The last of the Kombucha Diaries...

Tuesday July 31, 2012

I only lost one bottle, the rest of them sat there minding their own business on the counter.  Tuesday I decided I had waited long enough and I put the in the fridge.  Tuesday night at dinner I popped one open and poured everyone a little juice glass full.  I think it was Me, my DH and a couple of my sons were there for dinner.... Amazingly enough everyone liked it, wanted more and thought it tasted like the stuff they sell on tap at Whole Foods!  My son described it as apple juice that is a little sour with a fizz.

It is surprisingly refreshing though, and way better for you than soda.  It still gives you that bubblyness of soda though, and that is nice.  You don't even notice the good for you part, it just tastes like a fizzy drink that is a little different!

Wednesday August 1, 2012
     I had brewed my second batch with the breakfast blend black tea and I did the third with the same tea.  Can't wait to taste the difference in that one.  The next batch  I will do with some green tea just to compare.
I bottled the second batch in the same way, didn't use any socks but did put it in a pan, good think because I lost one bottle again!  I shared my extra starter with a friend who came over to watch me bottle and start my next batch, so she could try it too.

Sunday August 6, 2012
     Waiting, waiting, waiting for the second batch to be ready for the refrigerator, as the first batch is completely gone!  I will really have to make 3 gallons if everyone wants to drink this stuff!

you can see the fizz in the bottle!

If you are interested in trying Kombucha making for yourself, I suggest this web site: Anahata.  That is where I confirmed the written instructions from my friend, and it has nice and detailed instructions, as well as good information on Kombucha!

Thanks for reading the Kombucha Diaries... I would love to hear your comments

What's A Tea Cozy? It's like a Prom Dress for your Teapot!

I was shocked, amazed and so pleasantly surprised today!  My friend Danelle was coming over for tea...  Danelle is my knitting friend; meaning that we both love to knit, and we are friends and have become friends over the fact that we both love to knit.  I love getting together with her for tea and knitting because it is so relaxing.  I lead a pretty hectic and busy life, and when I schedule a tea break with Danelle, it truly is a break.  We spend a couple of hours sipping Yorkshire Gold, or some other delightful English tea, dousing it with some fresh cream and honey and taking about what ever comes to mind and always with  some knitting thrown in. Well, back to what amazed me.  When Danelle arrived she had a pretty little gift bag in her hands, I was getting the tea ready, and we were visiting and she said..." oh this is for you, and you have to open it now".  I did, it was an absolutely gorgeous tea cozy, did I mention that I was shocked and amazed?  Look at the picture, it's beautiful!

It slides on over my teapot, and has two cozy layers of knitting to keep the tea piping hot.  The top is a bevy of knit roses and leaves.  It is sooo cute, I still can't believe she made it for me.  So "why?" I asked her,  and she said it was to thank me for test knitting for her, which I do, but I am about the slowest knitter in the world and quite the amateur compared to Danelle.  So why you say am I test knitting?  Well, let me just say that I have been knitting most of my life, as long as I can remember.  My mom or my Aunt Mary taught me, I don't remember which and no one out there probably cares! Danelle on the other hand, has only been knitting for a handful of years.  I am moderately ok at knitting, she is amazing at knitting and the thing about it is she really doesn't like to use a pattern, or she will start with the basic concept and then make up her own thing.  Which brings me to why I do some test knitting for her....She makes these amazing little cuffs or mitts that you can wear in the winter to spruce up your attire, or add another layer of warmth to your wrists or whatever.  They are lacy and feminine and cute and soft.  Long story short, she had perfected her pattern, and decided to try submitting it to a magazine, Jane Austen Knits to be exact, as they are the perfect Jane Austen type pattern.  Well the pattern was accepted for publication in the magazine, and last week just before mothers day, she received an email of the pattern, and also found out that she made the cover of the magazine!  Wow!  That was pretty exciting, and I am thankful for her inspiration to constantly improve and perfect my needley knitting skills and that she trusts me to give her test patterns a whirl! You can find her beautiful cuff pattern in the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits...