When I started my own personal blog, Smallmeadowfarm, one of my first posts was about soda pop and the challenge I had given myself to try and stop drinking it. My purpose was to try and eliminate most gmo supplied high fructose corn syrup from my diet of which soda accounted for quite a lot. Unfortunately for me, “kicking my habit” wasn’t as easy as I hoped and I soon found myself standing at the soda pop door begging to be let back in. Even then, when I was writing my blog post, I realized it really wasn’t the sweet sugary part of the beverage I liked so much though, but the carbonated fizzy poppy “crisp” part . I mean…I absolutely won’t drink the beverage if the fizz is even half way reduced. Yik! It just isn’t the same. Double Yik! Also, sometimes you just want a bit more flavor than “plain ole water” and how much easier is it to reach for a soda—I mean they are every where!
Since then my struggle has taken a different road. One of searching for a beverage that I like. Mostly carbonated since that is what I prefer but also sometimes just flavorful and/or low calorie (no fake diet anything for me please). Needless to say there are a few out there that are HFC syrup free and use real sugar but most are still just junk food in a bottle and don’t do much for you other than sparkle on your taste buds. However there is one drink that fits my bill to a T. It’s fizzy (some say with a bit of tart), can be fruity and flavored and is low calorie but with reverting to the use of chemical sugar. This drink is known as….Kombucha. (KOM -boo -CHA) Better even is that Kombucha actually has health benefits. Of course…don’t make any and bottle it with that particular claim because the FDA will come and shut you down. The most they will say is that Kombucha won’t harm you—if properly made.
So, what is Kombucha? Well, for those of you that have never heard of or seen it, it is a fermented beverage made from plain old tea. Black, green with or without herbal (your choice), and a bit of sugar to feed it. It is very similar to yogurts, natural non pasteurized vinegars, and the fermented veggies of Asian origination called kimchi. Sometimes sweeter than other times, some brands can have a tad of vinegar type taste to the first sip—which can be noticeable or completely absent. That particular “trait” is a length of brewing time issue that is correctable—if you don’t like it— and not unpleasant even when it is there. Though Kombucha may not be what I will substitute for my Dr.Pepper on burrito and taco night—most people actually find Kombucha very pleasing to the palate.
One of the biggest pros of Kombucha is that it is something you can make at home AND it’s good, very very good, for your digestive system because of the many beneficial bacterias/yeasts in it. Supposedly drinking some each day can help with allergies, digestive issues, headaches etc. —but don’t tell the FDA I said that.
It can also, with the addition of a bit of sugar or fruit juice at the end of fermentation be bottled and turned into a fizzy, carbonated style drink. Though it’s not quite the same as Dr Pepper or Coke— as I mentioned above—it is “crisp” none the less. Done properly you can “blow the top” off your bottle upon re-opening. Now THAT’s the kind of crispy fizzy I am talking about!
As we all know a healthy digestive tract is a plus. Of course I always thought that meant not having smelly gas all the time or diarrhea. But more and more often we now hear that about 80% of our immune system actually starts and resides in our gastrointestinal tract and fighting things like colds and flu is dependent upon it functioning correctly. This really came home to us when we began to raise sheep and cows. The beneficial bacteria in their system is in a fine balance. Upset that bacterial ratio with incorrect feeds (as in too much corn for CAFO fed cattle) and they can become sick…over and over again. Sick as in requiring antibiotics all the time. Worse even is that antibiotics then kill off most of the bacteria in the digestive tract thus creating a potential for a vicious cycle. Our complete and total health (and the ruminants mentioned above) starts in our gut and relies upon us feeding our good bacteria and flushing or starving our bad bacteria. Hows that for encouraging you to eat right?
Now that I have started you down the path to why you should drink Kombucha….I am going to switch topics of a sorts. Kombucha, along with yogurt, kimchi and apple cider vinegar (vinegar with culture only—-not that pasteurized crap at the regular chain grocery store) and a few other foods are considered probiotic. Probiotics of course feed the health of our system—they are the good bacteria of which I have been speaking. We’ve all heard that a lot in the past years— but did you know there are also PREbiotic foods that you should eat? Prebiotic foods are those foods we’ve been told to eat for many many years now and our grandparents took for granted: whole grains, high fiber foods and more fruits and veggies with their skins on. These foods, using oat fiber as an example, are somewhat indigestible and create bulk which pushes along the digestive tract some of the bad bacteria, so it can be eliminated, while “feeding” the good bacteria. Yes, this is a bit simplistic of an explanation….but I need to keep my posts down to a reasonable size . Prebiotics, or basically a good diet, is just one thing that influences our health. Stress, age and genetics are some of the other key factors. However, I personally like to think most poor health is more of a by product of incorrect eating than any thing else but I am sure there are exceptions to that.
Anyway, if you would like to try and make Kombucha it is really not that hard. It just requires getting a culture from a friend or purchasing one on-line and a large enough glass jar. The actual brewing of Kombucha is so well documented that I am really not going to tell you how to do it here—though I did add a few pics of a mother culture and my container with it brewing away in. I have listed some links at the bottom of this article for you to explore for yourself. Also, to answer Gina’s question from last week—yes we do use filtered water (not distilled) and never regular tap water. Why? Well, one reason is that we have a Big Berkey counter top water filter that we love love love. I mean it– is awesome and no longer do I get the occasional stomach ache when I drink a glass of water (Google stomaches and chloramine if you want to know more about that subject!). Also, for those of you that don’t know about fermenting products and mother cultures: mother cultures are made up of yeasts and bacterias—two things city water is meant to kill with it’s chlorine or chloramine and lots of other supposedly good for us “junk”. Since you just never know what your city water will do to your culture (supposedly well water is in the category too), it is always better to use filtered or distilled water. Both are considered more reliable for the long term health of your mother culture. She can get sickly and weak too and well…you wouldn’t want to negatively affect the growing mother of your future Kombucha and possibly kill it.
So, even if you aren’t ready to take the leap into making Kombucha yet…..look for it at your health food store next time and try it out. You might be surprised at how well you like it. Brands do vary a bit and I personally favor those with fruit juice in them as they have a tendency to be a bit “sweeter” (leaning more towards my style of drink) however my husband, a life long un-sweet tea drinker all his life, also likes the plain. To each his own right?
http://www.happyherbalist.com/kombucha_brewing_guide.htm –basic brewing instructions
http://www.happyherbalist.com/continuous_brewing.htm – continuous brewing instructions if you aren’t interested in bottling
http://www.happyherbalist.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=210 – second stage fermentation for getting more fizz.
http://kombuchatea.tribe.net/thread/e04c5d5f-f994-48b2-891a-15cee65e1a44 — also about secondary fermentation but specifically includes adding a teaspoon of sugar and/or fruit juice for the process to create a sweeter fizzier beverage.
* as a note….I listed mostly the happy herbalist as a reference because their site is well organized and has lots of details. There are many others though and since I acquired my culture from a friend I can not say which mail order place I recommend. I did not, in my search, come across any references that any particular one was a bad place to shop though.
Not Dabbling In Normal 
Excellent post Tansy! The diet/digestive tract is such an overlooked topic. It’s no wonder so many people are chronically ill (livestock too) when you see what most people eat on a daily basis. (As I’m swilling coffee right now 😦 )
G.E.M. Cultures is a pretty good place for cultures on the West Coast, including cool rise bread (yeast free) and some different dairy cultures also.
Thanks Nita! Your right–the digestive tract is often overlooked. It’s one of “those” topics—that ends with something dirty! 😀 And I will remember to sign off on my posts so that everyone knows who I am —that coffee must not have kicked in for you yet ;-D
Monica
Monica, thanks so much for this post! I just got a scoby from Tansy, herself. I have some brewing currently and ready for a taste soon.
I love kombucha! I have two two gallon jars brewing 🙂 We need more fermented food in our diets!
Monica, great info.! Never been a tea drinker though, and am not too big of a fan of kombucha, but boy do I love the idea of it all, and the process. I wanted to second Nita’s recommendation of GEM cultures; I have used them for both kefir and tempeh starters. We’re really into making our own kefir and yogurt here. I love the smart bubbliness of kefir; we do a lot of smoothies so this stuff is quite welcome.
This fall I am going to start making wine and vinegars with our grapes and apples, but, to keep with your kombucha theme, I am also going to try to make ginger beer (think root beer not the alcoholic stuff). Anyway, glad to learn more of you are loving your microbes!
Thanks, Monica! I should have clarified that water ? between filtered or distilled. The lady I originally received a SCOBY from said ALWAYS used distilled. We filter our drinking water (well water) and I had been wondering about using it instead of buying the distilled (which I use for the kombucha brewing and then refill the jugs for emergency use, so all and all not too bad, but sometimes when I am out of water it can be really inconvenient).
I’ve been thinking of investing in a Berkey for a while, now I really want one!
I have to tell you this bit because it’s funny (to me anyway). I convinced my (secret) smoking, junk food eating husband to try drinking the kombucha. He ended up feeling better after drinking it. The other day I was complaining about my insomnia (a life-long problem) and he came into the room and said, “Here, drink this and you’ll feel better…” I thought maybe it was chamomile tea, but it was kombucha! I guess he is a successful kombucha convert!
Gina
Sorry Monica :O ! You were right, the coffee was too weak!
I also forgot to scare everyone to death about their water. My DH now works for a small city in the public works department.
Each week, a different person works on “treating” the wells to make the water “safe” to drink. :O The chlorine they use is so strong, if any drop of it gets on his clothes, it will eat holes in the fabric like battery acid. And, continues to do so even after washing! Of course, they are complying federal regs., so please anyone with municipal water in any state, get a filter.
That’s just the chlorine part, you don’t even want to know about the other stuff – suffice it to say, he doesn’t drink any water there.
Kathie—good for you! So now are you going to try re-bottling with fruit juice too? 😀
Brittany—2 jars going?–You must have more counter space than I do!! I also absolutely agree about more fermented foods.
El–Cool ginger beer—you must do a post on it.
We too have apples but no press as of yet and wanted to do our own vinegar too. Maybe next year (we had hoped to have it this one but no such luck) You should try the kombucha —I think you would like it whether or not you are a serious tea drinker. P.S—I still haven’t really gotten into tempeh it’s not quite my fave yet.
Gina…I did wonder about that water issue but there was no way to ask at the time. Do get a berkey —you’ll love it!
Nita..My father in law worked for a city water plant and now helps water companies on a contract basis — I agree totally. Yik the things they put in our water would scare the pants off most people if only they really knew or understood.
Now as to that coffee—ever tried cold press? My husband swears by it—but it has to be diluted because it’s practically syrup coming out. My son does occasional “shots” of it though and says it’s better than an energy drink 😀
Wow, so happy you wrote this! Maria is sharing a scoby with me and it’s already in the mail, yay 🙂 I’m with you on the difficulty of finding an alternative to sodas…I like mine crisp and sweet with a good “burn” going down, and like you if that fizz is lacking at all, it’s past its prime. We’ve tried the bottled kombuchas from the health food store, and so far of the ones we’ve tried, I liked the fruit ones and the green tea one best. That surprised me because when it comes to tea, I’m a straight up unsweet tea gal and never really took to green tea because it upsets my stomach. But I actually LIKE all the kombuchas I’ve tried, to varying degrees.
I’m glad you’re liking your Berkey. We were SO disappointed to find that ours never got rid of the sulphur smell/taste in our well water when we’ve used it, and that water is not palatable, though it’s clean, if the smell and taste remain. We tried shocking the water with a drop a chlorine (bleach) but that wasn’t so great, either. So that’s been one of my biggest disappointments so far as far as homestead investment purchases. BUT since we hope to not be here for the long-term, we’re hoping a change of location will position us in a less-sulphur-tasting water area, because we LOVE our Berkey and it’s not its fault our groundwater is blech. You’ll laugh, but we’ll eventually get a distiller. That way we’ll have both bases covered. Plus we’ll have that backwoods homesteader aura of “the machine in the barn” and everyone will wonder if we’re conducting a side business in moonshine…heehee
I love your mention of prebiotics and probiotics. We’ve found a remarkable difference in our health since learning more about these this past year. Our daughter had some problems that have been brought around to a much better place since completely changing to the right foods. We have found the probiotics to have made a big difference to us (Jack and I) and the live-culture yogurts, kefir, etc are all things we’ve tried and had fun with the last few months. We love them all, and cycle through our use of them depending on what’s working best for us at the time. We particularly like Caspian Sea Yogurt for its ease of making. After getting Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation book, Kvass is next on the list of things to try. So much fun 🙂 Great post, Monica!!
[…] am not the first at NDIN to write about kombucha. You can read a great post about it called “Kombucha” that was posted back in August of 2008. I encourage you to read that post, it is full of a lot of […]