HEX Kombucha is here!

HEX Kombucha is hand crafted in Baltimore. We start with a powerful strain of kombucha culture, organic  teas and organic cane sugar. After the first ferment we add small amounts of organic fruit juices, herbs and spices to our second ferment for our signature flavors. Our ingredients are carefully sourced from local community gardens, small companies that support fair trade and organic growing practices. 

HEX believes in the magical world of microbes and the body strengthening support that live cultures provides us. Each small batch of kombucha is carefully tended to from first ferment to your glass. We employ the Continuous Brew method, meaning that each batch is linked and carries with it the continuation of built-up taste and nutrients.

We are currently working hard on getting our product directly to you. HEX can be consumed currently at WC Harlan's in their delicious cocktails du jour or by the glass. Ask at the bar for contact information if you are interested in being added to our mailing list for HEX updates. 

HEX sign meaning on the current bottle- Love and Friendship: The two distelfink's embrace to show their love and friendship. One heart, symbolic of their love; the branches surround them confirming their everlasting friendship and the ring of raindrops showers them with life's bounty.

Current HEX Flavors:
Ginger
Thyme Ginger Orange
Oaxacan Hibiscus

Fermentation Workshop with Sandor Katz

So much has happened these past couple months that I can't believe that its been since early October since I last updated. Especially with the news of our long weekend adventure in Tennessee with Sandor Katz. Again, bag blogger, no biscuit. I also traveled to Lexington Kentucky to be part of a International performance art exhibition and our Thanksgiving at Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. So needless to say, lots has been going on.

I'm looking forward to getting posts up about kefir, mead and our weekend with Sandor.

Stay fermented!

XOM

Kitchen at Short Mountain...wow

Kombucha Porn

I just can't help myself...

Yerba Mate Kombucha: Look at that lovely healthy scoby and yeast formation!

I seek out unique bottle varieties for my 'buch...

Flavors of the week: Organic Grapes, Hibiscus-Rose, Ginger, Spirulina. Not pictured: Lemon-Chia

Dosas with Kefir Mint Dressing and Local Honey-Greens

My intentions were good last Friday (the last day of summer) to begin the 3 day soaking journey for Dosas; a crispy savory pancake from South India. Yet, the Maryland Autumn tricked me, once again, into thinking that the cooler weather was on the way. After all I was looking forward to pulling on a sweater and wearing leggings with boots! Yet, the day when I went to fire up the stove to cook these delicious Dosas the humidity was back on the rise and the heat topped at 88 degrees. Oh well! Dosas don't wait.
A Dosa is a fermented pancake batter made from soaking brown rice, lentils and salt for up to 72 hours. They taste mildly tangy and rich; mostly from the ghee that you fry them in. They are traditionally served with chutneys, currys and daals, but I also like them with kefir dressing or with a curry in place of rice or quinoa, a fried egg or just plain straight from the frying pan. Dosas store well and can be used throughout the week for a quick lunch or dinner. Soaking and fermenting your grains and beans before cooking them helps to break down the phytic acid.

Soaking to remove the phytic acid is beneficial for these reasons:

*Untreated; phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc in the intestines and   block absorption of these minerals.

*Soaking allows enzymes and bacteria to break down and reduce phytic acid and releases vitamins that are  bound to the grain, making them readily available to your body.

*Soaking also partially breaks down gluten for easier digestion.

*Soak all grains and legumes at least 12 hours before cooking. It's easy, 1:1 grains/legumes and water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, whey, kefir or sourdough starter. Drain and prepare accordingly.

Dosas with Kefir Mint Dressing and Local Honey-Greens
Serves four 

In separate bowls or mason jars soak 1 cup of lentils (I used french green lentils which I would recommend, but it can be made with any type) and 2 cups brown rice. Rinse both first. Cover both with warm filtered water and a tablespoon of lemon juice, whey, kefir or sourdough starter (2 tablespoons for the rice).Cover with a plate or towel secured with a rubber band and set aside in the warmest place in your kitchen.

24 hours later drain each, blend separately in a vita mix or blender with just enough filtered water until smooth*. Combine and add enough filtered water to obtain the consistency of heavy cream (with granular texture) add 1 teaspoon of really good salt (I am a huge fan of Real Salt), stir well, cover and let ferment for another 24-48 hours, giving it the occasional stir and words of encouragement. 24 hours=mild tang
48=major tang. (I like major tang and I think they cook better.)

*You can add other spices to the batter at this time as well; good picks are fenugreek (3/4 teaspoon seeds), curry powder (3/4 teaspoon), or try some golden raisins with cinnamon for breakfast Dosas (two tablespoons chopped and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon added when combined with the blended rice and lentils).

When the second ferment is over prepare the following:

A 1/3 cup ghee melted, oil brush, set aside near the pan
A small frying pan or crepe pan (stick or non-stick)
Small ladle or a 1/3 measuring cup

Set your oven to the warm setting and place a large plate with a towel inside your oven. Brush your frying pan with ghee and turn on the heat to medium-high. For a Vegan Dosa use grapeseed oil and not olive oil; grapeseed has a higher heat point than olive oil.

When your pan is hot ladle in your batter and swirl around to spread. Cook for 5 minutes. This is SUPER important because they will not flip properly if under cooked  How I test this is by gently shaking the pan after five minutes, if they are ready they will release; flip them over and cook for five more minutes. When done transfer to the oven and repeat. Usually I have two pans going at the same time so i'm not frying Dosas for an eternity. They may not be the quickest to make, but they are filling and will last for many meals, for very little cash.

When you are done prepare your greens like Kale, Rapini, Mustard, Cabbage or a mixture of all and with whatever else is in season or coming from the garden. I portion a cup and a half of chopped greens per person.
Heat olive oil or ghee in a large frying pan over medium heat for olive and medium high for ghee. When hot add and saute your greens until just wilted and bright. Turn off your heat and season to taste with salt. Add a sprinkle to taste of chili flakes and a generous drizzle of local honey. Mix together and set aside.

Prepare your Kefir or Yogurt dressing. Pour one cup into a glass jar with a lid, add a 1/4 teaspoon or more to taste of Real Salt, fresh chopped mint (optional) and shake. You can prepare this in advance and let it sit out on the counter. The longer it sits the better it gets!

Serve the Dosas topped with the Kefir Mint Dressing and Local Honey-Greens on the side.

I have a good feeling that this Autumn and Winter will be the seasons of Indian foods...stayed tuned and enjoy!
XOMC

Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish Ferment and Savory Vegetable Ferment

This spring I planted about 200 beet seeds. Chioggia and Detroit Reds. We ate the thinning's first followed by roasting the baby beets, then we boiled and skinned the big beets for salads and tasty snacks when they were at their peak. This past weekend I pulled the rest out to make a Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish ferment. Not really having a game plan other then the fact I had about 8 pounds of beets to use up and about a pound and a half of hot peppers. With those two as my base I decided to go for it...Now one interesting thing happened while I was prepping this ferment. I also had a hot water bath rolling for some pints of tomatoes and a pint of tomato juice left over from the canning workshop the day before. As I was putting the pints into the bath I stopped before putting the tomato juice in. It was giving off the recognizable sound of a fermented "hiss". Sure enough I opened it up and it was bubble-city. I took a sip and OMG! I just made tomato soda. No way was that going into hot water! It tasted SO GOOD!!! So I decided I would add it to my Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish to give it a sweet kick and jump start the ferment.

Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish Ferment
Makes about 2 quarts or 1 quart and 3 small jars

You will need: about 6-8 pounds of beets, boiled with the skins removed, allow to cool and chop into bite sized pieces. Two apples, cored and chopped to the same size as the beets. Three hot peppers, sliced into rings, seeds removed and toasted in a hot skillet until slightly charred. Remove from heat, cool and chop finely. Optional: a half cup of red grapes (I used organic seedless since they are in season right now) cut into quarters. Combine all into a large bowl with about a teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix and beat them around a bit until they start to give up some of their own juices. Then pack it into your jar, pack a bit press down, pack in more and press down, do this until you are about an inch and a half from the top. The goal is to remove as much of the air as you can and to cover the mixture with its own juices to create the anaerobic environment for the good bacteria to take over. Once it is packed you can finish it off with a small bit of salted water or fermented tomato soda, leave about an inch at the top. Cover with a lid. Set your ferment in a bowl to collect the juices that will inevitably pour out once the ferment gets to bubbling. Enjoy after the first three days then transfer to the fridge or cool cellar to store. Make sure you date it! This ferment tasted like magic after about 36 hours. Try it with a roasted meat dish or with fish. Or on its own!

How to make Tomato Soda: Juice 6 tomatoes, remove the seeds, pour into a jar with a lid, let it sit out for 24 hours, after that time it should be fizzy and ready to drink or use.

Savory Vegetable Ferment: Eggplant, Leeks, Swiss Chard, Peppers with Caraway and Cucumber
Makes about 2 quarts or one large jar

You will need: One large eggplant, cut up into bite sized pieces, 2 leeks washed well and sliced into thin rings (try to use as much of the leek as possible, greens too!), a medium sized bunch of Swiss Chard chopped into small pieces, stems too, 2 medium sized peppers chopped (I used 3 small chocolate peppers and one green pepper), combine into a large bowl with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, mix and beat up until the vegetables give up their juices. Add about 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds to the mix. Stuff and pack the vegetables into your jar until the juices cover the vegetables. Then slice about 3/4 quarts of 1 medium sized cucumber and layer them over your vegetables pushing them down to weight the ferment when you have used up all the slices take the end piece place it in the middle and close up your ferment. Set your jar in a dish to catch the overflow of liquid. Taste at the three day point. You can move it to the fridge or keep it on the counter to eat from, remembering to transfer into subsequently smaller jars to keep the air from ruining it.

XOMC

Garden Porn: Biggest EVER

Wow. I'm sure Google will bring many confused internet surfers to this post with that title...they may be a bit disappointed. This weekend was prime-time for the Community Garden and putting some food by. We had our biggest harvest yet to date this past Saturday; eggplants, butternut squash, green and red peppers, jalapenos, watermelons, beets, tomatoes, herbs, romaine and butter-crunch lettuce, Swiss chard and leeks. I also harvested the rest of my beets from the front yard garden to make room for my fall cabbages and kale. With all the delicious food-stuffs piling up in the kitchen there was much to can and ferment this weekend. Saturday after the garden three garden members came over to learn the basics of hot water bath canning. Each brought over about 8-12 pounds of garden tomatoes, already skinned. All together we canned 7 quarts and 9 pints of garden fresh tomatoes in their own juice. It was a lot of fun showing others how to can; its a relatively easy thing to-do, but its helpful to see the steps and how it works before venturing out on your own. I will post the How To and basic recipe later on...






















This weekend was also spent with a good new friend drinking Cherry Kombucha outside and making plans to take over the world (which is always easier to do with a buddy). We sipped our hot-red elixir from some fun little vintage Playboy Bunny glasses outside. It was such a perfect weekend for indulging in fortunate bounties of food and friends. I hope yours was just as wonderful....XOMC

The Color Red: New Kombucha Flavor & Lots of Tomaters

We had a busy weekend around the house...lots of sanding, painting, installing new bathroom and closet doors and finishing up the bedroom. All the little things are adding up and its starting to look really nice! Now with the ducks happily in their garden home we can relax a bit and get the rest of our home projects completed.
I wanted to share with you some of the flavors that appeared in our kitchen over the weekend; red was the default color of choice!
One of which is a new kombucha flavor that I am wild about. Cherry Chia with Yerba Mate (as opposed to black tea). The Yerba Mate gives the kombucha a less over the top tea flavor and instead allows the fermented flavors to sing. We are enjoying this batch of 'buch quite a bit; in fact I think it may be my best in a very long time. To make Cherry chia; add 1-2 teaspoons chia seeds to your bottle, remove the cherry stones from about 6 ripe washed cherries, cut into quarters, add the cherries to the chia and fill with brewed kombucha, swirl a bit of kombucha around to get the chia seeds wet, then fill to the bottom of the neck of your bottle. Cap and date...the cherries and chia become active really quickly (like minutes); burp your bottle the first couple of days and refrigerate for a couple days before you open; it's powerful!!!

The next flavor this weekend was tomatoes...lots and lots of juicy red-ripe tomatoes from the Eric Waller Community Garden and our front yard garden. I am letting them ripen just a tad more today before I can them whole tonight. We will have lots of delicious and local/organic tomatoes for winter stews! Yum!

XOMC

Weekend Maximization: Birthdays and Ducks

Summer is fading...the light is changing and the nights are getting cooler. For some the summer can be a break from the daily grind and others look forward to the return of the cooler weather. I LOVE the summer, everything about it; unpredictable weather, swimming, bare feet, early morning runs, long days and all the garden fresh food; even the 100+ degree days. My energy is boundless.
As we drove back from a afternoon of birthdays last night it suddenly dawned on me, there is only two weekends left of summer, Labor Day weekend is only one weekend away. Soon the pools will close, school will begin for me, wedding season will kick into high gear for the fall for Shane and before we know it Thanksgiving and Holidays and a New Year. Time flies and this summer flew by especially fast. A lot happened and I am grateful for every moment of it. Some highlights; my first DC show, the Sandor Katz workshop at Stone Barns, hiking and camping in the Catskills in the rain with Shane, raising 6 Indian Runners and growing lots and lots of food. It has also been challenging as well; raising the ducks has taken a lot of our time, mostly away from the work we want to complete on our house for refinancing (so adult I know) and mostly finding a nice balance for all the things we want to do...like going on productive adventures, putting by as much food as we can, creating art and feeling centered. So perhaps summer winding down is a good thing, fall is for reflection after all and taking a little time to relax...well sort of...
Some highlights in image from the weekend...non-photographed highlights: yoga workshop with Edie at Charm City Yoga and trading one of my Kombucha Scoby's for Kefir grains from a kind woman in Hampden.

Duck House Building

Lucy's Bug Box

Ducks in Transit

Bonnie and her Birthday Scepter 

Sam with all the moves...

Earl presiding over all...

XOMC

Sauerkraut

If you have never done a wild ferment before because you are afraid of  Botulism or mystery deadly bacteria and or stinking so bad that you scare away your friends and family, I am here to say; get over it.  It's so easy and risk free. Your gut will thank you and most importantly your taste buds will go wild! Not to mention your friends curiosity will be piqued with interest...you're doing what???

Be the envy of your agrarian social circle; make 'kraut.

How to make Sauerkraut 101...

You will need:
A Crock or other vessel like a large glass pickle jar, or large mason jars.
A plate that fits inside your crock/vessel that you can remove, or a root plug, which is a disc you can cut from a beet, turnip or even cabbage. This is used to place on top of your kraut to press it down so the brine covers it. A weight to place on top of your plate or plug like a jug or small glass jar filled with water, a zip-lock filled with water or salted water, a big cleaned rock. A towel to cover your kraut and a big rubber band or string to secure it.
You can make sauerkraut with one large head of cabbage or 20+. It all depends on the size of your fermentation vessel. We had 3 large heads of cabbage from the garden, we used our 5 gallon crock and it was only a third full. Salt; any salt without iodine will do, we always use Real Salt and some kosher salt. We also added whole caraway seeds and four apples, both are optional, in my opinion they add a nice balance to the cabbage. Shred your cabbage and apples with the blade attachment of your food processor, or your mandolin, or grated by hand or sliced by hand. We like ours thin. You may like it more chunky. There is no right or wrong way! Dump your beautiful cabbage-apple confetti into your vessel; start with a sprinkle of salt over it and massage the mixture with your hands. The goal is to break down the cellular walls of the cabbage to release its water content, the salt will help pull more water from the cabbage throughout the whole fermentation process, your hands are just getting it started. Optional, but a lot of fun, is if you have an old wooden baseball bat or pounding mallet, use that if your hands are tired or if you are fermenting a ton of kraut, clean it and pound away.

The goal is to create enough brine so when you place the plate or plug and press down the brine covers the kraut. Now taste test your cabbage, you want it just salty enough, kinda like how sea water tastes...too salty? Add some fresh water, let it set for a bit then drain, but the goal is to taste as you go and add, you don't want to lose any flavor by diluting it with extra water. Once the flavor is right add in some caraway, mix it in, then cover and press with your plate or plug. Enough brine? Good, add your weight, towel and secure it. Place in a cool area like your basement. Ferments will develop faster in the heat of the summer and should be consumed instead of stored for the long haul. In the fall you can put up kraut for the winter, it will ferment slowly and you can keep it in the vessel and take what you need.
In a couple of days taste it. There may be some white sheets on the surface of the brine, this is mold and is totally normal. Remove the weight and skim away the mold, if you don't get all of it, not to worry, go under the brine and pull up some kraut for your taste test. Mix in the mold, the anaerobic and lactic acid environment you created will kill it. Our Kraut took about 6 days to come to the flavor we liked, I could tell it was done when I could smell it. We skimmed off the mold and packed it into four quart sized mason jars. We will eat one now and place the other three in our cellar-like environment in our basement, dated for later use. If you don't have a spot like this in your house the refrigerator is the best place. Or give some away to your friends and have a bratwurst party!

Heres to your happy gut!
XOMC

Ferments: the first of Summer 2012

Omne vivum ex vivo

Yum to the yum! Fermenting is where its at! Easy. Extremely low on energy consumption. Tasty. Healthy. Crunchy. Salty. Dilly. Garlicky. Bubbly. Aids in digestion and its a quick and easy way to put food by. This summer I did my first ferments when we had no power on the Fourth of July and a week later they were tasty and ready to be eaten or placed into cold storage. I have stored fermented foods for over a year and they are crisp and delicious as the day they were jarred, albeit with a much different and alive flavor. Fermenting is a little bit of magic and a little bit scientific. A fermented food relies on the surrounding environment and the microorganisms that exist within that environment. By creating an anaerobic environment using salted water and fresh vegetables, lactic acid is formed and thus helps to begin the breaking down of the food causing that pungent, sour and fizzy flavor we associate with fermented foods.

Fermentation Equation
 
Or simply; fermentation is the conversion of sugar molecules into ethanol and carbon dioxide by yeast.


Paradoxically Louis Pasteur (the handsome dude above) who made great discoveries and contributions to modern medicine, vaccinations (rabies and anthrax) and the invention of Pasteurization, discovered how fermentation spontaneously "happened". He concluded that fermentation is the result of the growth of micro-organisms and growth of bacteria in "nutrient broths" is due to bio-genesis. Bio-genesis is the belief that "All Life is From Life". Now the paradox; he is also the fore-father of our modern day "War on Germs". 
Recently the New York Times published in the Opinion Pages an article about Dirtying Up Our Diets. I find this discussion very timely given the abundance of hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soap and our over industrialized food industry. Read it....I'll get off my educational soap box now.

Simple Ferment

Salty Solution: 3 tablespoons sea salt (I love this salt) to one liter of filtered water. Make as much salty solution or as little as you like; it all depends on how much you are fermenting. If you don't use all the salt water, store it in the fridge for later.
Veggies like green beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, turnips, zucchini fresh heads of dill and whole cloves of garlic
Pint size to quart size mason jars or any glass jar with a metal lid

Process:
Make salty solution
Clean and dry your jars
Wash your veggies
Peel your garlic and smash with the side of your knife
Add garlic and dill to jars
Add veggies to jars and leave at least 1.5 inches of head space
Press veggies down with your hand
Pour in Salty Solution and place lid on jar
Date the top and wait!

You will hear your jars "talking" after 24-48 hours, I usually "burp" mine by releasing the lid just a bit then tightening it. After three days I taste one and usually start eating from that jar. You can place the jars in the refrigerator after a few days but I usually eat them too fast to make it to the fridge. If you taste your ferment and like the taste place it in the fridge and that will slow the ferment way down so you keep that flavor. Each time you ferment the flavor will be slightly different... that's your micro-organism world speaking to you!

Enjoy!
XOMC

Power

Have I mentioned that it's hot here in Balmy-timore? Like the kind of hot that makes you feel like a bubble-head. Normally I enjoy the heat, but since the derecho last Friday which knocked out electricity for over a half a million people in Maryland alone (and many STILL without it), it's more than most people can take, including myself. However, this is a first world problem to be inconvenienced from our devices, to be without AC for a few days, to lose food, to be in the dark, to be without "power". Yet, most of the world deals with this sort of powerless-ness all the time. Frankly, I got tired of hearing people complain about not having "power" and how awful it was to be in the dark. I get that and I get being hot, but think about how this week has been refreshing as well. Maybe you spent more time outside, or more time with friends, patronizing your community or perhaps you got reacquainted with your natural bio-rhythms. We saw our electricity outage as Advanced Camping and it made me think about how much time and noise is consumed and produced by our devices of convenience. Sure there were a couple nights when I couldn't sleep because I was roasting and we lost some yummy Venison that my Dad gave us but I also got back in the studio, dusted off my bike and swam with close friends. So when the "power" returned yesterday after we came home from our second swim we both were a bit disheartened. Yet, right now it is a 110 degree heat index and temperatures are expected to stay in the triple digits through the weekend, so I am pretty stoked to have AC right now.

This past week at the Eric Waller garden we have been harvesting like crazy. The beans are in and I spent yesterday morning at the garden picking another bucketful for our donation to Our Daily Bread. The evening before 10 of us worked the garden and harvested zucchini, yellow squash and tons of green beans. I love being in the garden, pulling weeds, investigating the bugs, fungi and being close to the earth. Having such an amazing local food source during a time that we can't count on BGE to restore electricity in a timely way is pretty darn powerful. When I got home I immediately set to work fermenting the green beans, zucchini, turnips, beets and radishes from the harvest. Fermenting is a very resourceful way to put food by that requires no electricity or gas. Just the power of microbial action; lactic acid and a anaerobic environment.

After I returned home from the garden I took Earl out for a moonlit stroll. It was so incredible to be able to experience the full moon without light pollution. We bathed in the moonlit and slept like babies.

Making Kombucha--A mild obsession

Kombucha is all the rage. Hipsters are drinkin' it, makin' it and trading scoby's like pogs. Well this is one of those moments where I can say..."I've been drinking and making kombucha way before it was cool or even known to my fellow health-foodies here in the states."
There. I said it. I am a original kombucha drinker. And have no shame in tooting my hipster-horn.

My first encounter was in Ireland, a lovely musician we stayed with in Galway had a funny looking science experiment on his counter. He noticed me starring at it, one blurry eyed Irish morning and offered me some. I didn't want to seem uncool so I tried a sip...hmmm...fizzy...tart but a tinge sweet...gulp...gulp...party in my mouth. He gave me a bottle to take back to the Burren. Shortly there after on my way home the hangover lifted and I felt way better. Maybe it was the trillions! of pro-biotics that brought me back to life but one thing was for sure; I was hooked on the 'buch. Upon arriving back in the states I scoured the message boards at my local co-op for a SCOBY aka Mother and finally found one from a sweet woman who lived just across town, she told me how to make it and I did for years until my ex-boyfriend killed my Mother.

So what is Kombucha? It's a magic "mushroom" of symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (aka SCOBY and/or Mother). Kombucha has its origins in Japan and Russia. Ah forget it. Just click this link: kombucha.
Basically its an amazing fermented carbonated beverage that is chock full of helpful yeasts, probiotics and magical goodness that gives you super powers. So here is how to make it:

Get a SCOBY or find another hipster friend to give you an offspring (like me!)
Or grow your own!

Growing your own:
Get a bottle of Raw Organic Kombucha (unflavored)
Pour it into a glass jar along with one cup of sweet tea (one cup black tea plus 1 tablespoon sugar...cool the tea to room temp)
Cover with a cloth secured with a rubber band and let sit at room temperature until it forms a thick 1/3 inch SCOBY!
Takes bout a week and a half to two weeks.

The Basic Kombucha Recipe:
You will need...
SCOBY (duh)
Large glass container with a spigot (like a sun tea container, see image above)
Cloth and rubber band (like a kitchen towel)
Tea (for your first attempt use black tea, loose leaf or tea bags)
Sugar (Organic is best but not required)
Water (filtered is best)
Large pot to boil water
Containers to store your Kombucha (like flip tops, liquor bottles)
Time
Love

Bring 3 liters of water to boil (12.7 cups, 12  or 13 would be fine)
Add 5 tea bags
Turn off the heat
Add one cup of sugar
Stir
Let it come to room temp (between 70 and 80 degrees is perfect, I place the pot it in the fridge after its cooled for a couple hours, if you add it when its too hot you'll kill your Mother, too cool is fine it will equalize eventually.
You can brew your tea as long as you'd like, I remove the bags after an hour.
Next...
Add your sweet tea to your clean and dry glass container
Add your SCOBY
Cover with the cloth and secure it with a rubber band
Date the outside with a marker and place in a quiet spot out of direct sunlight. Don't place your kombucha in a cupboard.

After 2-3 days you should start to see a film form on the surface. This is your SCOBY's baby SCOBY! Taste your elixir buy drawing a small bit from the spigot or use a straw and draw out the liquid that way. It should still taste a bit sweet with some carbonation. Taste a little bit everyday until you get the flavor you like, the whole process takes about one week. Then bottle your 'buch, date it and in two days enjoy! To make a continuous brew save about 2 inches of finished tea called your starter (see above image #4), leave the SCOBY's in the container and simply add your new batch of cooled sweet tea and repeat! (you can have up to five SCOBY's in a container, it will ferment faster however so keep an eye on it)

Finished Kombucha flavoring ideas:

In the image above I added about an inch of fresh local blueberries and topped them with kombucha.
Please note that when you add fruit the bottled kombucha will take on that flavor and sweetness (Yum!) and it will ferment faster and be super bubbly, so leave some head room for carbonation.
Some other flavor combos that I have tried and love are: Ginger and hot pepper, ginger and blueberry, blueberry, foraged wine berries, spirulina. Next brew i'm going to add Nasturtium flowers, chia seeds and lemon.

*Update- The Nasturtiums are divine and add a lovely flare to a mock/cocktail, The kombucha did not take on the flavor of Nasturtiums probably because I added blueberries too. I also did ginger grated with hot peppers and lime also delicious ( I enjoy this "tonic" in the morning).

XOMC

Ginger Ale

Over the past year or so I have fallen head over heals for fermenting. One of my favorite ferments has been Ginger Ale (non-alcoholic). It is so incredibly easy to make with unbelievable results. And the health benefits you ask? Well since its fermented it contains healthy bacteria for your gut and a powerful elixir for what ever ails you. To hot? Ginger Ale. Sour tummy? Ginger Ale. Hungover? Ginger Ale. Over ate? Ginger Ale. The perfect dark and stormy? You guessed it...home brewed Ginger Ale.

Ginger Ale

Supplies:

4-5 glass bottles with plastic tops (I have found that empty liquor bottles and glass juice bottles work best)

1 glass jar, pint size with ring or rubber band

Piece of linen or old warn kitchen towel, enough to cover the jar

Good amount of freshly grated, preferably organic ginger

Sugar (also preferably organic and unbleached)

Stock pot

Large bowl preferably with a puring spout and big enough to accommodate 1 gallon

Colander

Lemon juice from two lemons

Making the "Ginger Bug"

Add one cup of filtered water to your jar

2:2 Ratio-Add 2 teaspoons grated ginger, skin and all plus 2 teaspoons sugar.

Stir

Cover with your cloth and secure with a canning ring or rubber band.

Keep your bug in the counter and feed it with the 2:2 ratio every day or so until it begins to bubble and fizzle, about 5-8 days. Then its ready!

Do NOT refrigerator your bug, it needs the yeasts in the air to become ALIVE!

Making the Ginger Ale

In a large stock pot bring to a boil for 15 minutes:

2 Liters of filtered water

1 1/2 cups organic sugar

2-6" of freshly grated organic ginger (skin and all). Note: the more ginger you use the more gingery your brew...i like to use 6" more than 6" and it begins to taste soapy.

Let it cool. Super important! You don't want to add your bug to a hot bath, you'll kill it.

Once the mixture is cool strain out the ginger using your colander, into the large bowl. Then strain your bug using the colander directly into your cooled ginger sugar mix(save about 2 tablespoons as a starter if you plan to repeat the process).

Add the lemon juice and 2 more liters of filtered water and stir. You should have about 1 gallon.

Make sure your bottles are clean and dry then using a funnel transfer your ginger ale to the bottles leaving about 2-3 inches from the top.

Screw the tops on tight, date your bottles for two weeks from the day you made it.

After two weeks is up place a bottle in your fridge and chill it. When you are ready to enjoy please be careful...your Ginger Ale packs a powerful carbonation, slowly and with A LOT of patience open your bottle in increments. Or you will have ginger ale all over your kitchen ceiling.

Enjoy!

Note: the bottle of ginger ale above was the last time I will use a flip top bottle. This ale ended up all over the counter,ceiling and floor. Oops. this is not your Canada Dry ginger ale, this is the real thing, be open to its taste and i promise you will never want to drink plain old dead ginger ale EVER again.
AND, the ginger you used to feed your bug can be used again! Keep it in a jar in the fridge for tea and stir frys.