Kombucha

If the 20*0’s has anything good so far it is time! I tried making kombucha prior to the most recent coronavirus pandemic (COVID) but after the two previous ones that I can remember (SARS and MERS), if we measure time in coronavirus time lines.

I don’t remember why or how I came across kombucha but in the before days I tried it and liked it. I have a little bit of a habit of trying to make things on my own if I like it; I looked up how to make kombucha, thought that doesn’t look hard, got some equipment (really shouldn’t have), failed to realize I needed a SCOBY, and failed miserably at making my own. After the complete failure I gave up, come 20*0 I got looking for new hobbies and I discovered vinegar making. Some time in 2021 I got into flavoured vinegars (Banana is my favourite); late 2021 I thought about getting back into kombucha making, I asked around but no one near me knew of anyone with a SCOBY and there was no way I was going to order one so I thought I could try making one from scratch. I know everything wants to try and ferment on its own so I thought I would try to ferment tea and sugar on its own; so while I was experimenting with different vinegars I thought I would just try to ferment tea on its own; several months went by but I could not find a better vinegar. I continued making my banana vinegar but I missed starting a new ferment one week and fell out of the habit of making my vinegars. I have been meaning to get back into it for a while now when my groceries where dropped off today I finally said I am doing it ate a banana chopped up the skin and chopped up another banana skin and all covered it with water weighed it all down and stuck it in fermentation station #1 (I am old and the pound sign still means number for me). While I was doing that I thought if the tea was going to do something I am sure it would have by now. I was prepared to just dump my two attempts but to my surprise there was something floating on the top, my first thought was damn it it’s mold. I took off the cloth to take a peak, my second thought was great I made vinegar out of tea? I took a sniff and it was no vinegar! I berthed a SCOBY all on my own, I made some more kombucha tea and plopped the SCOBY into it (after it cooled) and moved it to fermentation station #2! I have ready that you are not to drink the kombucha made from this first fermentation so hopefully in a week I will have kombucha from my SCOBY!