Kombucha Home Brewing Workshop 3 + 4

This was the third Home Brewing Workshop for The Herban Fortress, hosted by Native Roots Market in downtown Oklahoma City. We had an amazing turn out and met lots of new faces. Friendships and business relationships were forged. It was a pleasant afternoon in December as we snacked on fresh, crisp radishes picked from my garden that morning. We sipped on different flavors of my home brew and talked about urban homesteading, fermentation, sustainability, health and wellness.

Beautiful green and black teas and hibiscus flowers were displayed to showcase the simple ingredients that go into making a delicious home brew. There was fresh culture and magical starter tea set out to touch, smell and explore.

These picture perfect radishes had been picked just a few hours before the workshop. They were spicy, crunchy and tasty dipped in my roasted red pepper hummus.

I always have a SPIDER CIDER display with me where ever I go, available in three sizes. Integrating this wellness tonic along with 8 ounces of kombucha is what I recommend for a daily routine that keeps your immune system responsive and alert as well as nourishes the gut and the digestive system. They both regulate internal ph and work in tandem to purify the blood and the skin.

Pretty little pro-biotic teas for the starter kits that are teeming with millions of organisms, bacteria and yeast.

I served a roasted garlic and red pepper hummus topped with smoked paprika and fresh parsley, a warm tomato bruschetta with balsamic and wilted basil, fresh mozzarella pearls, crispy radishes and my Herbed Seed and Nut Crackersfrom the blog. Everything was hand made (except for the mozz) and gluten free. These were perfect and delicious for December as I always tailor my table around seasonal foods and flavors.

These raw 'cheesecake' bars were made of cashews, swirled with dark chocolate and had an almond cacao crust. Sweetened with maple syrup and coconut oil, they were also vegan and gluten free. What a treat!

Jelly jars and paper straws for the home brew cocktails.

Proud of this pretty little bundle.

Guests dined, sipped and chatted for the first hour as everyone got to know one another and opened up the conversation about the benefits of home brewing and making kombucha in our own kitchens.

I brought four different flavors of my home brew to taste, showcasing some creative combinations such as black cherry ginger and peach pomegranate.

A BIG thanks to Native Roots Market for generously putting us up in their swanky club house for the day, and to everyone who came and made it special!

I'm happy to announce the date and location of my next workshop! We will gather on May 3 at the BE LOVE Yoga Studio in Tulsa which is formerly the I AM Yoga Studio. They have gone thought some changes and updates recently and are eager to roll out a new season of events and classes.

Check out the official event post on my blog here or visit the studio page to read more. You can pre-register here to reserve your spot. Space is limited!

All photos by Greer Inez

I hope you'll join us - HAPPY BREWING!

Kombucha Home Brewing Workshop 2 + 3

In September, I taught my second home brewing workshop in Norman at Scissortail School of Art. My good friend Lindsey is the owner there and she allows me access to her studio for shows and classes. She also rents the studio for art - themed birthday parties and private events. It's perfect for kids. Check out her site for a little tour and to contact her for bookings.

We had an intimate gathering of ladies that afternoon for a quaint discussion on the art of home brew and women's health. I was encouraged by the fact that I did not know any of them. We created new friendships and continued the ongoing conversation about creating our tribal intersection through modern culture. We sipped on flavors of my personal elixir and snacked on tasty, healthy treats. It was pretty perfect.

I'm happy to announce that I've been invited to teach another workshop in December at the new Native Roots Market location in downtown OKC. This will be the first workshop for the city. You can get the details and see the event flyer below.

I always bring four different and unique flavors of my personal home brew to sample. You can get a taste of the variations at your direction when you do it yourself. Controlling the flavors, herbs, acidity, carbonation and nutritional profile are all part of perfecting your elixir. Taking ownership of the ways in which we heal ourselves puts us in the driver's seat of optimum wellness. We are creating our personal lifestyle brands and signatures, writing and editing success stories as we go.

We also passed around SPIDER CIDER and discussed the symbiotic benefits to having that and kombucha flowing through our bodies every day. They both regulate PH and keep our digestive and immune systems firing in top form.

Though kombucha is made from green or black tea, I have been experimenting with Hibiscus flowers. They're really beautiful in their dried form and contain a natural bright pink dye that turns the tea and the culture pink.

This is raw kombucha culture. The round one was made with Hibiscus. It is not actually a mushroom though it is commonly referred to as one. Because it ferments, it falls under the science of Mycology, which is the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans. Consider the the implications of penicillin and it's antibiotic properties. The same activity is present in the tea made from kombucha.

The next workshop is scheduled for Sunday, December 1 at Native Roots Market, located at 131 NE 2nd Street in downtown Oklahoma City. I'm bringing some tasty appetizers from my garden to table menu and seasonal flavors of home brew to sip on. Attendants get to take home starter culture and literature with complete brewing, bottling, flavoring and safety guidelines. Starter kits will be available for purchase separately. They include everything you need to start brewing immediately.

Space may be limited. If you would like to pre-register and save your spot, you may do so through Pay Pal by posting your payment to redmagnetic@gmail.com. Cost is $40. You can RSVP, ask questions, get directions and additional details on the Facebook event page here.

Join us and bring a friend!

Photos by Keisha Register and Greer Inez.

Kombucha Home Brewing Workshop | 2

I'm really excited about teaching my second workshop over the simple, sustainable practice of home brewing your own Kombucha. I did my first one about a year ago. I've had a crazy love affair with this curious, effervescent beverage for many years. A friend of mine gave me a raw chunk of culture one summer and showed me how to brew and I was immediately hooked. I loved watching it grow and change into something incredible. I loved watching it become a powerful medicine in my tool box. I love things with a super status. Like other super foods, Kombucha is a raw, fermented probiotic drink that supplies tons of antioxidants, organic acids, living bacteria, minerals and detoxifying compounds to our bodies. It heals the gut and the digestive tract while balancing ph. It creates a pristine environment inside the body and out. Human skin radiates. 

The origins of this ritual are ancient and rooted in longevity. It has been part of Asian, Russian and German culture for centuries. I'm a firm believer in taking control of my health and creating a lifestyle brand that is uniquely written just for me. I think that when we own our wellness and our recovery efforts, we harness the power of the will, channeling it into our core as it materializes into the chi. This is the true path of a seeker. Knowledge is never wrong or wasted. As we learn to take possession of our practices, we learn that the gift is increased tenfold by sharing it with others. 

These photos show the process of bottling which was captured beautifully by Greer Inez of Mama Hussy. She's the bad ass behind all of the best photography on my blog where I make it into the shots. She spent the day with me documenting, step by step, the monthly ritual of flavoring, juicing and secondary fermentation.

The first step is to uncover my finished homebrew to sample and bottle for a second fermentation. I'm also peeling the ginger root with a paring knife and getting it ready to be juiced into liquid gold.

This is a nicely brewed, fizzy batch that was mature and ready to bottle. The layer on top is the baby which formed during the brew process. I like to let mine go about three weeks. The bubbles are the co2 that has developed from the fermentation and the combination of tea, sugar, yeast and culture.

I always use freshly juiced ginger in mine, which is totally a personal preference. Raw ginger is really spicy and very intense when juiced compared to infusing with the whole root.

Removing the culture from the brew before you strain it requires clean hands and a piece of clean cotton. I use old t-shirts and cut them up for my filters and jar covers.

Straining is not necessary as you can drink the brew straight away as soon as the culture is removed. There will be some chains of yeast that float around which is normal and occasionally little bits of culture that have started to form. They're actually good for you but it's really just a textural issue. Straining makes a smooth, refreshing drink that is delicious alone, flavored or even as a cocktail mixer.

I have a lot of different juices that I like but I usually stick to my favorites which are cherry, bluberry and pineapple. You can use any of your favorites, just make sure it's something high quality and not from concentrate. Organic is always best. I re - use my store bought Kombucha bottles because they're glass and have a lid that screws on air tight. Allow your capped bottles to sit on the counter at room temperature for 2-3 days and this will trap the co2, creating a carbonated drink. Then refrigerate them and enjoy.

This is how they look when they're ready to start all over. You brew new tea and sugar, add some starter tea retained from the previous batch, and drop the culture in. Two weeks later, you've got a delicious Kombucha that is awesome to have around at all times, especially to offer your guests!

Other than my children, my garden is my greatest accomplishment. It's really my sanctuary where I am totally at ease, confident, relaxed, meditative, happy and content. I have made horticulture my life's work for nearly 20 years. Growing things is truly second nature to me. I've used my blackberries to sweeten my Kombucha. It's tart! Garden to table philosophy is certainly the epicenter of a sustainable practice around here. Our waste is our compost and our compost makes food for us. The cycle has no end or beginning, just a continual dance of symbiosis. I have no formal teaching or experience. I am guided by my instinct and my own power doubled.

My youngest is my little shadow outside, always right behind me with a shovel or an intelligent question. He loves being in the natural elements just as much as I do. We love to pick berries, pull weeds, turn compost and plant seeds together. I can't imagine a greater feeling of pride. My oldest however, is entirely on the opposite end of the spectrum and is creative and conceptual beyond measure. He lives in his ethereal mind which one day, will make it's way outside. I'm hoping he will design me a state of the art greenhouse. That would be just about perfect.

XOXO

Mycology

New things are happening around here in The Fortress. I am happy to announce that I will be holding a long-anticipated workshop for kombucha home brewing. This is a topic that I have been very passionate about for nearly 2 years now. I have been doing continuous brew since I started 2 summers ago. I had started drinking kombucha and thought it was incredibly powerful and potent and when I did some further research on it, I found out not only was I right, but it was more than what I had originally thought. Turns out, there is so much going on in this fizzy, sour drink that it can easily be categorized as  a super food. I would put it in the same group as spirulina, chia, avocado, quinoa, prune, blueberry, turmeric and pepper. Of course, there are more, but these are the ones in regular rotation at my house. The beneficial acids, bacteria and antioxidants are so beneficial that the list of things they treat is long, extensive and impressive. I've been selling this ancient culture out of my kitchen for almost as long as I've been a brewer. It is sometimes called a mushroom though it is not actually a fungus. It resembles a very sophisticated and pristine looking solid that is smooth to the touch and teeming with life. It is fermented like beer or wine. It grows like a plant with just the right conditions. It feeds you. It can be thin and flimsy or it can be thick and tough like skin. I am absolutely obsessed with every aspect of brewing kombucha. I am eager to diffuse the idea that it is hard to brew your own. I want to incorporate this ancient method of home health into the lives of others because it is not simply something you drink. It is part of a lifestyle, an integrated methodology of taking responsibility for what we put into our bodies. If you drink it, you should brew it. I think of it like clean, healthy food. If you eat like that, you should prepare it yourself as often as possible. And if you prepare it yourself, you should grow it yourself. This is the most superior form of symbiosis in my opinion. One hand washes the other, forever.