The lockdown has forced me to slow down, and over time pickup and implement some of the local knowledge for drink options to help reduce my sugar intake - I take about 5 cups of tea a day, so need to find other ways to compensate.
I have been lucky to also have ample space in which to plant some herbs and spices, I am searching for more if you have and are willing to share
This post is to share what I have managed to get so far and will keep updating - in addition to recipies
Boil 20l of water with add 50g of tea leaves
Leave to cool till cold, filter out the tea leaves, add 0.5kg of sugar per 5 liters of water
Add the kombuca mushroom in a dark colored bucket, and put in a cool place without direct sunlight
Open once every 3-4 days to let breathe
After 2 weeks, remove, keep in white jerrycans in the fridge, serve cold
The bucket and handling have to be done very carefully being cold can be an easy transmission mechanism for typhoid, dysentry and other water borne diseases
Clean the mushroom, by removing any seemingly dead parts, usually very dark colored and not consistent with the mushroom. It keeps regenerating so these become evident
Leaving it longer than 3 weeks leads to more fermentation giving it a more alcholic taste
A friend of mine with very low alcohol tolerance got a hangover from a glass of my 2 week old kombucha
You can leave it for varying periods of time depending on your taste buds
Preparation: boil 200g of tumeric, 50g ginger in about 5 liters of water, add 4 lemons to taste
This one we usually add to kombucha to add a different dimension in taste and flavor
Boil a 1.5kg pineapple with peels cut into pieces, 50g of tea leaves, 200g of sugar (honey can also be used) and 100g of ginger in 20 liters of water
Leave to cool for at least 18 hours which improves the flavor, probably due to the pineapples and ginger settling into the juice
Filter and put in the fridge to drink serving cold
Place tamarind seeds in water and leave overnight
Squeeze the covering of the seeds which has loosened, using cheesecloth or another appropriate strainer
Add honey to taste
Fill a pan with leaves and add 5cm of water to cover the leaves then boil for 30min
Leave to cool and keep in the fridge
Rosemary - a common addition to tea and meals for flavor, however we have started eating 4-5 leaves per person every morning to start the day
Lime basil (known local name kakuba nsiri) - I add these leaves to my hot tea/coffee drink about 4-5 leaves per cup
Please share your local herb drink and the procedure for preparing it to help build the knowledge
Some photos showing some examples of the preparation steps above