The State of Kombucha Address

When last we spoke on this subject, I believe my kombucha was looking rather primordial. As you can see, things have improved.

For starters, I'm actually making kombucha. Like for-reals, drinkable, I-can't-believe-it's-not-storebought kombucha. It's tangy and fizzy, a bit spicy and a bit sweet. Guys, this stuff is tasty!

Even the scoby isn't too scary anymore. After the first few rounds, my two guys filmed over with this solid creamy-white layer that really looks and feels a lot like a thick piece of rubber. Totally not scary at all, cross my heart.

Every new batch of kombucha creates a new layer on top of the scoby. Scobys do wear out after a little while, so I've started peeling off the bottom-most layer every few batches.

I think the balance between the bacteria and the yeast has also evened out. At first, the bacteria was totally ruling the roost, but now the yeast seems to have elbowed in for some playtime of its own. It's pretty cool to see little bubbles fizzing up from the scoby when I check on it at night. The kombucha that I'm bottling is also getting very nicely carbonated, which didn't happen for the first few batches.

Man, I love this stuff. Not only the kombucha itself, but the whole process of making it. I wish I had a microscope so I could zoom in and see what all the little yeasties and bacterias were up to in there. I imagine them bustling around, excited to find new bits of sugar to eat and new flavors to create. I'm sure that's exactly what's happening.

Looks like Muney the Cat is also curious about what's going on in these jars. Or at least what could possibly be so fascinating that he's not getting any love right now. I'm thinking I'd better go take care of that, pronto.

State of the Kombucha: Thumbs up!