Homemade Sage Bundles

My sage is thoroughly dry and I have finally made some bundles.  I pieced the dry plant together and tied them together with string.

Homemade Sage Bundles

Sage almost dry

When I lived in the North East Kingdom in Vermont, I was blessed to have a wonderful yard with tons of flowers and herbs growing in it.  No planting necessary, the flowers would just pop up!  While walking my amazing dog Kingdom (RIP) I stumbled across massive amounts of sage.  I harvested a bunch and let it sit in the summer sun for several days to dry out.  Once it was dry I pulled off the leaves and started making bundles and tied them together with hemp.  They burned very well and smelled great. 


Now I do not have access to wild sage as readily and hate spending $6-7 in the store for a bundle.  So, I bought some organic sage ($1.99 a bunch) in the vegetable section of my local market and flavored some Kombucha and let the rest of the sage sit out to dry on my window sill. It has been about 5 days and the sage is almost moisture free.  I will take off the leaves as I did before and make mini sage bundles and wrap them in hemp.  Here are some pictures documenting my process.  Once the sage has completely dried I will update with pictures of the bundling process, so check back in in a few days!

Sage drying out on my windowsill

Flavoring Kombucha: Ginger, Sage and Basil (& a few tips)

I just flavored another batch of Kombucha and it is delicious!


I used fresh ginger (chopped or shredded finely)
Fresh Basil Leaves
Fresh Sage Leaves

Ginger, Basil and Sage 

The first batched I added the shredded ginger and a piece of basil leaf and a few pieces of sage leaves.  The second batch I chopped all three together and added the mixture while I'm letting my kombucha double ferment.  I put the first batch in the fridge and am waiting to see how the leaves turn out looking (brown then I'll remove them) if they are good to go I will keep them in.  I am going to put the second batch in the fridge in a few days.  I do not think I will have to filter this batch with the leaves chopped finely. 


I have already given most of my first batch of mango and melon away and so far people love it.  It was originally very sour but I was able to reduce the sour taste by adding more juice.  I have perfected my bottling regime down to every 5 days bottle and flavor and let sit for 3 days to allow to double ferment and then I put those bottles in the fridge.  I am doing a continuous brew so whatever I bottle I replace.  A few times a week I make a big batch of sugar and tea and keep it in the fridge so that I am always prepared to replace what I have bottled. 


I have had to throw out a couple SCOBYS in other batches due to fruit flies.  They seem to find a way into the cheese cloth so I used regular cloth dish towels now.  I also learned that the ferment time is less than two weeks, if I let the batch go for 2 weeks it is too acidic.  Like I stated previously, I bottle every 5 days or so and allow 3 more days to ferment and flavor in the bottles before refrigerating.  I know you will find that your brew time may be different, if you have a higher temperature it will take less time to ferment.  As soon as I see consist bubbles rising to the surface I usually know that it's about time to bottle.