Plumfield circa 1868: Kombucha Tea

Mushroom

Well, it's been almost 3 years since my last glass of kombucha tea and I have been craving it ever since! And for the past, I don't know, maybe 4 or 5 months, I have been looking for a "scoby" or "mushroom" as I like to call it, to make some more tea. Well, I wasn't very successful until my friend, Elise, found out about 2 weeks ago that a mom, Jenny, from our church had one. There is was. So close and yet so far.

After patiently waiting for a week to receive the mushroom, it was, at last, placed in my hands. And oh, was I excited!!

When I first heard of Kombucha Tea, I was intrigued. A little scared maybe, but still curious. When I tasted the tea for the first time, of course I was nervous. I'm pretty good at eating just about anything, within reason of course, but I have to say I wasn't overly excited about the thought of drinking something brewed at home that started from a mushroom.

I can remember the day, like it was yesterday, when my friend, Elise, had me take the mushroom out of the jar and put it in my jar to take home with me. That was not an easy thing for me to do, I have to say. I started to get light headed and I thought I was going to pass out. Really? Why would a slimy "mushroom" do that to me. I have no idea, but it did. Thankfully, I didn't get sick, but it took me a while to get over touching the thing.

I'm over the "slimy" thing now and I can touch it without too much of a problem. I don't remember if when I tasted the tea for the first time whether I liked it or not, but as you can see, it has grown on me. I like mine a little bit stronger then others do, so there is a little flexibility with the taste. The longer it brews the stronger it gets.

Once you have a mushroom and while the tea is brewing, it grows another mushroom so now you have two. You can either give it away or use it to make another batch so you can have more than one batch brewing at a time. I sometimes have kept two mushrooms in a batch instead of one.

If you would like information on the health benefits of Kombucha Tea, here is a link that will tell you just about anything you want to know about it. Food Renegade.

And the recipe comes from Nourishing Traditions where you can also find more recipes for home brewed drinks.