunately it's almost impossible to cultivate the "mother" culture in your own home so I started with the safe bet of a store bought, unpasteurized bottle of kombucha and a batch of homemade sweet tea. After about two weeks what looked like a leather lily pad formed on the top of tea. The microorganisms had eaten most of the sugar and it was ready to consume. Tasting slightly tart and smelling very musty and sharp, it certainly isn't for everyone, but I think it's great.
About every week and half I go through the brewing process again. I decant the fermented stuff into 6 glass Canada Dry bottles and pour fresh tea into the container. Then I rip the mother in two, since it grows bigger with each batch, and put half into new tea. I toss the second half into our backyard as “compost”. This current culture has survived for about 9 months and costs pennies to cultivate.
While I can't scientifically prove that it's preventing illness, I have noticed I don't get sick as much or for as long as I used to. So for now, this is one investment that I will happily maintain.
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| The kombucha "mother". Looks gross, makes tea delicious. |
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| In making and bottling my own, I have $48 worth of savings sitting on the counter at this very moment. |
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