Kombucha Mother Swap

Dear Fellow Kombucha Brewers,

I understand people think we are weird. We make a ridiculously sugary tea, and then, instead of drinking it like normal people, we plop a strange rubber pancake on the top and let it sit. And sit. For weeks, even. Then, when it is good and stinky, we bottle it. Perhaps we are weird. Even weirder: we drink it. Why? I think it makes my liver happy. Other people claim it is a tonic. Its fizzy, it smells like vinegar, and health nuts will pay $3.99 at the health food store for a little bottle of it. Is it alcoholic? Ask the ATF.

Why go to the trouble of swapping we already have? Recently the idea of Bacterial Terroire has come to my attention-- that different places have different resident bacterias and yeasts, and that those produce different flavors. I want to find out if this applies to kombucha critters.

I am choosing the month of November because the weather in the Northern Hemisphere should be cool to cold. We don't want to open a box full of exploded, stinky kombucha bits. Sorry, Southern Hemisphere, you alls can do your own swap.

The Haps

The complete information for mailing a kombucha mother is here.

Your kombucha mother should be fresh, alive and free of debris and gunk.

Include the obligatory 5 bags of black tea-- it shouldn't be flavored or have oils-- straight up Lipton is best.

Follow the directions on the link to mail it. Use a small cardboard box so the mother doesn't get squished.

Include a letter telling your partner about how you came to love and brew kombucha.

Usual restrictions apply.

If it is illegal to send or receive food in the mail in your country, please don't sign up.