Last Christmas, I tried to gift my parents some new hobbies. For my father, I got him a bonsai tree kit and a rocket launcher kit (like for children). For my mother, I started a blog for her. I’m fairly confident I went 0 for 3 on those gifts, especially the bonsai, as it was DOA.

All this is to say gifting someone a new hobby — while it can seem like a fun idea — is risky. My sister took that risk and gifted me a kombucha brewing kit this past Christmas. I was both excited, as kombucha is expensive and I love it, but also nervous because my cooking skills are not fantastic.

After a few weeks of hesitantly waiting for the ‘perfect’ time to begin brewing, I wiped down my entire kitchen in vinegar (since all my research told me soap is bad for brewing), and followed my recipe to the T (but also tea because I’m brewing kombucha, get it!?).