This is a personal project I've been working on for what seems like forever now, since I haven't been so good at time management the last few weeks and I was working on other things too. But I finally finished! I was sitting and wondering what I could paint, and I happened to be drinking some kombucha that I made, so I decided to do a little series on the probiotic drink to teach people about what it is. I also realized later on that it's pretty freakin' popular now judging by how readily available it is in grocery stores, so this may all be pointless... but oh well. I just wanted to do something educational and artistic.
I don't even remember the first time I tried kombucha, but all I know is that I love this stuff. I also got tired of paying almost $4.00 a bottle every time I wanted some, so I looked up how to make some at home. It's suprisingly easy! I'm not going to go into the minute details but you can look it up yourself at http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-brew-kombucha-double-fermentation-method/ (this is the website I used when I was figuring it out).
First, you will need to brew some black tea. Kombucha is essentially fermented tea, and it has all kinds of probiotics, so it's good for you. And it's very low in calories (as long as you don't add too much fruit juice to adjust the flavor to your liking)! I use English Breakfast, and I just boil 1 gallon of water and steep 6-8 bags of tea in the pot for 20 minutes and add one cup of plain white granulated sugar (don't worry, the culture will eat all of the sugar) Once the tea is fully steeped and the sugar is dissolved, you can throw away the bags and wait for the gallon to cool COMPLETELY!! You can stick it in the fridge if you're impatient, like me.
Next, you'll need a glass gallon jar (you don't need the lid). Whatever was in it before needs to be
cleaned out completely with the hottest water you can stand, and about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Let the inside of the jar dry out so that it's totally clean and ready for some fermenting. The reason you don't need the lid is because you'll be covering the top with a coffee filter and some rubber bands so the tea can "breathe" while it ferments for about a week.
Once the tea has cooled completely (I need to start using synonyms of completely) you take your SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast - This is what ferments the tea and turns it into kombucha. I bought mine off Amazon for $6.00 and I've probably brewed about 4 gallons of kombucha so far, and it's still going strong!) and place it in the glass jar.
Once the SCOBY is in the jar, add about 4-5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. I forgot to
mention, whenever you're handling a SCOBY with your bare hands, you need to rub apple cider vinegar onto them because it forms a kind of protective layer for the SCOBY (prevents infections). I am not a kombucha expert by any means, so I'm not totally sure why the vinegar is important... I think it maintains a healthy pH for the SCOBY. Apple cider vinegar is really good for you, by the way! Whenever you buy it from the store, make sure you get the ugliest and murkiest kind there is, because that means all the stuff that's good for you hasn't been filtered out of it. I think you can actually grow a kind of SCOBY out of just apple cider vinegar, but don't quote me on that.
After the apple cider vinegar, add about half a cup of "starter tea". This is just store bought kombucha that will kickstart the fermentation process. Oh, and it has to be room temperature as well. Then pour in the COMPLETELY COOLED brewed sweet tea, clean off the rim of the jar with a paper towel, seal it off with a coffee filter and rubber band. Wait about 7-9 days, depending on how tart you like your kombucha, and you can mix it with fruit juices (I like cranberry and apple) once it's finished fermenting. And then you're done! That's it! It seems complicated and intimidating the first time around, but once you understand the steps it's really easy.
If you read through all of this, I'm really impressed and thankful :) Let me know if you have any suggestions for how to run my blog, and if you want me to do a painting of anything in particular.