Kombucha the Miracle Drink - detox while you enjoy!

INTRODUCTION

The origins of Kombucha have become lost in the mists of time. What is certain, however, is that it originated in the Far East and has been consumed there for at least two thousand years. Its arrival in the UK is only recent, some ten or twelve years ago, but it has already had an influence on the lives of many people.

There are numerous myths and legends regarding the medicinal properties of Kombucha and many apparent 'miracles' have been attributed to it. These should be left in folklore where they belong. Kombucha is not an 'elixir of life' nor is it a panacea for all ills. It is, however, a potent nutritional beverage with many health-promoting properties. The workings of the human body are extremely complex and can easily be thrown out of balance by a number of factors e.g. poor diet, invasion by viruses and harmful bacteria, malfunctioning of vital organs, inefficient disposal of toxins and waste products, deficiency of beneficial bacteria etc. Kombucha can help with all such metabolic disorders as it acts in a holistic manner, treating the body as a whole rather than targeting specific areas of concern.

Brewing the Kombucha beverage is easy and entirely natural, it will soon become a part of the regular household routine. Kombucha can safely be consumed by the whole family, including children, although it is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women. Sufferers from serious or chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, would be advised to consult their health practitioner before drinking Kombucha.
On the following pages you will see how Kombucha is made, but please bear in mind that this is only our method. It works for us and it will surely work for you.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Kombucha.

This has stopped my Cystitis and I am off all medication - it took about 3 weeks to notice the difference, but everyone is different - do not stop medication without your Doctors approval!

Also my husband's blood tests have been normal for the first time since his operation 10 years ago, there are many websites on the subject and the product is also made in a cream for external application, skin problems, athletes foot etc... Stella

Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented by a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a "kombucha colony," usually consisting principally of Acetobacter species and yeast cultures. It has gained much popular support within many communities, mentioned by talk show hosts and celebrities. The increase in popularity can be seen by the many commercial brands coming onto the retail market and thousands of web pages about this fermented beverage.

WHAT IS KOMBUCHA AND WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS?

Kombucha is a bacterial/yeast culture known as the Kombucha mushroom (although not actually a mushroom). Its origin dates back thousands of years to China or the Middle East.

Tea and sugar are fermented with the Kombucha culture in a thorough and professionally controlled fermentation procedure. This produces the ‘live’ beverage that is known to promote well being.

When Kombucha is thoroughly and correctly fermented, it consists of acetic acid, carbonic acid, vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, B15, various beneficial enzymes and essential amino acids, folic acid, gluconic acid and lactic acid, as well as usnic acid – a natural product of fermentation, suppressing development of micro-organisms not belonging to the Kombucha culture.

A well and professionally fermented Kombucha will have a slightly acidic taste, since through the fermentation process the sugar is converted first into alcohol and subsequently into valuable lactic and other soluble organic acids.

A Kombucha is so easy to make, it is hard to believe…

You can make your very own Kombucha tea at home with very little money, time or effort. It is simple to make and very rewarding.

Without modern equipment or facilities people have been able to make this enriching brew for generations, so you should have no problem. You can do it by following this simple method, easy, easy, easy…

You will need:

• A suitable brewing container, about 5 litre / 1 gallon capacity (see information on brewing containers)
• A piece of muslin, kitchen towel or some other piece of clean porous material. A size that will cover the top of the brewing container with some overlap.
• A large elastic band to hold the material on the container.
• A thermometer (optional)
• 4 litres (plus a glass) of water (boiled and cooled or filtered)
• Tea (6 teaspoons loose or 6 tea bags), black, green or a mixture of both.
• 320g refined white sugar (ordinary household sugar).
• A healthy Kombucha culture - [You can get these through the post! Yes! If you can't find anyone to send you one free - get in touch with me on the front page Email. Stella]
• 400ml of ready brewed Kombucha or 60ml (4 tablespoons) distilled vinegar (white, apple, cider or white wine vinegar). If you are using vinegar, it must be distilled - not live, brewed or fermented.
• Suitable bottles (4 litres worth)
• A kitchen measuring jug

NOTE: CLEANLINESS IS VERY IMPORTANT - HANDS, EQUIPMENT ETC. AND THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS TO CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO USE.


Make your nutrient (sweet tea) solution:

This is the liquid that feeds the culture and is turned into the finished Kombucha tea.

To make the nutrient, take approx. 1 litre of water.

The water should either be filtered or should already have been boiled for at least 5 minutes.
Bring the water to the boil in a kettle, stainless steel or heat-resistant glass household cooking pot.

After boiling, add the sugar and tea, stir it till the sugar dissolves, then leave off the boil to infuse for about 15 minutes.

Put the other 3 litres, and the extra glass of cool water into your brewing container.

When the 15 minutes are up, strain out the loose tea (if used) or remove the tea bags; then add the sweet tea to the rest of the water in the brewing container.

The 4 litres of nutrient needs to be between 20°C - 30°C, this is where the thermometer comes in useful. You might be able to judge this yourself, it's about room temperature. Just make sure that it's not too hot, otherwise you could kill your new culture very quickly.


Adding the culture: Once at the right temperature, pop the culture in the liquid. It may float or sink, it doesn't matter which, it will work just the same. Then add the 400ml of finished Kombucha or 60ml of distilled vinegar if you don't have any Kombucha tea. That's it.

Time to brew:   Just cover the top of the container with your muslin or kitchen towel and use the elastic band to hold it in place. The brew needs air but definitely not insects, plant or mould spores

Move the container to a suitable location. Somewhere that it can be left undisturbed for about a week. It should be at a constant (ish) temperature 20°C - 30°C, away from tobacco smoke, strong smells and not in the kitchen if there is a lot of grease in the air from frying food.

You could possibly use your living room (providing no-one smokes) or an airing cupboard. If you do put your brew into a cupboard please bear in mind a couple of things:

1.        It needs to be left undisturbed the whole time so, don't put it on top of your stack of towels or bed linen.

2.        The culture needs air, so leave the door ajar.

5 days later… 

After 5 days, it is time to taste!

By now, you should have a new baby culture forming on top of your brew and the tea might be nearly be ready. Exciting!

If you take take a good deep sniff in your brewing container it will probably smell like pure vinegar, so be careful it might bring tears to your eyes

Press down lightly on the newly formed culture with the back of a spoon so that you can get a sample of the tea. Or slide a plastic straw carefully down the side of he new culture and sample a little (be careful about back flow).

Taste it…  What you are looking for is a slightly sharp (acidic), not sweet taste. If it is not quite there yet then put the cover back on and leave it for another day before tasting again.

The length of brewing time can vary quite a lot but, it is normally between 5 days to 2 weeks though, it can take longer under certain circumstances.

I know it is difficult to tell what the right taste is when you first begin but you will get the hang of it quickly.

Once you have the right taste, it is time to bottle your lovely, healthy Kombucha tea.

Bottling:  Get yourself some suitable clean bottles.

With clean hands, take the two cultures out (the new 'baby' and the original 'mother') and place them on a clean plate.

Pour some of your Kombucha tea into a kitchen jug and then, using the jug, pour it into the waiting bottles - right to the brim, no air gaps. Pour a little on your resting cultures whilst you do this - it helps keep them free from airborne nasties.

Put the top on and stick a label on the bottle with the date.

Continue with the rest of the tea.

Remember to save some tea for your next batch - about 10%.

There you go! Your prepared, brewed and bottled home made Kombucha tea.

You want to keep these bottles at room temperature for at least 5 days. The reason for this is twofold:

1.        It allows a build up of CO2 (gas) that makes the drink fizzy.

2.        It allows the tea to mature and develop a more mellow taste.

After 5 days you can move your bottles to the fridge or somewhere else cool / cold, then drink your cold, fizzy Kombucha

Continuing to brew…   The best way to look after your culture and maintain a constant supply of Kombucha Tea is to make your new batch immediately you have bottled the previous one.
I normally get my new nutrient solution ready, so that as soon as the previous batch is bottled, I can put the culture straight into a new solution of sweet tea.

Optional Equipment [I DON'T HAVE THESE ! ]

• Heater. The best way to ensure a complete fermentation of your Kombucha is to keep it at a constant temperature as close to 25°C as possible. A thermostatically controlled heated tray is ideal for this purpose.
• pH Test Strips are useful for determining the time when your Kombucha is ready for bottling. They give more control over the process, increasing the chances of success.
• Water Filter. Chlorine is added to all domestic water supplies in order to kill bacteria. As we do not want to kill the bacteria present in the Kombucha culture this chlorine must be removed from all water that will come into contact with it. Aurora supplies an excellent filter, which removes all chlorine, and requires no plumbing, for around £40.00.
• Kombucha starter kits containing everything required for your first batch (except teapot, bottles and sugar) are available from Aurora.

On the website ............... 

2 x 1 litre bottles of Chung Mee Green   Tea Kombucha Revitalizer

20 Servings per bottle 

• Taste: Medium Dry
• Style: Sparkling
• 2 by 1 litre bottles £12.50 [Nov 07]

A website to look at - copy and paste......

 http://www.aurorashopping.com/info/kombucha4.php