K-K-K-K-K-Kombucha!!!

Ok so the Cha-cha-chia pet commercials are still running through my head from Christmas because that was what I thought of when I thought of a blog title. But really there are some similarities! Chia pets you grow, as you do the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Some people are grossed out by the thought of eating your chia "hair" even though it is just alfalfa (right?) and some would be very hesitant to drink Kombucha after looking at these pictures! But, if you don't already know about the health benefits of Kombucha, check out my other blog posts here: http://thirning.blogspot.com/search/label/Kombucha I have already blogged about the why's and how's of Kombucha so I will not do that again in this blog.

This is our 2nd attempt. Our first attempt grew us the really nice SCOBY or baby (soon to be a mom) you see on the bottom. Right now (day 4) we are growing a new baby on the top which we will then use for the next batch. We kind of forgot about our first batch since it was in a cupboard in our laundry room. You see, they are supposed to have somewhat dark and quiet conditions. Good luck in our house. But, when it was in the laundry room it was forgotten and probably ended up as vinegar. So, here is our next attempt, in a more visible spot and we get to watch it growing and changing. We will be bottling on day 14, a week from this Friday. Come hell or high water, we are bottling. That is called the 2nd ferment. Right now is the first ferment. It will get "fizzy" once you do the 2nd ferment in the bottles (supposedly since we've never gotten that far before). The 2nd ferment is also the stage where you can add fruit for flavoring. Not going to get into that right now, just straight Kombucha for now. Then we may branch out. But, what a cool science project for homeschoolers or just in general! So, I will keep you posted on our Kombucha progress. I sure hope it turns out OK. I love Kombucha but $3 per bottle is killing me! This whole batch probably cost $2, now that I can handle!!