Ready to make that daily coffee of yours healthier?
Enter Coffee Kombucha.
Surprisingly tasty.
Despite how it mutilated the SCOBY.
But I anticipated this. After all, the coffee is so acidic that there is no need to add previously fermented kombucha.
This may turn you off from making this beverage, but quite honestly the coffee SCOBY reminded me of a placenta.
Even a placenta can be eaten, though.
If you can’t stop bleeding after giving birth, a chewy bite of your placenta will act like Pitocin. (God is so creative.)
Ingredients
2 quarts caffeinated organic brewed coffee
1 cup organic cane sugar
kombucha SCOBY(use an offspring – not your main SCOBY)
Directions
After brewing your coffee, add sugar while the coffee is still hot.
I love the designs the steam made as it cooled.
Once cooled, add your SCOBY. Cover and allow to rest for 5 – 10 days, depending on your taste buds and desire for all the the caffeine and sugar to be eaten.
You will see some carbonation when you transfer it to a storage jar.
1/2 cup kombucha from previous batch (you can also use vinegar)
clean round bowl or “candy jar,” preferably (in my opinion) with a lid or mason jar
towel and tape if you don’t have a lid (see original instructions) or paper coffee filter
Directions
I have changed from being adamant about using white sugar and Lipton tea . . . despite the directions I received with my last SCOBY.
I am better educated.
Plus . . . I like using organic ingredients. I’m Granola Mom after all. But seriously. SCOBY’s absorb whatever they come in contact with . . . which is why you don’t want them to contact metal or linger in plastic.
Do use sugar, not honey or other sugar substitute. You want to maintain a proper PH and deter unwanted organisms from growing in your culture.
Heat your water to boiling.
Add sugar and heat until it has dissolved.
Once boiling has resumed, stir in loose tea.
Turn stove off and allow tea to steep approximately 10 minutes or until cool.
Transfer sweet tea to glass jar and add SCOBY and 1/2 cup of previous kombucha (or vinegar substitute).
Place your well fed SCOBY in a dark, safe place . . . preferable a quiet spot away from your compost container and fruit flies for 5-10 days, depending on your taste buds. The warmer the environment the faster the fermentation. The longer you allow it to brew, the more tart it will become.
Bottle, chill and enjoy!
Each time you make kombucha, you will always grow a baby. You can give this baby to a friend or place it in your compost pile.
Or make a sling shot out of it . . . it works great as a substitute leather. Just saying.
But then again, I think most ferments are easy . . . except those that involve lots of chopping of vegetables.
However, chopping veggies equals burning calories and spending quality time with one or more of your children.
I’ve sacrificed my former way of making yogurt (meaning using our heavenly raw milk) due to a need for simplicity, speed, texture, and taste. This just means more raw milk for us to drink!
There are only a handful of things that I prefer the store bought versions better (read processed).
Yogurt is one of them.
That is until I started making yogurt using a starter culture called Villi. (Thanks Tracy!)
I thought it sounded ominous at first, not wanting to use it because a Villi yogurt culture can live years, should the Lord tarry, so long as it is made with pasteurized milk{the horror}.
Villi is a mesophilic yogurt, meaning that the bacteria living in this yogurt thrive at room temperature.
Hurray for the genius who discovered this bacteria because room temperature bacteria means a clean stovetop, no burnt pots, and no ruined or wasted milk.
Happy me! Happy you!
My kids could even make this.
Anyhow, this yogurt . . . this creamy, French Silk pie-like (sans French Silk Pie ingredients), thick spoon of good for your belly yogurt . . . is truly yum.
And easy.
Forget my old yogurt recipe (and my blogging pre-Willow and pre-Live Writer days). Make Villi, as long as you are comfortable using store bought milk.
Please note, there are extra steps that you can take to make Villi with raw milk . . . I just don’t have the time these days.
We drink raw milk . . . but I make my yogurt with ahem half-n-half.
organic milk, preferably non-homogenized like Trader’s Point (or organic half-n-half)
Directions
Using a previous starter (approximately 2-4 tablespoons), drizzle it into a clean Mason jar. I typically use a half gallon wide mouthed Mason Jar. You will use one tablespoon of yogurt culture per one cup of milk.
Pour milk into the bacteria incubator (aka Mason jar)
Loosely cover and allow it to sit 6+ hours in a warm and safe location. You will know your Villi yogurt is done when it separates from the jar when you ever-so-carefully tip the jar sideways.
Transfer to the fridge where it will firm up for you. Be prepared for a jar of Villi yogurt to be consumed in one setting.
Would you like to become a Villi Yogurt Maker?
Enter to win a starter culture of Villi yogurt from Cultures for Health
(a $12.99 value but a lifetime of savings!)
RULES Please, please, please . . .do not put more than one entry per comment. I will be using www.random.org to pick the winners. Make sure you are logged in to Disqus or leave your email address in your comment. All options are worth 1 entry.
Tweet or blog about the giveaway. Feel free to copy and paste the below text:
Enter to win a Viili Yogurt Culture from @Cultures4Health! Details here: http://bit.ly/q1uluw @GranolaMom4God
Watch Julie, from Cultures for Health, make Viili yogurt.
Remember, only #1 is mandatory. The rest of the entries are optional, but you MUST comment separately for each one.
The Fine Print: I will email you when you have won. You must respond within 48 hours.
Contest ends August 25, 2011 at Midnight
Author's Note: I was not given this product to review from Cultures for Health. I have been using this yummy goodness for over a year. BUT you will be given a new Viili yogurt culture. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine unless otherwise noted.
Much of what I write is inspired by God. He gave me the idea and allows me to be a steward of it. Please respect my authorship and stewardship of all content on this blog. Do not copy pictures for yourself without permission from me or use the written text as your own. And always . . . link back to me should you refer to an idea you saw on Granola Mom 4 God.
