Etheldreda is my kombucha SCOBY.
SCOBY stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. A SCOBY (aka mother or mushroom) will transform sweetened tea into kombucha, an effervescent, probiotic and delicious fermented drink. (I’m enjoying a glass as I type!)
My generous friend Cory of Aquarian Bath mailed me a SCOBY last year, from which Etheldreda evolved. She started off very small—Cory packed SCOBY pieces into a one-ounce jar—and grew very quickly once she settled into her new home. In fact, she has grown a little faster than I can manage! I recently split her in two for a second vat of kombucha; I have given several layers of her to friends and students here in California; and my daughter MK now has a few pieces up in Canada at school.
I would love to share Etheldreda with more people and track her progress throughout the US.
Have you longed to brew kombucha at home but have failed to find a SCOBY? Now may be your chance to snag a virile mother if you live in the US. I will mail small pieces of my SCOBY to three different people here in the States. If that sounds of interest to you, please email me between now and Friday February 27th, 2015 at midnight Pacific time.
I will randomly pick three SCOBY recipients. After I drop the packages off at the post office, I’ll add three new pins to the map to indicate your city (I won’t include your address). If you send me an image of your kombucha or mother (or even just something random), I’ll imbed that into the map too.
Once your SCOBY grows and you have a surplus—believe me you will if all goes well—I hope you’ll share your mother and let me know which cities I can add to the map. If this giveaway goes well, I’ll repeat it later in the year (I want lots of pins!). I think this could be quite a fascinating project. (Do I need to get out more?)
I can mail Etheldreda within the Continental United States only.
I would like to mail her to Canada or overseas but I doubt she would survive the long trip or make it through customs. Imagine the custom’s agent expression if he or she opens my package and pulls out a gelatinous blob of what looks like an other-worldly fungus. The police would probably bust down my door and arrest me for biological terrorism. I already worry the CIA has me on an anarchist watch list because I make my own ketchup. I don’t want to push my luck.
By the way, if you can brew a pot of tea, you can make kombucha. You’ll find my instructions here.
Also, please check out Aquarian Bath for wonderful plastic-free, truly all-natural bath and body products.