Tea and honey

[cheepteach]

a small market near here had several flavors of it to sell, and had a tap for free samples. One checkout girl I know sipped sample after sample then had to go home early!

 

[AntiqueB]

Every cold morning, I make a big pot of tea to sip all day. I usually mix green tea with either an herbal blend, or Earl Grey. I don't use any sweetener!

 

[cheepteach]

I drink tea plain--and I drink dandelion in the morning

 

[Sally PB]

Kombucha, a subject near and dear.

Yes, it is fermented, and it can have enough alcohol to be considered alcoholic. Someone mentioned a SCOBY; that stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It's the yeast that can make the alcohol, but it depends on the type of yeast. The stuff I brew doesn't have any more alcohol that an over ripe banana, probably. I have never, ever gotten even the slightest buzz from mine, or from any of the "don't have to be 21 to purchase" brands. Sauerkraut and kimchi are also fermented, but you don't get drunk of those either. It's the fermentation that makes it fizzy. Yup, fizzy tea.

The bacteria part is the probiotic stuff that is good for your gut health. Kombucha is a relative of the apple cider vinegar with the "mother" that TSC sells in the chicken section, Bragg's is the brand, I think. Some people refer to a SCOBY as a "mother." I have never seen a SCOBY in a bottle of vinegar, but I suppose it could happen...

Freie Family Farm, a SCOBY only so-so on the gross scale. If you can handle looking at the pictures we post here of chicken poop and injuries, you can handle looking at a SCOBY.

 

[AntiqueB]

Kombucha, a subject near and dear.

Yes, it is fermented, and it can have enough alcohol to be considered alcoholic. Someone mentioned a SCOBY; that stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It's the yeast that can make the alcohol, but it depends on the type of yeast. The stuff I brew doesn't have any more alcohol that an over ripe banana, probably. I have never, ever gotten even the slightest buzz from mine, or from any of the "don't have to be 21 to purchase" brands. Sauerkraut and kimchi are also fermented, but you don't get drunk of those either. It's the fermentation that makes it fizzy. Yup, fizzy tea.

The bacteria part is the probiotic stuff that is good for your gut health. Kombucha is a relative of the apple cider vinegar with the "mother" that TSC sells in the chicken section, Bragg's is the brand, I think. Some people refer to a SCOBY as a "mother." I have never seen a SCOBY in a bottle of vinegar, but I suppose it could happen...

Freie Family Farm, a SCOBY only so-so on the gross scale. If you can handle looking at the pictures we post here of chicken poop and injuries, you can handle looking at a SCOBY.

You ferment your own? Wow!

 

[Sally PB]

I can't afford to buy as much as I like to drink, so I brew my own out of economy. And, I have to say, I like mine a lot better than store bought now. It's not hard to learn or do, so if anyone's interested, I can find some links to follow for more info.

 

[fuentemoon]

I usually prefer homemade kombucha, although I am not a big drinker of it, in part because then I know what tea was used.

Today my tea of choice has been Daydreamer, a blend produced by a local company of black tea with rose petals and cardamom pods.

 

[greenwos]

I’ve been drinking Chai tea with sugar lately. My absolute favourite though is a Black tea blend with peppermint and vanilla.

 

[Freie Family Farm]

I can't afford to buy as much as I like to drink, so I brew my own out of economy. And, I have to say, I like mine a lot better than store bought now. It's not hard to learn or do, so if anyone's interested, I can find some links to follow for more info.

I'm interested!

 

[Sally PB]

If you can get a scoby from a friend, that's great. I made mine from store bought tea, following the directions in the first link below. You can order one online, but, well, what can I say? If I can make it myself, then I'd rather do that. Plus it's cheaper. It did take 4 weeks to grow one, though.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha-scoby-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202596

If you can get a scoby, skip to this for how to brew your own kombucha.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

https://www.kombuchakamp.com/
This website has everything you need to know about brewing too. Plus they sell all the stuff: scoby, special tea blends, equipment, books. I haven't bought anything from them, but they have a lot of information.

Here's what I had to buy: one bottle of unflavored kombucha. Actually, I think it was flavored; it was ginger flavor, but it was the only one on the shelf that was a clear color.

Here's what I ended up buying: two glass gallon jars. They're Ball, sold in the canning section, but "for decorative use only," and I think they were $15 each. Any large glass jar will work, like a big pickle jar. It really helps to be able to get your hand inside it to clean, though.

I also started buying organic cane sugar at Costco. Yes, you have to use sugar, but it's what feeds the scoby, so you're not drinking as much sugar as it looks like in the recipe.

I have come up with my own particular mix of teas that I use. That's the great thing about making your own! Totally customizable. The basis is Tetly, so not expensive at all. I think I can brew my own kombucha for less than $1 a bottle.

Oh, yup, one other thing. I think my biggest "expense" was the bottles. Save any kombucha (or other glass) bottles you have AND the caps. I was buying a fair amount, so I just saved them and asked anyone I knew who drank it to save me theirs. The caps from different brands are not interchangeable, even if it seems like they fit. I found this out when I took a couple bottles to a friend and they were lying down on the car seat. Half empty bottle, wet car seat. Oops. (Only I didn't say oops.) In a pinch, you could reuse pop bottles. I prefer to store things in glass, since it doesn't react with things, except hard surfaces when subjected to gravity.

Let me know if you have any questions!