How I Brew My Own Kombucha {and you can too!}

So, this post is kind of gross, but also kind of cool.  Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that is grown from a symbiotic colony of yeast and fungus.  Um. Gross.  But when you smell and drink kombucha you might disagree, similar to beer the byproduct of the living organisms produce a fermented drink {so much so that in 2010 Whole Food pulled it from it's shelves until the alcohol content could be regulated or labeled}.  This drink is commonly acknowledged to have serious health benefits, while others argue there is no scientific evidence for these claims.  That is not the point of this post.  This post is to show you how I brew my kombucha, and how my family drinks it {yes, my toddlers love it!}.  So, here's the deal.

This is a fresh scoby I peeled off of the old one...

This is what it looks like when it's healthy, kind of like raw chicken.

I got my "mother" or starter from a trusted friend who has been brewing for years.  It came with starter tea as well {this is the normal tea but slightly stronger- the longer it sits the longer it ferments the stronger the tea, it can also be started with vinegar}.  I put it into a gallon glass jar I purchased at Target.  My friend strongly encouraged me to write a "love note" to my tea to keep it happy and to talk to it daily, sending positive energy to it.  so I did. and do.  I used a nut milk bag as my lid, although any breathing cloth would be fine.  The tea needs air, but obviously I want to keep out bugs and dust which could contaminate the tea.

You can only use three types of tea, I use Green.

EVERYTHING THAT TOUCHES THE TEA MUST BE SANITIZED WITH HOT WATER AND VINEGAR, DO NOT USE SOAP- that can harm the scoby.

I brew 2 quarts at a time with 2/3 cup sugar because my glass jar is only big enough for 2 quarts.

PROPER RATIO FOR TEA TO SUGAR IS 3 QUARTS TEA TO 1 CUP SUGAR.

do not use honey, stevia, other sweeteners, it needs sugar.

You can see the tea as it is brewed fresh and how it changes as it ferments, below:

I only use organic sugar but do not use raw sugar.

once the tea has cooled and mixed with the sugar it can be added to the starter and scoby.

Once the tea has fermented for a week or so, I pour a portion into a large ball jar and add raspberries, and start the whole brewing process over.

 I allow the raspberry and kombucha combo. to sit in the fridge for about 2-3 days and then remove raspberries and drink kombucha. 

I feed the raspberries to my chickens and am still looking for ideas for what to do with extra scobys, right now I've just given a few away and composted a few, but if you know of a natural or beneficial thing to do with them I'd love to hear about it, is composting them safe or even beneficial?