Kombucha, not just for hipsters & hippies!

Time for a post on another of my favorites. Kombucha has been a buzz word for a couple of years now, and grocery stores are continuously stocking their shelves to keep up with the trend. Even PepsiCo has jumped on the Kombucha action, purchasing the KeVita brand for $200 million last year! Personally I've been making and drinking the stuff for a few years now (before it was cool!) after first coming across it on a holiday to Florida, and its not just me, all my kids now love the stuff and see it as a real treat (much better than a coke!)

History

The origins of Kombucha are not clear but it has been around for a LONG time. It is thought to have originated in the Far East and has been consumed there for at least two thousand years. The first recorded use of Kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty. It was known as "The Tea of Immortality". It has also been used in Eastern Europe, Russia and Japan for several centuries. The name Kombucha is said to have come from Japan in 415 AD where a Korean physician called Kombu or Kambu treated the Emperor Inyko with the tea and it took his name, "Kombu" and "cha" meaning tea. It spread to Russia, Prussia, Poland, Germany and Denmark but it seems to have died out during World War Two. After the war Dr Rudolph Skelnar created renewed interest in Kombucha in Germany when he used it in his practice to treat cancer patients, metabolic disorders, high blood pressure and diabetes.

What is it

The Kombucha culture looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake. It's often called a SCOBY which stands for  Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts.The culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a bowl full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids.

Benefits

There is not much research on the benefits of Kombucha (unlike fermented milk products) but it has certainly been shown to have similar antibiotic, antiviral and anti fungal properties in lab tests. In rats it’s been shown to protect against stress and improve liver function. There is a lot of experiential evidence from people who have been using Kombucha over many years. Many of the benefits reported include improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer, digestive problems, candidiasis, hypertension, HIV, chronic fatigue and arthritis. It ‘s also used externally for skin problems and as a hair wash among other things.

Kombucha contains a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes. And of course there are all the benefits of the probiotic microorganisms themselves. The sugar is used The Kombucha culture is a biochemical powerhouse 

How to make it

You'll need tea bags, sugar, filtered/mineral water (chlorine will hurt the SCOBY), large jar, and a SCOBY. Its a fairly simple ingredients list and the process is nice and simple too as explained below. As ever go fro quality ingredients, I always source organic tea and sugar for my Kombucha.

1. Measure out the correct amount of water for your jar (for simplicities sake keep it to the nearest litre).
2. Bring the water to the boil, whilst its heating up add the sugar, 60ml (4 tbls spoons) for every litre of water and stir to make sure its all dissolved.
   
3. Take the water of the heat and add the teabags, 2 for every litre of water. Let them steep for 15-30mins.
   
4. Take the teabags out and allow the sugary teas to cool to body temp. You can stand it in cold water to speed this process up.
5. Pour the sugary tea into your jar and add your SCOBY, dont worry if it floats, sinks or swims around (joking dont panic!). 
   
6. Cover the jar with a breathable lid (cloth or similar) and put it in a warm dark place.
7. The fermentation time will vary depending on the ambient temperature (quicker when its warm). I suggest you taste it after a couple of weeks, if its too sugary, leave it a few days and try again.
8. When its to your taste its time to bottle it and put it in the fridge to stop further fermentation. Use clean bottles (grolsch style bottles are good as they will vent excess pressure). At this stage you can add any flavour you want to try as well. Just remember if you add sugary fruit as a flavour you may get a second ferment and a 'lively' brew!
   
9. You'll have removed the SCOBY to botle it and probably noticed you have now have two SCOBYs, magic hey! Just peel them apart and you can keep one in a jar with a bit of old ombucha as a spare and use the other for your next batch. You'll soon have a collection of SCOBYs in your 'SCOBY hotel' so can start handing them out to friends and family.

But what about the Sugar?

Kombucha is the ONLY reaosn we keep any sugar in our household. When you make your first batch you'll be shocked at how much sugar goes into the mix but dont panic, the sugar in Kombucha is for the culture to consume, not for you. When done fermenting, there will be about 2-6 grams per glass of unflavored Kombucha. By contrast natural carrot juices have 13g per glass. If fermented longer, say for 3 weeks or longer, sugar levels in Kombucha will likely be even lower.