Kombucha is my new best friend!

Well, about a month ago I had a sip of kombucha for the first time and I was a little intrigued.  Kombucha is a fermented tea that basically becomes a healthy soda.  It has tons of benefits for the body.  It is naturally loaded with Vitamin B, which my body struggles to maintain (due to food intolerance).  I found that kombucha helps stops food reactions. Stop food reactions...that is major for me!  I can't explain how it does it.  I know it helps with digestion.  To read more about this amazing beverage click here.

Since I am sensitive to so many things, I was surprised that I could even drink this beverage.  I actually can't drink regular tea, but that is the funny thing about fermentation.  Most of the caffeine, sugar, and bad stuff that I am sensitive to is eaten by the culture so it can grow!  However the by-product is great for me.
 
This beverage can be found at most groceries stores, but it cost about $4 for 16 oz.  Once I saw the benefits, I wanted to incorporate it into my diet daily like a supplement.  The problem became the cost!  YouTube offered tons of video on making it from scratch.  So today, I started making my first batch.  I am hoping to see a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast) form in about 2 weeks.  I hope this goes better than my attempt at sour dough bread.

Watching the videos has been very educational.  Funny I keep doing all these science projects (soap, sour dough, and now fermenting tea).  The steps:

• first step is to create the SCOBY by purchasing a plain version (raw, not flavored - see small jar in picture) of kombucha from grocery store.  Place in a large glass jar for about 2 weeks.  Cover with fabric so it can breathe but keep things out like dust - tips here
• brew tea and let it cool (heat will kill the SCOBY), then pour cool tea into the SCOBY mixture along with sugar. This will need to sit for few more weeks 
• next step is pouring the mixture into bottles and leaving it at room temperature for 24 hour. This steps creates the fizz. By placing the lid on the mixture it locks in the CO2. At this stage is also when flavors can be added like ginger or juice.  Also adding the natural sugar from fruit increases the fizz, but only a limited amount to reduce over fizzing.
• after the 24 hours the bottled drink should be refrigerated to slow down the fermenting and it taste better cold.  It can also be mixed with juices at this stage too.

That is it.  I am so excited. I will update you on my progress.  I am looking forward to adding some flavors that work for like lime, pomegranate, pear, and golden delicious apple.  I can also usually handle a few craisins, so I may add a few of those for flavor and to increase fizz.  Also, I am curious if a little ginger may work - probably pushing my food intolerance!  That will be the fun part - controlling the ingredients and adding amounts that I can handle.  I actually can not drink sodas and most juices, so it will be nice to add something more than water and pear juice to my diet. Calories are low too since most of the sugar is eaten by the culture.

Update you in a few weeks.

-Fanuppa


UPDATE - Oct 5, 2015 (original post 3/7/15):  I enjoyed kombucha for about 6 months, then I started having reactions.  I really think the enzymes in it helps with digestions and stomach reactions.  However, it possibly caused me some lower back pain and becomes a negative factor when my histamine levels are raised.  Kombucha contains histamines, and the levels can become high if not properly kept at lower temperatures.  It was a hard decision, but I have currently removed it from my diet.