When I was visiting a dear friend a few weeks ago, she introduced my husband and I to kombucha. Now, we knew what kombucha was, we had just honestly never tried it. I don’t know what was stopping us : The price of store-bought kombucha maybe? Or maybe (for me at least) it was the nervousness associated with fermented foods. I’ve always been a bit nervous about fermenting. And I’ll admit, all my previous attempts having failed (2 batches of sauerkraut, fermented beans and so many sourdough starters I’ve lost count) have not helped build my confidence for fermenting foods at home. But after finally tasting kombucha, we had to try!
I thought of buying a scoby at first, but I honestly didn’t have the money (sooo expensive around here!) so I found a site that explained how to grow your own. All I needed was a store-bought bottle (that was happily on sale for 2.99$) and some sugar and black tea. I went in with very little expectations and was so excited when it actually worked! It took a little under 3 weeks to reach the desired thickness and consistency. It was such an interesting process to watch it grow and come to life.
So now, we are about 10 days away from tasting our first batch. (The same site explains how to make the kombucha as well.) Oh how I hope it all goes as planned.
Have you ever made kombucha before? I would love to hear about your processes, recipes, experiences…
Family, Faith, Food and Fabric 
I don’t really know what it is to be honest but I do share your nerves about fermenting – and a similar failure rate. I had some amazing sauerkraut in Germany so I’m trying to pluck up the courage to try to recreate it!
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Kombucha is fermented black tea. It is delicious. Kim served it up after infusing it with fresh fruit, it was divine. But yeah. I’m gonna wait til the weather cools off and try sauerkraut again. *fingers crossed*
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Whoohoooo!!! So happy it worked for you, you will be stocked with kombucha soon. So exciting! Enjoy.
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Yes we will… and now that I know how easy it is, I’ll be growing a second one to make even more! Thank you again for all the lovely drinks we had at your place, such a treat!
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Oh that looks delicious, and it sounds even better too! (If you can even say that?) Anyhow. Wishing you luck with the fermenting. Last year was a great year for me fermenting and this year it just hasn’t happened. So sad. 😦
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I’m sorry your ferments didn’t take. I know how much you enjoy your pickles. I’m looking forward to the whole process being done and savouring our first batch. We froze over 15 lbs of fresh Ontario peaches when we came back from Kim’s and I’m planning on making our first batch of kombucha peach infused. 🙂 I’ll let you know how it turned out.
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This is one thing I have still yet to try. I don’t know what’s stopping me. I’ve never even tasted it before. I’ll add this to my “next year” list. It’s growing by the hour. Be well.
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Haha! My list is starting to look like a phone book. 🙂 Let me know if you try it. So far so good for us. 🙂
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i love this, i’ve been meaning to make some – i just have so many other things i’ve started. i think this will get me started. we love fermenting everything, but my kids are tired of all of it. can’t wait to try something new. thanks for all the convenient links!
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You are welcome. Hope it works out for you. The site is really detailed with a slide show of all the different stages. It’s a great resource.
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This isn’t something I’ve ever even heard of, and my fermenting generally also consists of just failed sourdoughs! Fingers crossed you’ve cracked it with this.
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Our first batch turned out good but a bit flat. It tasted more like sweet iced tea than kombucha. Didn’t have that kick. So we are going for a few more days of fermentation on the second batch. Should be ready by the end of the week-end. Very exciting! It’s making want to try another batch of sourdough starter. LOL!
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