What sparkles, is delicious and is known to improve your health with every sip?
Kombucha!
It’s a fermented drink that dates back thousands of years to China. It is made with tea, sugar and a bacterial culture called a SCOBY (that’s the big blob thing). We love to flavor ours with different types of fruit juice too!
Not only is it delicious, but Kombucha has many health benefits:
- It produces bacteria that are known to be good for your gut such as Komagataeilbacter, Acetobacter, and Gluconobacter. A depleted gut microbiome has been linked to obesity, diabetes, cancer and even depression and ADD, so replenishing it can decrease these symptoms.
- High in Antioxidants- these compounds are known to combat heart disease, cancer and the aging process!
- B Vitamins- It contains high levels of B vitamins which are good for your nerves and blood cells.
- Reduces Type 2 Diabetes- studies on rats showed kombucha reduced blood sugar levels.
- Digestive Health- the bacteria in kombucha is known to treat digestive issues.
- Reduces liver toxicity- Kombucha was shown to improve liver function when tested on rats.
- Antimicrobial- acetic acid (produced in kombucha) is known to kill harmful bacteria and may be effective in countering yeast infections.
Brewing your own “kombo” is really inexpensive! An entire batch costs us about 50 CENTS between the tea and the sugar and the fruit juice! In fact, according to a study at Asbury University in Kentucky (Analysis of the Antioxidants in Homemede vs Commercial Kombucha) home brewed kombucha has up to seven times more antioxidants than what you get in the store! We estimated a savings of about $33 per batch to make these yummies at home!
Our Favorite Kombucha Recipe
- Boil 6 cups of water in a stainless steel pot.
- Pack the tea infuser with 1/2 oz of black or green tea leaves. (Eventually you can experiment with other flavors of tea- we use mostly all chamomile flowers and a pinch of black tea for the antioxidants.) Add it to the pot. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove the tea leaves.
- Allow the tea to cool to room temperature. This is important as water that is too hot can harm the SCOBY.
- Add 8 cups of cold water to the tea.
- Stir in one cup of organic cane sugar.
- Pour all the liquid into the fermentation vessel.
- With clean hands gently lay the SCOBY on the surface of the liquid in the vessel. (Don’t worry if it sinks!)
- Cover the fermentation vessel with a clean cloth and leave it in a dark, warm spot and wait patiently for 7 days.
- After 7 days, remove the SCOBY and place it in a clean bowl with one cup of your fresh kombucha. This will be the starter fluid for the next batch.
- Take four 1 L glass fermentation bottles. Place one tbsp of organic cane sugar into each one using the stainless steel funnel.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of your favorite organic fruit juice into each bottle using the funnel. The sweet juices work the best (i.e. Apple, pineapple, mango), but you can experiment with any.
- Pour the fermented kombucha from the vessel into the bottles and seal the bottles. Shake them a little in order to dissolve the sugar.
- Place the bottles in a dark, warm place for another 2-3 days. Be careful not to leave these for too long as the pressure from the gas can break the bottles. Open them after 2 days to see if you like the amount of carbonation that has built up. If you’d like more carbonation, then let them sit for another day or two.
- When you are satisfied, put them in the refrigerator. Once chilled, serve them up and enjoy. Cheers!
Looking for a great organic kombucha starter kit? Click here
