Kombucha - From mold to magnificient

Because I happen to be a HUGE fan of blog carnivals, I've found another one to link up to occasionally!  It is reffered to as Real Food Wednesdays.  If you love real food and happen to be looking for some great new recipes or knowledge, go check it out here at this blog I found: Kelly The Kitchen Kop.


In my first post about kombucha, roughly five seconds into writing it, I realized I -almost- ruined my second attempt at kombucha!  Almost.  You can read about that mistake here.  I am happy to say that the batch turned out magnificently!  I could drink this stuff all day if I really wanted to.  Seriously, it is -that- good.  I didn't think fermented tea would be this amazing, but I admit to being totally and completely wrong.  Sadly, though, I didn't get a picture of either my first batch or the second awesome one, so have a picture of my girls!

Because taking a picture of Kombucha is overrated.

Now, you're probably wondering where I heard of this stuff, right?  Well, a few friends around here had been talking about it.  At that time, I didn't care about it.  I had absolutely no interest in a giant mushroom looking thing sitting in tea for a week in which I was then supposed to drink.  Not happening!  Except, never say never, right?  Soon, I came across the stuff on pinterest.  Then someone else mentioned it.  At that point, my curiosity peaked, and I began researching all the benefits of simply drinking such a weird tea.  As if I needed more convincing, I picked up my copy of Nourishing Traditions and started reading the beverage section.  There sat the recipe to make this weird tea the world is bragging about.  I found myself hunting for a SCOBY after that.  Lucky for me, someone around here already had kombucha fermenting.  You know kombucha is ready when a daughter SCOBY grows.  Once the new one appears, you can either keep it in your brew, toss it, or give it to a friend.  Don't like those options?  See this link for a few recipes and uses.

Brewing my first batch in the cabinet in a bowl  :D

If all those links make you want some tea, but you don't have friends who make it, you can buy the culture here.  If you're extra fancy and have a nice awesome health food store nearby, you can grow your own culture by looking at this link to find out how.

Do you plan on trying this tea now?  Or do you already drink it regularly?