KOMBUCHA TEA
Kombucha is a popular health promoting beverage and natural folk remedy made by fermenting sweetened tea. Kombucha mother culture (or scoby) looks like a white rubbery pancake. It is a symbiotic culture of yeast and other microorganisms. The mother culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns the tea into a sea of health giving acids and nutrients. The Kombucha culture feeds on the sugar and in exchange produces other valuable substances which change into the drink: glucuronic acid, glucon acid, lactic acid, vitamins, amino acids, antibiotic substances, and other products. The Scoby or mother culture is, therefore, a real tiny biochemical factory.
Some of you may be seasoned Kombucha-brewing veterans, but many of you out there have only just begun to explore the incredible process. To keep you out of trouble, we’ve put together the following lists of “do’s” and “don’ts” when brewing kombucha.
Kombucha Brewing Do’s:
- Clean everything thoroughly before brewing or bottling.
- Filter or boil your water before brewing.
- Use refined white sugar; it is healthier for your SCOBY, and results in a more palatable tea with higher levels of the several healthful organic acids. Also, since the SCOBY consumes almost all of the sugar, there is no need to worry about the health risks associated with eating refined sugar.
- Check the pH if you’re nervous. Kombucha generally finishes with a pH of 2.5. Anything lower than 4.6 is safe to drink, since the acidity acts as a preservative. Commercially available pH strips can be used to verify that your brew is ready.
- Watch for mold and throw away a batch that gets moldy.
Healthy Mother Cuture Healthy Kombucha Tea
** My secret to avoid mold problems:
Just mix in a spray bottle 1/2 water and 1/2 white vinegar and spray the jar every three days
Or just add four tablespoons of white vinegar to the starter tea at the beginning of the proccess
Kombucha Brewing Don’ts:
- NEVER ferment your kombucha in a metal, plastic, or ceramic container. Finished kombucha is very acidic, and can leach toxins out of some metals, plastics, and ceramic glazes.
- Stay away from teas flavored with oils (such as Earl Grey), as these may damage your kombucha SCOBY.
- Don’t add flavorings — such as ginger or raisins — to the fermenting kombucha; they can damage the SCOBY or encourage mold. Add these when bottling the finished kombucha; the high acidity will preserve the fruit.
*Complete brewing instructions are included
with every mushroom order.
How much Kombucha to drink:
I can’t actually answer that question every body is different. Anytime you introduce something new to your system you should do so gradually. Some people are even allergic to kombucha although a small percentage. I would recommend having no more than a 3oz glass of kombucha upon first introducing it to your system. You can then gradually increase the amount having no more then around 24oz in a day. I am drinking plenty of water too, it’s always important to never abandon our old friend H20, no supplement or health drink will ever replace drinking lots of water. It’s every important to always stay hydrated.
Kombucha Health Benefits:
Due to the production of B-vitamins, pro-biotics, and compounds including gluconic, lactic, and folic acids, drinking Kombucha tea regularly has been shown to benefit the human body by:
- balancing the metabolism
- cleansing the blood and regulating pH levels
- improving liver, gall bladder, and digestive function
- detoxifying the body and enhancing the immune system
- raising overall energy level