Fermented Drinks: Kombucha, Jun, Natural Sodas & Water Kefir

Location: Basbousa Egyptian Street Food Stall, Press Hall

Class includes two free organic SCOBIES: a kombucha SCOBY and a jun scoby (a $50 value).

Have you ever thought of making fermented drinks from scratch but have no idea where to start? Fermentation is one of the oldest methods of creating healthy, effervescent beverages; it’s surprisingly simple and easy to get started. And eating fermented foods and drinks is great for overall health and well-being!

Join us for a delicious workshop learning the basics of fermenting beverages. You will be given samples of a variety of fermented drinks to try on arrival. After a brief introduction, we’ll make a simple fermented soda followed by your own kombucha infused with your flavour of preference. You’ll also taste and learn how to make water kefir and Jun, two other delicious fermented beverages. We will touch on why ferments are important for gut health and learn how the gut plays a role in everything from regulating our immune system and weight, to influencing our moods.

In this workshop you will learn how to make:

- Kombucha (including caffeine-free floral and fruit kombuchas such as the rose/hibiscus kombucha that we serve complimentary in some of our cooking classes)

- Jun (with a green tea and honey base)

- Water Kefir

- A Persian-style shrub (apple cider vinegar-based refreshing drink made with syrup base)

- A natural soda

You'll learn how to follow safe hygiene practices, recognize a healthy brew, know when things have gone wrong and how to fix problems.

You'll learn how to adapt your recipe to variables like room temperature, and what to do when you want to put your ferments on hold for a while to go away (or because you just need a break!).

You will leave this workshop with:

- Your own Kombucha starter culture and first brew (Scoby value $25)

- Your own Jun starter culture and first brew (Scoby value $25)

- Recipes and instructions so you are ready and confident to do your second brew at home

- A new appreciation for the role that fermented drinks can play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

*PLEASE BRING TWO 1 litre JARS WITH A HINGED LID FOR YOUR SCOBIES.

Your tutor, Dr. Wendy Nolan Joyce, is a passionate fermenter. She started making kombucha when a friend gave her a pet SCOBY and she discovered how delicious, easy and inexpensive it is to make at home. Now she loves her fermented drinks so much that she takes her scobies on road trips when she has to go out of town! Wendy makes water kefir, kombucha and jun to serve at her cooking workshops as a non-alcoholic/low alcohol beverage option, and also makes kimchi from vegetables harvested from her Wellington-home organic vegee patch. She organised a fermentation workshop in 2018 with Jo Kempton of Happy Belly Ferments and a few kimchi and fermented drinks workshops since then. She has also co-taught popular sourdough classes with Kearin of the Wellington Bakehouse.