Kombucha originated in Northeast China or Manchuria and later spread to Russia and from there to the rest of the world. In Russian, the kombucha culture is called chainyj grib чайный гриб (lit. "tea fungus/mushroom"), and the fermented drink is called kombútja комбутя, grib ("fungus; mushroom"), or chainyj kvas чайный квас ("tea kvass").
It was brought to Russia sometime before 1910 and spread from there to Germany and Europe.
Some promotional kombucha sources suggest the history of this tea-based beverage originated in ancient China or Japan, though no written records support these assumptions. One author reported kombucha, supposedly known as the "Godly Tsche [i.e., tea]" during the Chinese Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), was "a beverage with magical powers enabling people to live forever".
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Components:
Kombucha contains multiple species of yeast and bacteria along with the organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols produced by these microbes. The precise quantities of a sample can only be determined by laboratory analysis. Finished kombucha may contain any of the following components:
- Acetic acid, which is mildly antibacterial
- Butyric acid
- B-vitamins
- Ethanol
- Glucuronic acid
- Lactic acid
- Malic acid
- Oxalic acid
- Usnic acid
Normally, kombucha contains less than 0.5% ethanol, which classifies it as a nonalcoholic beverage. Older, more acidic kombucha might contain 1.0% or 1.5% alcohol, because of more anaerobic brewing time and higher proportions of sugar and yeast.
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The health benefits of Kombucha are outstanding. It has been known to "detoxify the body and energize the mind." Scientific evidence suggests that Kombucha makes the liver and digestive system work more efficiently.
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What you'll need:
- 1 gallon-sized glass jar
- 1 gallon of filtered water
- 1 piece of cheese cloth to cover the top of jar
- 1 rubber band (to wrap around cheese cloth to make it stay around the jar)
- 8 regular tea bags or 1/2 c. loose black tea
- 1 cup organic cane sugar (WOAH! That's a lot! Well, the sugar is for the SCOBY to consume, not you... so don't worry! You won't be consuming that sugar. When done fermenting, there will be about 1-2 grams per 8 ounce glass of unflavored Kombucha. To find out more about sugar in Kombucha, visit this site at http://www.kombuchakamp.com/2011/02/sugar-and-kombucha-faq-top-10.html)
and lastly...
- 1 SCOBY with at least 1/2 c. brewed kombucha or apple cider vinegar (anything with same acidity)
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What is a SCOBY, you ask?
Let me tell you.
A SCOBY stands for "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast." You can buy them at Cultures For Health or Fermented Treasures and probably lots of other places, too. You can also grow your own. I, personally, like to find people in the area who have extra (like my lovely Meg, for example). Why would she have extra? Well... because a SCOBY is bacteria and yeast, it will divide and grow multiple other SCOBYs. This means that you can brew more than one batch eventually (because you will have more than one SCOBY) or you can give them away to friends and family.
Ready to be grossed out? Well here it is...
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This, my friends, is a SCOBY (or as my mom likes it call it "Abby Normal").
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So if the thought of placing bacteria and yeast into a tea hasn't freaked you out yet, I'll go ahead and move along to brewing your own Kombucha. Note: your yogurt is also made of bacteria and yeast, hence why it is considered probiotic.
You should only start off by drinking 2 ounces of Kombucha in the morning and 2 ounces at night. I recommend drinking 2 ounces 15 minutes after waking up in the morning. I usually drink the other 2 ounces an hour or so before bedtime. After a week, you will find that you can up your intake of Kombucha to 4 ounces in the morning and 4 ounces at night and so on...
Warning: You will be on the toilet all morning if you drink too much at first! Be sure to ease your way into drinking more and more each week.
How to Brew your Own Kombucha:
1. Boil some water (it doesn't have to be the whole gallon, just enough to steep the tea in)
2. Add your bags of black tea and steep for 5 minutes.
3. Remove tea bags and add your cup of sugar until completely dissolved.
4. Once completely dissolved, pour your tea into the gallon-sized jar.
5. Add the remaining filtered water (this will cool down the tea because you do not want to place a SCOBY in hot water).
6. Once cool, add apple cidar vinegar or Kombucha (from previous batch, from a bottle from the store, or from a friend) to the jar.
7. With clean hands place the SCOBY on top of the tea. Note: if it sinks down, this is okay.
8. Place the cheese cloth on top of the jar and secure it with your rubber band.
Note: Kombucha requires oxygen to brew but you want to keep the bugs out (if you put an air-tight cover on it, it will turn to alcohol!).
9. Leave the kombucha for 5 – 14 days, depending on the strength you like. I like 9 – 12 days the best. I find it best to store the jar in ambient temperature (in a cupboard somewhere).
10. After the 5-14 days have passed, you're ready to bottle your Kombucha. Take your SCOBY out of the jar (no, you will not actually be consuming the SCOBY) and fill your bottles with the tea. I prefer to bottle my Kombucha in glass bottles, such as a flip-top bottle (see below).
I don't know how I feel about plastic. Plastic doesn't seem safe to me and I highly recommend avoiding bottling Kombucha in plastic bottles.
11. Set bottles aside for 2-3 days before placing in the fridge (this can be on a counter top if you'd like). Note: leave a little space at the tops of your bottles for the Kombucha to breathe.
And there you have it! It's quite a process but it makes a lot of Kombucha and the health benefits are off of the charts. If I go out for a night of drinking, I love to drink Kombucha the next day to clean out my liver and put my digestive system back on track.
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Below is a video to help you begin brewing your kombucha. This is from Modern Alternative Mama. She has a great website, you should definitely check it out.
If you have any questions about Kombucha, feel free to comment! I love it and it tastes very good. It has some carbonation so it tastes like black tea soda.
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