Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Kid friendly kombucha recipe


Kombucha is supper awesome, I love it and it makes me feel great. My son also really likes it. He likes any kind, any strength, any flavor, it doesn't matter, he loves it! I, on the other hand am much more picky about my kombucha. So why is this post called kid friendly? Because it doesn't have any possibility of caffeine, and anyone who doesn't like really astringent things and likes there kombucha on the sweet side will like this kombucha. Personally it's a little sweet for me, but it's really difficult to make this kombucha very sour/astringent because of the natural sweet quality of the red tea. This is how my mother makes it since my dad prefers it. I've never seen this kind at the store so more than likely the only way for you to get this kind of kombucha is by making it yourself. Also this is a great way to make it if you don't have much time and have a tendency to forget about it since it can take more brewing time than other teas. In fact, you can actually just let it set in the water until it cools. Green rooibos tea however dosn't work the same as the red. 

It's very easy to make. Simply boil a gallon of filtered water, dissolve a cup of sugar into it, and steep 5 teabags of red/honeybush tea for 5 minutes or until the water has cooled. Once it is cool mix it with a cup of starter and your scooby, or a bottle of plain kombucha that has some culture in it. Cover with some cheesecloth, or a tea towel and let it sit for 4 days to 2 weeks depending on how warm your house is. 2 weeks if it's in the 60's, 4 days of its about 80, and a week if it's average. If you are using a bottle of kombucha to start it, a scooby will start forming on the top. You will know if it is done by a scooby being formed, it being slightly fizzy, and by it being about as sour a lemon aid. Or if you've ever had one of those apple cider vinegar drinks, it's about like that. Maybe like sweet and sour sauce, but not nearly as sweet. And maybe not even as sour. Man I'm doing a weird job of explaining this. 

You can put it in smaller jars and let it sit for a day and it will get fizzy. You will want to put you scooby in a jar with a cup of kombucha to save in your refrigerator until you want to make another batch. Also, you can simply empty out your gallon jar, wash it and put you scooby and cup of kombucha back in and start another batch. It's really up to you. 
It tastes pretty good mixed with other juices too, and if you want to get rid of some of the sugar from that, then do a second ferment by letting it sit on the counter for a day or two. My toddler prefers his plain and in his Thomas the train sippy cup, but you can enjoy in whatever vessel you see fit. 
I hope you enjoy your kombucha, or as the small creature stealing my bracelets off my arm calls it, juice. 

Find my original post on kombucha Here

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