Kombucha-one of the best drinks on earth. Kombucha originated from the Far East around 2,000 years ago. It is a fermented tea beverage with a fair amount of great health benefits. It also happens to be pretty expensive if you buy it at the store, but thankfully it is relatively easy to make at home, keeping the cost to a minimum. I would actually say it is one of the easiest things that I make.
To make kombucha you need a SCOBY which is an acronym for “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.” It’s much easier to just say SCOBY! Kombucha is typically made from black tea or a mixture of black and green tea. I use 2/3 black tea to 1/3 green. You will also need a sweetener because the SCOBY wants to eat. It is a live organism so you have to take care of her. I use 1/4 cup of cane sugar or sucanat, which is simply dehydrated cane juice. Some people also use honey.
You need 10-14 days from the start of your kombucha to the finished product, so it’s not something you can just decide to make on a whim for later in the day or evening. I try to always have some in the refrigerator but, we consume a lot of kombucha in my family and I do run out on occasion.
An article published in the Food Microbiology journal found the following probiotics in kombucha: Gluconacetobacter, Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, and Zygosaccharomyces. And that’s why we drink a lot of it in our home. In Latvia, where typically a whole lifestyle is sought after, researchers from the University of Latvia said the following about the health benefits of kombucha
“It is shown that kombucha can efficiently act in health preservation and recovery due to four main properties: detoxification, anti-oxidation, energizing potencies, and promotion of boosting the immune system.” Journal of Medicinal Food 2014
Kombucha helps aid the body in detoxification, digestion, weight loss, energy levels, immune supporting health, joint care, and possibly cancer prevention. It has been researched and shown to help prevent and aid in the healing of leaky gut and stomach ulcers. Just a little side story. When Rob was in the hospital almost two years ago, I informed him he had a leaky gut and we were going to heal it. I then gave him my plan of attack and what life style changes we were going to make. I talked for probably 20 or 30 minutes. Then I asked him what his thoughts were on the matter. Do you know what he said?!?! “Did you call my gut leaky!?!?!?” That’s. ALL. Just, “Did you call my gut leaky?” Rob won’t drink kombucha, and I still suspect he has a leaky gut.
For 1/2 gallon of kombucha you will need
4 organic black tea, tea bags
2 organic green tea, tea bags
1/4 cup of sweetener (raw sugar cane, sucanat, honey)
And 1 SCOBY
½ cup starter tea (This comes with your SCOBY and has the good bacteria to keep your kombucha from rotting instead of fermenting.)
Brew the tea according to the package directions, adding the sugar while the water is still hot so that it completely dissolves. Let the tea cool down to room temperature. You do not want to use metal or plastic for this process as plastic leaches toxins and metal can react to the SCOBY. I use gallon size glass jars. Once the tea has cooled go ahead and place the SCOBY with the starter tea in your jar. Cover the top with a cotton cloth, using a rubber band to hold on securely, and place in a warm area out of direct sunlight. You will then let it ferment for 7-14 days, depending on how tart you like your drink. Heat will also speed up the process. Since our house is pretty chilly during the winter my first ferment goes 13-14 days. In the summer it will be 7. During the first ferment your SCOBY might be all over the place, on top, on the bottom, in the middle, on its side, lying flat or it might hang out in one position. Around day 5 you should start to see a new baby SCOBY forming. And your mother SCOBY will have brown strings hanging off of her. Making kombucha is so interesting because things are always changing, and growing. I have a strong SCOBY and she will sometimes make two or three new SCOBY’s each batch and they will cover the entire top of the tea as it ferments.
Once the first ferment is finished have some fresh tea brewed and cooled so that you can easily start another batch of kombucha. Put ½ cup of the newly made kombucha in the fresh batch of tea with your SCOBY or SCOBYs. Your kombucha has to do a second ferment before it is ready to drink. This is where you can add flavoring such as fresh fruit, fruit juice, herbs or spices, or chia seeds, or leave it plain. You will then put a lid on tightly and let it sit for 2-3 days. The longer it sits this time the more bubbly your tea will become. My kids like their tea super bubbly so I always do a full three days. You can strain the fruit off and you can bottle or not. Since we drink ours so fast I don’t bottle it, just put it into the refrigerator in the glass jar I make the kombucha in. I leave mine plain and we flavor it with essential oils right before we drink it. I like to use lime, lemon, tangerine, orange, or grapefruit.
If you are tired of simply drinking water every day, or if you need to add some good probiotics to your diet get yourself a SCOBY and start fermenting some tea, your gut will thank you!
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