Double Fermented Kombucha

It’s got punch.  It’s got flavor.  It’s double fermented kombucha tea!

Our whole family loves kombucha, the good-for-you drink that can be made and flavored in many ways.  Some of us enjoy it diluted, sweetened and flavored, others straight from the first ferment, or, my new favorite, double fermented. It may take a little while to acquire a liking for double fermented kombucha.

In case you are not familiar with kombucha, it is black tea fermented for a week or so, by a SCOBY that sits on top.  S.C.O.B.Y -a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast looks like a kind of mushroom.   The tea has many health benefits including being full of pro-biotics and antioxidants.  It is great for your hair, skin, and nails.  It is said that kombucha keeps your hair its natural color for much longer. In the case I have seen, it is very true!  A fellow from church is in his late fifties and doesn’t have a speck of grey in his jet-black hair!  He drinks straight kombucha every day.

I have been experimenting with new flavors lately.  Lemon- ginger explodes with flavor. Literally.  The first jar of it I tried blew up all over the kitchen!  WARNING! Do not double ferment a sealed half gallon mason jar of ginger flavored kombucha for over two days without letting off some pressure every whipstitch.  I had a huge mess to clean up.  After sealing down a lid, kombucha builds up an amazing amount of carbonation.

Spiced pear is a flavor that I really like, too.  It has fresh ginger, a diced pear, and four cloves, to a half gallon of kombucha.  You can use any type of fruit. Apple, strawberry, cherry, blueberry, elderberry, raspberry, anything.  I tried orange and it was definitely not a favorite.  Blackberry ginger with a sprig of fresh peppermint from the herb garden is really good, though.  Lemon-ginger is my favorite flavor so far. 

I love kombucha and have so much fun trying new flavors.   

~Jayla