Kombucha

Have you ever have Kombucha? Kombucha is a fermented tea drink using a Kombucha culture, SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). When you add sugar in the tea, the SOCBY acts on sugar and tea to produce some acid, including gluceronic acid. According to Nourishing Tradition by Sally Fallon, Glucuronic acid is a potent detoxifying substance. This drink is originally from the Ural mountain region of Russia.

The one that you get from the store usually comes with different fruit flavors and it would cost around $3-4 per bottle. But brewing Kombucha is very easy and cheap! First, you will need a jar. I bought a one gallon jar off craigslist. Then I got my SCOBY from a friend. You can get the rest of the ingredients very easily. The last thing you need is a warm safe place, where you can put the Kombucha and forget about it for a week.

Sally Fallon also mentioned, it is best to use white sugar instead of honey or Repadura. Use organic black tea, instead of flavored tea, because it has the highest amount of glycuronic acid and non-organic teas are high in fluoride.



Recipe from Nourishing Tradition.

Ingredients
3 quarts filtered water
1 cup sugar
4 tea bags of organic black tea
1/2 cup kombucha from previous culture
1 kombucha SCOBY

Directions
1) Bring 3 quarts filtered water to boil. Add sugar and simmer until dissolved. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and allow the tea too steep until water has completely cooled.
2) Remove tea bags. Pour cooled liquid into a gallon jar and add 1/2 cup kombucha from the previous batch. Place the SCOBY on top of the liquid. Cover loosely with a cloth or towel and transfer to a warm, dark place away from contaminants and insects.
3) In about 7-10 days, the kombucha will be ready, depending on the temperature. It should be rather sour and possibly fizzy, with no taste of tea remaining. Transfer to covered glass containers and store in the refrigerator.
4) When the kombucha is ready, your SCOBY will have grown a second spongy pancake. This can be used to make other batches or given away to friends. Store the SCOBY in a glass or stainless steel container, never plastic. The SCOBY can be used dozens of times. But if the kombucha doesn't sour probably, or if there is mold growing on top, discard the SCOBY and the kombucha and order a new clean one.


I will report on the Kombucha end results.