Yes, Jaylock. I lived almost 20 years in south america. Spanish is my second language, but I will always have an American accent when I speak it,...especially when I'm tired. And it was in south america that I became aware of the usefulness of several herbs.
You've had quite an exciting life, haven't you? Sorry for high jacking the thread but it sounds so interesting. Would love to hear more.
Here we are, approximately a month from when I started growing my kombucha scoby. And, with great pride, I present the "baby photos" of the scoby. As scobys go, this one is as pretty as they get. Those who love kombucha and the health benefits that it provides can now offer the appropriate congratulatory, "Ah, look how pretty it is!" I bottled the recent batch of kombucha tonight and put it in the fridge, tasting it first. It was delicious. I grew this scoby straight from the store-bought GT kombucha mixed with my own brew of green tea and organic sugar. I didn't order anything through the mail. ...'just saying', so that others know it can be done. Yes, scobys look basically "gross". They have a 'face that only a mother could love'.
Well, I'm starting over. Some enterprizing gnats found my kombucha and laid claim to it. Previously I'd made a delicious brew,...actually it was even better than the store-bought brand that I'd cloned for the scoby (mushroom). I'd used Arabic green tea and organic sugar. But I'll be throwing out this recent batch along with the scoby. I don't have a 'back up' scoby, so I'll be starting over with store-bought kombucha,...hoping it will do as well this second time as it did the first. Also, this time I will think 'smaller'. Instead of the 32 ounce pyrex measuring cup, I'll use a 24 ounce pickle jar.
www.organic-kombucha.com/kombu_backups.html "By keeping a back-up on hand or several containers brewing at once the need to pay for or search for a replacement will not be needed. With each brewing cycle the kombucha mushroom will reproduce itself so there will be plenty of fresh back-ups to keep. You may keep a replacement culture in some fresh tea solution stored covered in the refrigerator or again keep several jars going at once."
I'm still drinking kombucha. I especially like pineapple kombucha. But I stopped making it myself at home because of the gnat problem. My kitchen is very small, without much counter space. So there's nowhere to put things 'away' and spray for the gnats. Finally, I had to give up on running my little one-person kombucha factory.