Mother!

[douloijohanna]

Last night I went to a "Kombucha Party" hosted by Rebekah.  I, along with 5 other friends, learned how to make the fermented beverage and walked home bearing slimy bits of starter that look like sliced ham.  It sounds like loads of fun, I know.  The starter is called a "mother," and looks like solidified loogies.

Anyhow, I brewed up a big pot of

Comments

[starfish82]

Yay! I like kombucha.

[douloijohanna]

Have you ever made your own? The stuff Rebecca shared with us tasted way better than the store bought stuff I've had. I only hope that I don't ruin it by making it at home. Everyone has all these specific "tricks" and "secrets," as in "the secret to good kombucha is...." Half of them are contradictory, making me believe it's a matter of taste.

For example, I don't have white sugar on hand any more. Instead of sugar, we use honey, agave nectar, or sucanat (which is raw evaporated cane juice that's not been processed in any way). When making kombucha, sugar is supposed to be the "food" for your culture, so good food equals a good culture. Most people say that making it with sucanat or honey ruins it. Some people say it works fine but takes longer to ferment. Other people say it works best with sucanat and they wouldn't make it any other way.

It's all too contradictory. I don't know who to believe. Mostly, I'm just following the recipe that Rebecca shared with us last night b/c I liked the samples she gave us.

[starfish82]

No I've never tried to make my own. My roommate used to, so we're probably going to start it up sometime...