DIY Kombucha

Look! I made this! 

(AND I drank it and haven't died!)

I'm a big fan of kombucha, but the idea of making something that's fermented was a little scary to me and rightfully so- the fermenting process goes against everything I've ever been taught about food safety and leaving things out, growing bacteria, etc. 

If you enjoyed science experiments as a kid, this is right up your alley. 

Basically, you make tea, add sugar, put it in a big jar with this sorta creepy looking bacteria/yeast blob that looks like a wet rubbery biscuit and let it sit on a shelf in your pantry for a few weeks. Added bonus, you can hide your favorite snacks behind it. It definitely detours husbands looking to eat all of the cookies :). 

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert by any means, so instead of telling you how to do it, I'll direct you to the experts that I've looked to:

First off, this post comparing the costs of buying kombucha  vs. making yoru own is what inspired me give it a go. 

I purchased the Goldfinch Kombucha Kit at Whole Foods. Their instructions were really straightforward and simple to follow. 

This had a bunch of helpful tips, photos and explanations as well. 

For my first round, I chose to keep the flavors simple, mainly because I wanted to make sure everything tasted right. I kept a few plain and added pommagranate juice to a few. I'm excited to try some of these suggestions in the future. 

Finally, I got my bottles from Bob's Homebrew Supply

I've already got my second batch fermenting in my pantry! SO I'd call this experiment a success!