Monica’s Kombucha Experiment

I’m pretty excited because I just inherited some SCOBYs (a mom and a few babies)!

If you’re not sure what a SCOBY is, it means:

Symbiotic Colony

Of

Bactaria &

Yeast

SCOBYs are used to make Kombucha, which I talked about briefly when I reviewed Skyebird Juice Bar at the East End Market

It looks like this: 

 Kombucha has a million and one health benefits! Here are a few:

• High in B Vitamins, and naturally has B12 because of the fermentation process. This is great for me because I am a strict vegetarian. Vegans and vegetarians have a hard time getting B12 in the diet because it’s created from the aging process. This is abundant in meat, but only available naturally in fermented foods outside of meat. When B12 is low, the body can become fatigued, so a little kombucha a day goes a long way!
• The cultures aid in digestion
• Detoxifies and cleanses the body
• Naturally has Probiotics to boost immunity
• Rich in Enzymes. This is especially beneficial because enzymes are abundant in raw food, which most of us don’t eat regularly. Also, raw food takes longer to digest and isn’t recommended in large quantities in the Ayurvedic diet. This is a great way to get enzymes in your diet to detoxify without compromising your digestion!
• Naturally increases energy and metabolism! Score!

I’m babysitting these SCOBYs for my friend Shanna, who is on her way to Mysore, India to study with Sharath Jois. I’m so honored she asked me to take care of them! The cool thing about brewing Kombucha is that your SCOBY has baby SCOBYs, and then you can use those to continue to brew more and more kombucha, or you can give the babies to a friend. You can also use them for compost. 

Shanna left me these instructions (feel free to pin this for future reference):

 

 

 

I also found this great video to help with Kombucha brewing:

I’m super excited to brew kombucha and experiment with flavors. I love brewing tea, so my plan for tomorrow is to purchase some pure black tea from Dandelion Communitea Cafe so that I can start the process. At Skyebird they make the most creative brews like, Starfruit Lemongrass or Strawberry Mint! Last weekend I had Mango Habanero Kombucha (I know)! I can’t wait to experiment with flavors!

I’ll update you in a few days with my progress. In the meantime, have you brewed kombucha? What were some problems you ran into? I’d love to hear your experience!