1/29/08 - Brew Your Own Kombucha
Kombucha
If you say it just right it sounds like something you might say when you do a karate chop!
What is it?
Kombucha is basically a sweetened tea that has been fermented by microorganisms, consisting basically of bacteria and yeast cultures. This wonderfully tasty drink dates back to China around 250 BC, but recently has gained popularity amongst celebrities, and especially raw food circles. It contains beneficial probiotics, live active enzymes, L-Theanine, organic acids, and polyphenols.
How is it made?
Traditionally Kombucha is made by brewing a caffeinated tea, stirring in sugar, and storing that in a large jar, along with the scoby, or “mushroom” zoogleal mat to ferment. This turns into a wonderful beverage that can be quite satisfying and even balancing. One of the more popular brands purchased by raw foodists is GTS Kombucha.
For years raw foodists wouldn’t brew this drink because of our adversity to processed sugar. But great news, it can be done with raw honey! Here is how I did it.
Instructions:
1. Lightly warm water and add 5 caffeinated tea bags (I used Green Tea)
2. Stir in a half a cup of raw honey until thoroughly mixed.
3. Stir in a quarter cup of raw apple cider vinegar.
4. Add scoby (be sure water is cool before you do this step)
5. Place cheese cloth over jar (double folded) and wrap with rubber band
6. Wait 7-30 days to ferment. (Do not take off cloth before 7 days)
Note:
You can purchase a scoby online or sometimes through a local co-op. You can experiment with the ferment time as you go along to see what tastes best for you.
**When you tea is done you will have two scoby’s, the one you originally put in that floated to the bottom, and a new one that grew on top. You can now do the same process over and make two batches at once (one with each scoby), or you can give one to a friend so they can start their own tea! You can also add grated ginger or whatever is to your liking to your drink, just be sure to add this the tea only, do not mix it with the scoby.
Enjoy,
Philip : )
Philip
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Reader Comments (5)
I have totally been wanting to brew my own kombucha....thanks so much for this info!
Muah!
I love this stuff. For those that do not know You can find those scobys online also through Kombucha groups and some will be local and do not charge. I got my first one free from a local person.
Great to know about the Raw Honey. I stopped drinking it because I had heard so many mixed messages. Sounds like the honey does take longer to brew though.Thanks Phillip.
Is it possible to do this with herbal tea?? My system won't tolerate any caffeine. Sounds interesting otherwise, thanks for sharing!
This looks fairly easy to do, not too fussy... gotta try it soon. Thanks for posting it Philip!
XOXO
Awwwwwwwww Philly it turned out just fine...so glad...told you the raw honey would be fine! It was fun putting it together for you...and yes you can use herbal tea...I made a batch with Chai tea and it turned out amazing. You look great and keep up the great work...you're an inspiration for so many Philly...Muah!