How to Make Lavender Kombucha. One of my favorite indulgences when I’m grocery shopping is lavender kombucha.
(We shall not speak of Trader Joe’s salted caramel sauce). It’s bubbly, tart and has the distinct flavor that only lavender buds can bestow upon a beverage. Yes, it’s hippie refreshment at its finest. Kombucha is a drink made by placing a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) in a jar full of super-sweet tea. The jar is covered with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and very carefully placed in a dark, out of the way spot for a week.
Because the SCOBY is a living organism, the result is a live food. Unfortunately, it’s also expensive to purchase. Is Kombucha Really Good for You? As an occasional kombucha drinker, I enjoy the strange, sour aftertaste of the trendy fermented beverage.
But after spending as much as five bucks for a 16-ounce bottle of the stuff, I decided to see if I could successfully—and safely—brew my own batch. I also wondered whether the claims about kombucha's health-enhancing properties had any merit. Often mistaken for a mushroom, the culture used to make kombucha is actually a collection of yeast and bacteria. After 10 days of natural fermentation, the amalgam forms a thin pancake-looking colony referred to as a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) surrounded by a fizzy, vinegar-like tonic—the stuff you drink. Remnants of the living mass make their way into bottled kombucha, which creeps some people out. Because the fermentation happens naturally, I needed no special equipment besides a one-gallon mason jar to get the project bubbling.
This lack of control recently led to some problems among kombucha manufacturers and sellers. How much does it cost? By Ariana Estelle-Symons, Ph.D., Copyright 1998 From the March, 1998 issue of the Kombucha Konnection Newsletter.
If you are living on a budget - you have lots of company. You know the sayings; `times are tough' and `money is tight'. You've already made the decision to take your health into your own hands, and after much research, you've decided that Kombucha is good `tonic' and you want to begin drinking it. You just don't feel that you have the time (or the motivation) to brew it yourself, so you inquire at the local health food store and discover that you can purchase `pre-bottled, ready to drink' Kombucha Tea, the average price being $10.00 a quart, although some are as much as $29.95 a quart.
The question now is: can you afford Kombucha? Okay, let's take a look at this. If just one person in your household is drinking KT at the rate of 4-1/2 ounces a day, that one quart bottle will last 7 days. One person drinking 4-1/2 ounces a day for one month (28 days) = $40.00. Crazy About Kombucha. Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 If you’ve been listening to any of the Paleo podcasts or have read any of the blogs lately, I’m sure you’ve heard a good discussion or two about gut health.
Foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir are being discussed all over the Paleo blogosphere, but there’s one fermented product that is really catching some attention. Kombucha, a fermented tea, is steadily gaining in popularity among Paleo advocates, health connoisseurs, and well, people that just like a darn delicious drink. Due to its sweet taste and slight alcohol content, it’s even been used to help individuals who want to get a grip on their sugar or alcohol cravings. In fact, kombucha was once pulled from the shelves of stores because some of the teas were found to contain more than 0.5% alcohol, which is the legal U.S. limit for nonalcoholic drinks. Recipe: Basic Kombucha. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.
Thanks for visiting! I did it! I made some really fine kombucha at home from a beautiful healthy SCOBY given to me by a friend. It was easy once I got over the learning curve and the anxiety I felt when I received the SCOBY and screamed “what do I do with it?” I’ll tell you what I did, how easy it was and how to be a little more prepared than I was. FIrst of all, be sure to have all the equipment you will need on hand ready for the arrival of your SCOBY. When it came time to bottle the kombucha I didn’t have the bottles on hand so I simply used quart mason jars as I wanted a strong glass jar for this.
All in all it has been a little on the edge and I was pushed into just doing it! Ingredients 1 SCOBY mother, culture or mushroom (where to buy)1 gallon filtered or spring water (not tap!) Equipment Instructions Flavoring Here’s the fun part! Here are some ideas: Bottling Continuing the Ferment. Flavored Kombucha. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.
Thanks for visiting! Although the Kombucha Challenge is over, I just wanted to add one more recipe. Kombucha is now my favorite beverage. I actually never drink much of anything except water, so this is something new for me. I am really enjoying taking care of my SCOBY and getting this incredibly beneficial beverage from it.