Kombucha Craze

One of my favourite beverages is Kombucha. Not only is it oh so delicious, but it has so many health benefits!

First, what is Kombucha you might ask. It's a sweetened tea that’s been fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (a SCOBY, a.k.a. “mother” because of its ability to reproduce, or “mushroom” because of its appearance).

Now back to those health benefits! One of kombucha’s greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, anti-oxidants and bacterial acids which promote a healthy liver and cancer prevention. Kombucha is fantastic for treating arthritis because it is rich in glucosamines which helps preserve cartilage structure and prevent joint degeneration. Kombucha can reduce inflammation which will benefit any part of your body, but also fibromyalgia, depression, etc. 

You can't forget that Kombucha is a probiotic beverage! That natural fermentation of the sweetened tea allows the bacteria to grow and produce the nutrients needed for the health benefits listed above. Probiotics have been the biggest part of the long journey I took to heal my digestive system, and I feel everyone can benefit for them!

And the greatest part is how simple it is to make your own Kombucha at home! You just need to make sure all your equipment is sterile,wait, and then enjoy all those health benefits.

Here is the recipe I always use:

Kombucha

1 Gallon purified water
8 tea bags, organic green or black tea
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup previous batch kombucha
1 mother scoby

*Bring water to a boil then remove from heat.
*Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the water cool for about 5 minutes, then add your tea bags, steep for 15 minutes and remove tea bags. Now cover the pot and let it cool to room temperature (I usually do this before bed so it can cool over night).
*Once your sweet tea mixture has completely cooled add in your kombucha and scoby. Never use metal utensils when handling kombucha and especially your scoby and it can damage the bacteria needed for your fermentation.
*Cover with cheese cloth making sure no bugs can get it (fruit flies are your worst enemy!). Let ferment for 1-4 weeks.
*Remove your mother scoby, a the new daughter scoby as well (if there is one). Strain through cheese cloth if you wish to remove all the little 'wispy bits' (I like to leave them since its beneficial bacteria, but Colin prefers it strained).
*Bottle your kimbucha for a second fermentation. This will make it nice and fizzy! I like to bottle it in sterilized Grolsh flip top bottles. I love to add chopped fresh ginger to half my bottles and let it ferment with the ginger. Allow at least a few days to week for the second fermentation.
*Drink as is, or diluted in water or juice. Enjoy!


Cultures for Health is an amazing website if you're interested in fermenting! They are such great a resource with recipes, directions, supplies, FAQs, troubleshooting, etc. I highly recommend you check it out! Here is there page for kombucha. It has everything you need to know to get started!