Kombucha and Mead Homebrewing Demo

I hope you all are enjoying the New Years, with plenty of kombucha! I'm looking forward to another kombucha demo on Sunday, January 22, in conjunction with a mead homebrewing demo as well! The details are below, and I hope to see you there!

Kombucha and Mead Homebrewing Demo
This is a two part demo. First kombucha, then mead.
When: Sunday, January 22, 2012, at 2 pm

Where: The Whirlybird Coop at 36 Faneuil St., Brighton, MA 02109

Cost: Free, but to take home a Kombucha Mother would be a cost of $15
RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Urban-Homesteaders-League/events/43812992/

Kombucha Homebrewing Demo:
Presenter: Annabelle Ho
Kombucha is a fermented tea traced back to Chinese origins to around 220 B.C. Numerous health benefits have been attributed to kombucha, including curing cancer, reducing blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and aiding digestion. Kombucha is also said to have probiotics and detoxifying effects.
Brewing kombucha is quite easy to do at home, and it's fun! Annabelle Ho, author of the blog Kombucha Fuel, will demonstrate and explain the basics of brewing and bottling kombucha. Topics to be covered include required materials, the traditional and continuous brewing methods, how to grow your own kombucha mushroom, and more.
Samples of home-brewed kombucha tea will be available to taste. SCOBYs will also be available for individuals to take home. For those interested in adopting a kombucha mushroom, bringing a clean, glass pint jar would help to facilitate distribution.
For more information on kombucha and how to brew it, visit http://www.kombuchafuel.com.
Have questions about this event? E-mail Annabelle at kombuchafuel[at]gmail.com.
Annabelle Ho is the author of Kombucha Fuel and has been brewing kombucha for the past three years. She is a recent graduate from Boston University with a degree in nutrition, and she is currently training to be a holistic health coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Annabelle’s interests include herbalism, gardening, agriculture, food, sustainability, and playing the cello.
Mead Homebrewing Demo:
Presenter: Nathan Larson
Description: Mead is an alcoholic beverage similar to wine in it's alcoholic content. It is made from honey, water, and yeasties. I heard about how to make and watched some you tube videos about it so obvi I'm an expert now (not quite) but I've done a batch once already and can explain how it was done. It's pretty easy.
This event is co-sponsored by the Urban Homesteaders' League (http://www.meetup.com/Urban-Homesteaders-League), Boston Collective House Assembly (assembly.bostoncoops.org, http://meetup.bostoncoops.org/) and Branches (branches.bostoncoops.org).

Kombucha Happenings Around Town!

This past year has been great for kombucha in the Cambridge area. I've been making numerous additions to my Google map, Where to Buy Kombucha Around Boston, MA, and want to highlight the latest additions:

• Life Alive, located at 765 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
• Greenhouse Café at the Science Center of Harvard University, 1 Oxford St. Cambridge, MA 02138
• Formaggio Kitchen at 244 Huron Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
  
• Pemberton Farms and Garden Center at 2225 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140

In addition, Culinary Cruisers, which just started up this past year, has been up to a lot of kombucha fun. From their Facebook Page: "The Culinary Cruiser Team is made up of siblings, Josh and Leah Danoff, and our friend Jennifer Johnsrud. We are all incredibly passionate about food and completely obsessed with the current mobile food revolution. Here at Culinary Cruisers we specialize in custom-built, pedal powered bicycle food carts. We've recently partnered up with Katalyst Kombucha, and our first bike, the Kombucha Cruiser, can be found serving up our delicious, raw and organic kombucha on tap at:"

• The Science Center at Harvard
  
  Every Monday and Wednesday from 11am - 5pm.
  
  At 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  
  
• Harvard Farmers Market:
  
  Every Tuesday, noon – 6:00 pm, June 14th through October 25th
  
  At the intersection of Kirkland St & Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138. On the lawn between the Science Center and Memorial Hall.
  
  
• Medford Farmers Market:
  
  Every Thursday, 3:00 – 7:00 pm, June 16th through October 13th
  
  At the Whole Foods Market Parking Lot, 2151 Mystic Valley Parkway (Rt. 16), Medford, MA 02155
  
  
• Cambridge Farmers Market:
  
  Every Friday, noon – 6 pm, Charles Square, June 3rd through November 18th
  
  Every Sunday, 10 am – 3 pm, Charles Square, May 22nd through November 20th
  
  At the intersection of Eliot Street and Bennett Street in the Charles Hotel Plaza at Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Sounds pretty awesome. Visit the Culinary Cruiser Facebook page for their latest updates.

All of these locations and more can be found on my map, Where to Buy Kombucha Around Boston, MA. And if you discover that I'm missing a location, please let me know!

Happy kombucha drinking!

Kombucha Demo at The Boston Local Food Festival

I am very excited to be participating in The 2nd Annual Boston Local Food Festival on Saturday, October 1. "Produced by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston (SBN), the festival is built upon the principals of creating a local, green, and fair economy and promotes the benefits of eating local food and to offer a diversity of locally grown and sourced dishes at affordable prices of $5 or less."

The festival will take place along Fort Point Channel near the Boston Children's Museum (which is located at 300 Congress St., Boston, MA) and on Children's Wharf Park form 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information about The Boston Local Food Festival, visit their website.

My kombucha demo will take place at the DIY how2heroes booth from 12:15 - 12:45 pm. Unfortunately, I will be unable to provide any kombucha samples or kombucha mushrooms due to regulations. Thus, the demo will focus on the basics of brewing and bottling kombucha, as well as how to grow your own/how to source a kombucha mushroom. There will also be other presenters at the Do-It-Yourself Demo tent throughout the day, for plenty of DIY fun! Check out the schedule for the DIY Demos here.

I'm looking forward to the demo, and I hope you'll join us at the festival!

Update: Kombucha Fuel Page on Facebook

Hello kombucha friends,

I've really been enjoying Kombucha Fuel on Facebook, it's great to interact with all of you lovely readers and fellow brewers! However, it is time to move my Kombucha Fuel Facebook profile to a Facebook page, and better to do it sooner, rather than later, for various reasons. Over the next few days I will be attempting the conversion, and according to Facebook, this is what will transfer: my profile pictures, and all of my friends as people who like my page. If you somehow accidentally get lost in the conversion process, find Kombucha Fuel as a page on Facebook! This may also mean that I will need to restart the Facebook note, "Kombucha SCOBY Exchange." Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience!

Addendum September 3, 2011

I have completed the conversion to the Facebook page, and luckily I believe most people were not lost in the process! You can find my Facebook page here, and my new note for the Kombucha SCOBY Exchange here. Thanks, and I hope you are enjoying this labor day weekend with some kombucha! :)

Want to share your kombucha story?

Hello kombucha enthusiasts,

I hope you all are having a great summer, with plenty of kombucha! I am looking for kombucha stories, and hope to share these stories with others! I'm looking for all kinds of stories, but I am particularly interested in stories about how kombucha has affected your lifestyle, changed your life, how it has influenced someone close to you, etc. Funny stories are welcome, too! This can include stories involving homebrewed kombucha, or even store-bought kombucha if you haven't gotten your homebrewing on yet. If you have a story to share, please e-mail it to me at kombuchafuel [at] gmail.com. If you submit a story and give your permission, I'm hoping to republish some of these stories on my blog, giving the author credit or anonymity as desired. I will be taking these stories on a rolling basis, so feel free to submit stories whenever you like!

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy brewing,

Annabelle

Next Kombucha Demo: July 23

Looking forward to my next Kombucha Demo on Saturday, July 23, from 2-3 pm in Brookline, MA. For more details and to RSVP, please visit the event page on the Urban Homesteaders' League here. You can also RSVP by e-mailing me at kombuchafuel[at]gmail.com. Hope to see you there!

Fruit Fly Trap

Fruit flies can be quite troublesome for kombucha brewers, particularly during the warmer months. To help prevent fruit flies from getting into your brew, it is suggested to cover your ferment with a breathable covering with tight weaving. If you do use cheesecloth, layering the cheesecloth with multiple layers is also recommended.

Brewing

Making a fruit fly trap is an effective and easy way to catch fruit flies. To make a fruit fly trap, take a glass jar, and add some kombucha or apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar other than white vinegar) to the bottom with a few drops of liquid soap. Placing an inverted funnel in the glass jar (such as the top half of a plastic water bottle) also helps to ensure that the fruit flies won't escape.

Fruit fly trap

Read some more about kombucha and fruit flies and other kombucha cautions and concerns on Happy Herbalist.