Here at the Alamo, we are making Kombucha tea which is (according to Wikipedia) "a fermented tea that is imbibed for medicinal purposes."
Basically, you take a big mushroom pancake known by the acronym: SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) and drop it in a vat of cold brewed tea (any flavor) and leave it in a dark, musty place (our pantry) for about a month. The original SCOBY, or Mother Mushroom, ferments the tea and gives birth to a "baby SCOBY" which you can then use to make a new batch of Kombucha.
In Chinese, Kombucha is called hongchajun 红茶菌 (literally: "red tea fungus/mushroom"), hongchagu 红茶菇 ("red tea mushroom"), or chameijun 茶霉菌 ("tea mold"). Sounds delicious right??
Well, it tastes like vinegar, but is strangely addictive... AND it has all kinds of medicinal properties (not approved by the FDA). In fact, during the Chinese Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) it was thought to be "a beverage with magical powers enabling people to live forever". So hopefully, that works out for us...
Actual health benefits are disputable but some claims include: cancer-curing, increased energy, sharper eyesight, better skin, and liver detox. Our first batch was ready to drink last night so here we have pictures of the process of taking the baby from the Mother Mushroom and making more magical mold tea!
You'll notice that Lemur is wearing an "Ironman" mask. That is not to protect his identity, it's just something we do here at the Alamo.
Peace,
Phoenix and Cloud
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