As you may or may not recall, I’ve started trying to make my own kvass and kombucha.

First batch of kvass was not a success. I added too much ginger. It was bitter and not good.

Second batch has turned out much better. I did a lot of things differently.

First of all, I made a fruit kvass. I used blueberries, then from our garden, I added apple, fig, and huckleberry. I only used a tiny piece of ginger, and instead, used mint, also from our garden. I used two tablespoons of honey.

Then, I made two big changes from the recipe.

Instead of using some sort of brine as a fermentation starter, I used kombucha, something that’s naturally sweeter. I also cut the amount of salt called for in the recipe. The salt is supposedly to preserve the drink. It isn’t necessarily to add flavor.

I let it sit on my counter for five days for the first fermentation, then another three days for the second.

OMG. It’s so good. It isn’t sweet like fruit juice. Instead of being sour, it’s tangy. It’s naturally bubbly. And it isn’t too salty. Just lovely. When we finish this batch I’ll start another, maybe trying with different fruit, but in general, following this recipe.

As for the kombucha, the first fermentation produced a lovely drink. Then I flavored it with juice, and while it’s still good, it isn’t as good, IMO. Will still drink it.

My friend Melissa posted about making kombucha, and one of her friends responded with a tremendous amount of fantastic information.

One of the things that she does is add mint to her initial black tea. I like mint. I grow a lot of it. Figured I’d try.

So did a plain kombucha, two fermentations. Didn’t want to add flavor in, not until I get the base recipe down.

I’ve discovered that I don’t care for the mint. It produces a bitter aftertaste for me. My sweetie likes it, and will drink it. Plus, I’ll still add it to my smoothies.

(I was thinking about my most recent smoothie. It had homemade kombucha, homemade coconut yogurt, as well as homegrown fruit. I really am a hippy as my husband frequently proclaims.)

The next batch of kombucha is just going to be plain tea. I have another batch brewing that I did with mint. Not sure when I’ll make the next one. I’m not sure how fast I’ll go through it. It’s all been way fun, though.

What are you experimenting with? Me, I’m trying a new thing, starting tomorrow – serializing a novel, and posting it online! Stay tuned!