KOMBUCHA
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KOMBUCHA
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Kombucha (Kom-BOO-'sha) is something of an anomaly in todays world. Its been around for a long time. So long that it no longer has the ability to propagate without the asstance of mankind and it is never found 'In the wild', it lives only within a symbiotic relationship to humankind.
It has been and still is known to many different civilizations (both past and present) by many different names. Kombucha Mushroom, Elixir of Life, Manchurian Mushroom, The Tea of Immortality, Fungus Japonicas, Sponge Tea and many more.
It has been and still is known to many different civilizations (both past and present) by many different names. Kombucha Mushroom, Elixir of Life, Manchurian Mushroom, The Tea of Immortality, Fungus Japonicas, Sponge Tea and many more.
Its true scientific name is Zooglea, the bi-product of beneficial bacterial and yeast and it is best known by the description of the 'Mushroom' itself, which is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, producing the acronym 'SCOBY'. This is what a scoby looks like:
A fine, healthy SCOBY.
How Kombucha Works
A solution of sweet tea is made (see Kombucha Recipe, below) and poured into a large,clean glass container. The solution is allowed to reach room temperature (60-70 degrees Farenheit). A scoby or even a piece of a scobey is placed into the solution. It will either float or sink or remain suspended half way down the container. Doesn't matter. It will commence fermentation either way,
The container is then covered with a clean, tightly woven cloth held in place with a substantial rubber band. I place my container in the corner of the kitchen counter where it will not be disturbed. A reasonably warm temperature is necessary for the scoby to do it's job and ferment the cold tea solution, which will take from eight to fourteen days, depending on taste.
Immediately, the scoby will commence to reproduce iteself, releasing small quantities of bacteria and yeast, which float to the surface and form a 'skin' covering its food supply. This thickens on a daily basis and its purpose is to 'protect' the solution while the symbiote processes the liquid. This is the next generation scoby.
The container is then covered with a clean, tightly woven cloth held in place with a substantial rubber band. I place my container in the corner of the kitchen counter where it will not be disturbed. A reasonably warm temperature is necessary for the scoby to do it's job and ferment the cold tea solution, which will take from eight to fourteen days, depending on taste.
Immediately, the scoby will commence to reproduce iteself, releasing small quantities of bacteria and yeast, which float to the surface and form a 'skin' covering its food supply. This thickens on a daily basis and its purpose is to 'protect' the solution while the symbiote processes the liquid. This is the next generation scoby.
One of the nice things about a scoby is that it doubles itself with each infusion. It is quite possible to have two, three or more scoby's stuck together like a stack of hotcakes after numerous uses, but they should be separated and extra scobys discarded once in a while. Too many scobys tend to produce a vinegar like taste. They're pretty tough but you can separate them or tear them into smaller pieces.
Here is a good picture of a Scoby sitting atop it's food supply. Close examination indicates that the newer scoby has formed beneath the older, separated by the thin dividing line at the lower edge of the scoby.
Normally, you don't need your scoby to be quite as thick as this one.
Normally, you don't need your scoby to be quite as thick as this one.
Remember that this is a fermentation process and the finished 'Tea' will probably contain up to 1% alchohol. Not really enough to give you a glow! Start off with about two ounces a day and work up to four or six.
What Kombucha Does
You have to remember that this is one page on a web site. This means that the information is somewhat restricted due to space availability and there is a lot more ground to cover! It also means that part of your new health responsibilities require you to do some more research on the subject. There is enough information here to get you up and running, and to keep you out of trouble. It is your responsibility to acess available information on the Internet. Use Google to search 'Kombucha'. Keep you going all week!
As to the properties of Kombucha - what it can do for you - well, the list is so long that I am not going to try to reproduce it here! What I will do is to cut to the chase and summarize the effects of Kombucha on the human system.
First and foremost, Kombucha is a Probiotic, which is why it is a running mate with Kefir, but its most important and fundamental quality is the fact that it is a Cellular Cleanser par excellence. The tremendously long list of curative properties ascribed to the infusion are not of themselves the primary therepeutic capability of Kombucha, rather they are some of the multiple side effects manifested by a thoroughly cleansed system. Clean house down to the cellular level and every function of the human machine is cleaned up and made to function at maximum efficiency and capability. Simple as that. Society was aware of these properties thousands of years ago! We have just forgotten.
As to the properties of Kombucha - what it can do for you - well, the list is so long that I am not going to try to reproduce it here! What I will do is to cut to the chase and summarize the effects of Kombucha on the human system.
First and foremost, Kombucha is a Probiotic, which is why it is a running mate with Kefir, but its most important and fundamental quality is the fact that it is a Cellular Cleanser par excellence. The tremendously long list of curative properties ascribed to the infusion are not of themselves the primary therepeutic capability of Kombucha, rather they are some of the multiple side effects manifested by a thoroughly cleansed system. Clean house down to the cellular level and every function of the human machine is cleaned up and made to function at maximum efficiency and capability. Simple as that. Society was aware of these properties thousands of years ago! We have just forgotten.
How to make Kombucha
Here are the ingredients and materials you will require to make a three quart or three litre batch of Kombucha:
1 Saucepan or stock pot of three quart capacity (stainless will do)
1 Wooden spoon
5 Tea bags. (I use Tetleys, but it doesn't matter)
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 Jug of sufficient size
1 Covering cloth and a rubber retaining band
3 Qts or Litres clean water
1 scoby starter
Boil the 3 qts. fresh water at a low, rolling boil for five minutes. Add the cup of sugar and boil for a further five minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end of the five minutes, switch off the stove and drop the five tea bags into the water and allow to steep for fifteen minutes. Remove the teabags and allow the tea to cool to between 60-70 degrees Farenheit. Pour into fermenting container.
Once the infusion has reached this temperature, lower the scoby starter into the fluid and, if this is the first batch, add a tablespoon of white vinegar. In subsequent batches save 1/4 teacup of tea from the previous batch and use that as a 'starter' Let the infusion stand for eight to fourteen days depending on how you can handle the taste. This varies from a light, aerated cider to a pretty ugly vinegar flavour! Experience is your best guide here.
1 Saucepan or stock pot of three quart capacity (stainless will do)
1 Wooden spoon
5 Tea bags. (I use Tetleys, but it doesn't matter)
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 Jug of sufficient size
1 Covering cloth and a rubber retaining band
3 Qts or Litres clean water
1 scoby starter
Boil the 3 qts. fresh water at a low, rolling boil for five minutes. Add the cup of sugar and boil for a further five minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end of the five minutes, switch off the stove and drop the five tea bags into the water and allow to steep for fifteen minutes. Remove the teabags and allow the tea to cool to between 60-70 degrees Farenheit. Pour into fermenting container.
Once the infusion has reached this temperature, lower the scoby starter into the fluid and, if this is the first batch, add a tablespoon of white vinegar. In subsequent batches save 1/4 teacup of tea from the previous batch and use that as a 'starter' Let the infusion stand for eight to fourteen days depending on how you can handle the taste. This varies from a light, aerated cider to a pretty ugly vinegar flavour! Experience is your best guide here.
* * * *
Kombucha Do's and Dont's
DO research your subject a little deeper before making and consuming your first batch. Checking out a Kombucha website will in all probability help you find a starter scoby anyway.
DO maintain a hight standard of cleanliness when you make a batch of Kombucha.
DO keep about a quarter cup of 'starter' for the next batch. If you don't have any, replace it with a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar.
DO, after making a batch, keep it under refrigeration. If you don't, it will start to make another scoby.
DO start out your regime with about two ounces of Kombucha per day. Top it off when you hit six ounces a day. Any problems, diarrhea for example, back off the dosage until the symptoms disappear.
DO remember that Kombucha, in addition to it's role as a very efficient cellular cleanser, also has ancient ties to longevity and immortality!
DO maintain a hight standard of cleanliness when you make a batch of Kombucha.
DO keep about a quarter cup of 'starter' for the next batch. If you don't have any, replace it with a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar.
DO, after making a batch, keep it under refrigeration. If you don't, it will start to make another scoby.
DO start out your regime with about two ounces of Kombucha per day. Top it off when you hit six ounces a day. Any problems, diarrhea for example, back off the dosage until the symptoms disappear.
DO remember that Kombucha, in addition to it's role as a very efficient cellular cleanser, also has ancient ties to longevity and immortality!
DON'T use any other metal containers to prepare your water in than stainless. In particular, don't use aluminum.
DON'T bring your scoby into contact with any metal more often than is absolutely necessary.
DON'T consume or continue to use any Kombucha with a peculiar or off flavour. Discard it and the scoby used to produce it (you should always have a healthy scoby in reserve! Keep a 'spare' in the deep freeze, they last six months or so easily).
DON'T continue to use any scoby that has a foul odor or unusual growths or coloration. A scoby should be about the same color as milk toffee, without major blemishes or discolorations. If in doubt, ditch it!
DON'T keep your Kombuch too long in storage, unless you want to make Kombucha vinegar or something or even to make a quantity for external topcal application.
DON'T experiment until you know what you are doing! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
DON'T use anything other than distilled vinegar as a 'starter' (other than Kombucha from your last batch, of course!) White, distilled vinegar is inert acetic acid with no remaining mold or yeast cells. Most of the other fermented vinegars may contain mold or yeast spores.
DON'T expect ingesting Kombucha to produce immediate results. Most natural treatments have a longer response time than pharmaceuticals and effects might require two or three months to make an appearance. Be patient! The results will manifest themselves eventually and will most certainly be worth the wait!
DON'T gamble by purchasing bulk commercially offered Kombucha Tea. Quality, content, medicinal value and additives are all unknown quantities. Commercial products range from excellent to ugly and generally, are far too expensive. Make your own!
DON'T mess around with the culture! Once the scoby has been placed in the liquid and the container placed in it's chosen location, don't move it or remove the cloth to watch the scoby or poke around the scoby to see what it will do! Leave it be to complete the process. Even moving the container may break the seal between the forming scoby and the wall of the container. Once the seal is broken and the scoby disturbed, the process will only restart and the finished product take that much longer to complete. Restrain yourself! If you want to examine the forming scoby GENTLY lift the skirt of the covering cloth, without disturbing the container or the cloth covering above the rubber band and you can watch as much as you want through the walls of the container itself.
DON'T bring your scoby into contact with any metal more often than is absolutely necessary.
DON'T consume or continue to use any Kombucha with a peculiar or off flavour. Discard it and the scoby used to produce it (you should always have a healthy scoby in reserve! Keep a 'spare' in the deep freeze, they last six months or so easily).
DON'T continue to use any scoby that has a foul odor or unusual growths or coloration. A scoby should be about the same color as milk toffee, without major blemishes or discolorations. If in doubt, ditch it!
DON'T keep your Kombuch too long in storage, unless you want to make Kombucha vinegar or something or even to make a quantity for external topcal application.
DON'T experiment until you know what you are doing! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
DON'T use anything other than distilled vinegar as a 'starter' (other than Kombucha from your last batch, of course!) White, distilled vinegar is inert acetic acid with no remaining mold or yeast cells. Most of the other fermented vinegars may contain mold or yeast spores.
DON'T expect ingesting Kombucha to produce immediate results. Most natural treatments have a longer response time than pharmaceuticals and effects might require two or three months to make an appearance. Be patient! The results will manifest themselves eventually and will most certainly be worth the wait!
DON'T gamble by purchasing bulk commercially offered Kombucha Tea. Quality, content, medicinal value and additives are all unknown quantities. Commercial products range from excellent to ugly and generally, are far too expensive. Make your own!
DON'T mess around with the culture! Once the scoby has been placed in the liquid and the container placed in it's chosen location, don't move it or remove the cloth to watch the scoby or poke around the scoby to see what it will do! Leave it be to complete the process. Even moving the container may break the seal between the forming scoby and the wall of the container. Once the seal is broken and the scoby disturbed, the process will only restart and the finished product take that much longer to complete. Restrain yourself! If you want to examine the forming scoby GENTLY lift the skirt of the covering cloth, without disturbing the container or the cloth covering above the rubber band and you can watch as much as you want through the walls of the container itself.
The sands are running out!
Greenwich Mean Time
Finis.