Ever tried Kombucha?

Some people call it the 'Wonder Drink'.

It's actually been around for centuries. The Chinese call it hongchajun. The Japanese call it kōcha kinoko. I call it Fetus Drink. You can get it at Whole Foods, and the organic aisle at Fred Meyer. I'm obsessed with this stuff. But it costs 3 to 4 bucks a bottle, depending on where you buy it, so I have taken it upon myself to brew my own.

To make Kombucha, you need a Kombucha "mushroom". The only way you can get one of these mushrooms is from somebody who already has one, because each time a batch of Kombucha is brewed the 'mother" mushroom makes a duplicate 'baby' mushroom. It's not actually a mushroom though, it just looks like one. It's actually a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast). Ya, that's right, I drink a beverage made from a colony of bacteria and yeast. Isn't that disgusting?

Yes, it may be rather putrid, but once you discover how incredible good it is for you, it doesn't seem to matter anymore. Here's how it works: You make a big batch of tea...with lots and lots and lots of sugar. But don't worry, because that fetus-mushroom-scoby thing I told you about? It actually gobbles up all the sugar during the fermentation process. You let that sit for roughly 2 weeks, and what you are left with is a naturally carbonated, slightly sour and vinegar tasting beverage. People either love the taste or hate the taste. I happen to cherish the taste of Kombucha, while Paul gags when he even smells the stuff.

All the ingredients you need: SCOBY, sugar, tea, flour cloth, glass bowl (must be glass).

Boil the water so any unwanted bacterias are eliminated. These bacterias can kill the SCOBY.

Add the tea until water reaches 75ish degrees and then remove the tea.

Add the SCOBY. Isn't it cute?

It definitely looks like a fetus to me. What do you think?

Cover it up with a breathable cloth. Fruit flies LOVE Kombucha.

After about a week you start to see yeast cultures. These things are good for you!

Let sit for about two weeks! May need a warning label so people don't get freaked out! =)

So how exactly is Kombucha good for you? Kombucha is particularly known for detoxifying the body. It strengthens the immune system and balances the metabolism. It helps with a whole range of symptoms, such as digestive disorders, blood pressure, arthritis, and fatigue. After the first week of drinking it I had so much constant energy. A far superior energy compared to the buzz and then crash of coffee.

The alcohol content from the fermentation process is very minimal (01-.03 percent). Even if you chugged an entire bottle of Kombucha your blood alcohol level would still test at 0. Worrying about your alcohol content after drinking a bottle of Kombucha would be like worrying about testing positive for Opiates after eating a poppy seed muffin. If you brewed it longer you would reach a higher alcohol content, but by that time the acidity in the tea would make it unbearable to drink and also unhealthy. Did you hear about Lindsay Lohan's SCRAM bracelet going off? They now say she may have set it off from drinking too much Kombucha. The company that makes the Kombucha she drinks says this theory is highly unlikely, because to reach an entire blood alcohol level of 0.03 (that's when the SCRAM bracelet goes off) she would have had to drink about 5 entire bottles of Kombucha in under, like, 20 minutes. Then again, Lindsay Lohan has done weirder things so I wouldn't put it past her. Also, if you open a bottle of Kombucha and let it sit for another 2 weeks, the alcohol content is going to increase even more. I wouldn't put that past Lindsay either.

If you are interested in Kombucha, let me know. I'd love for you to be one of my babies mamas!