I was so excited to get a SCOBY from a homeschooling friend to try my hand at kombucha!

SCOBY is an acronym: Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. Some call it a mushroom.

I brewed several jars of kombucha to find out what our family likes and to experiment with different strengths, sweetness, and flavors.

Kombucha is great healthy alternative to soda or sugary juices. I am always looking for healthier choices for my family.

Our Kombucha Adventures

My first batch of kombucha was with jasmine green tea pearls.

I love the scent of jasmine green tea and I used muslin teabags. My first batch was too strong: too much tea, not enough sugar or water. Weaker tea is better and can be worked with more easily.

Lesson learned.

I brewed the tea and waited for it to come to room temperature. I then added my SCOBY and covered the jar.

My friend didn’t give me much liquid with it!

I left the kombucha on the counter for a couple weeks.

I was impatient. I could have let it brew longer.

We don’t have air conditioning and only radiator heating, so my kitchen can sometimes be really hot or really cold.

During summer, I have to keep butter in the refrigerator. My coconut oil is liquid.

During winter, I have a difficult time getting bread to rise in such a cold house.

I strained the kombucha with a plastic strainer into a glass bowl.

I then funneled the strained kombucha into bottles for the second fermentation.

I love those pop top bottles!

I left these on the counter in a cold corner for another couple weeks before tasting. The kids loved watching the bubbles!

I experimented with several flavors: fresh raspberries and blueberries, pineapple and ginger.

The raspberry was a huge hit with everyone.

Katie drank up all the blueberry all by herself in one day!

The pineapple ginger was tart.

I also brewed some other kombucha batches with black tea.

Then still more batches with combinations of black tea with bags of raspberry and peach herbal tea. Those turned out amazing!

I lost several jars to mold when the jars got too warm too quickly. I cried.

Lesson learned.

We also mixed the plain kombucha with pineapple or tangerine juice and those were delicious.

While kombucha is ok plain, we prefer it infused with fruit or juice.

Kombucha Tips:

• Allow tea to come to room temperature before adding SCOBY
• Use only glass and plastic
• Include at least 1 cup old kombucha with new SCOBY for best results
• Use flavored or herbal teas with green or black tea bases for yummy combos!
• Temperature should be just right – not too warm or too cool for fermentation.
• Cover the jars loosely with cheesecloth, a tea towel, or loose lid to keep out dust and insects.
• Refrigerate bottles for second fermentation.
• Add fruit, herbs, spices, or juice to second fermentation for fun flavors!
• SCOBYs can be kept in the refrigerator in jars until needed.

What’s your favorite kombucha flavor?