And so... the journey for my family gut health in the (prayerfully 🤞🏼) most affordable way that can possibly presented.
Yep
After knowing and confirming that my mom's gastritis issue is slowly being curbed and stabilised with kombucha, I have journeyed in the hope that good culture will bloom in our guts.
So grateful that @khimgoh had an overgrown SCOBY lying around that has yet been collected by her sister, so I could make the starter 1st fermentation faster.
Because fermentation produces acidity when the SCOBY feeds on the brewed sweeten black tea, glass will be the best option as plastic isn't going to cut due to possible corrosion of chemical residue from the plastic, so my first "most expensive" brew batch urltensils would be there 1st and 2nd kombucha brew vessels and a brand new clean cloth for the process. (costing around 8HBD / ~ $7.40)
Khomeini was very generous in sharing her experiments, with some black tea and sugar to help me to kick start so that I don't need to spend further; with 1-part black tea and 3-part sugar on a 1L of boiling hot water, the first step of brewing is done.
However, we can't just put the scoby in immediately. It will cook and kill the culture immediately.
The best measurement would be body temperature. However, to play safe, I was advised to let it brew overnight and not to worry the strong tea won't hurt the scoby because it loves caffeine, and it will be stronger, suitable for 2nd brew when needed to add in other natural sweet flavouring (from fruits for example), and our warm climate will still work fine for it.
Then, comes the next day
Tea leaves are not advised to be in the first fermentation, so sifting out and discard is needed.
I wasn't sure if the sweeten tea leaves would be great for the plants, so I better discard it as fertiliser.
The next step is to put in the starter kombucha. This is vital to prevent unwanted moulding because the active probiotics will be in there to activate it first.
The scoby / palate / house for the good bacteria doesn't have much of the prioniotics in there especially when a thorough wash is needed.
Now, comes the SCOBY
The "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast" in case you are wondering like me... 😅
The SCOBYs I got was marinated without food for quite a while, and because it was sitting there doing nothing and the starter kombucha was already evaporated quite a bit, you can see that there has been some residue forming.
According to the young entrepreneur who shared with me, the SCOBYs need a bit of cleaning to keep the "house" clean for the probiotics bacteria to remain active and healthy
Khim mentioned that when it is rubbed off, it peels off like a layer of "skin" which I guess this must be the one.
Once it is thoroughly cleaned, it is time to put into the sweet tea brew and it is now ready to house the probiotics and "create more babies"
What to do with the excess?
There is however, this super huge chunk of SCOBY that may be too old for the new brew, so I may be cutting them up and find a way to make it as part of the consumable fibre that could promote smoother bowel movements.
Just that we are trying to cut down sugar and marinating it like nata de coco is just going to backfire the sugar-free lifestyle.
There were some "jerky" SCOBYs that has been suggested, but it requires a powerful blender and a special sheet that can spread out, and a dehydrator.
I haven't fire up my dehydrator for a long time, but maybe I can slice them super thin and treat it like chap jae (tapioca noodles) has part of a savory dish with a tad bit of tangy taste 🤔
Nevertheless, it doesn't have much nutrients except fibre and it can be like a blank canvas for dishes.
Maybe if you are used to this you can suggest some for me?
Right now, 🤞🏼 and pray by 10 days time, something good will happen. Right now it is only day 1 and I have yet seeing any formation of new SCOBY layer just yet.
Until Then
Stay healthy, stay curious and learn new things, and stay happy!
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