A few years ago Ron and myself tried this so called amazing "new" drink in a local grocery store. well it was NASTY lol we both were like' I don't care how healthy it is, this is not happening,,,,,,,,'
Well fast forward to a couple months ago. In our beginning travels we have stopped at 1 of our sons house in Pasco Washington. My Daughter in Law makes her own Kombucha and got me to try it ( against strong refusal) OMG Amazing, I am a very big Pepsi drinker ( I know bad bad bad ) . After tasting hers I can see this replacing the soda.
Below are some of the benefits of Kombucha..... and My first journey making it myself.
DISCLAIMER
Have you heard of Kombucha, the beverage the ancient Chinese called the “Immortal Health Elixir?” It’s been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich anecdotal history of health benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.
Made from 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), Kombucha didn’t gain prominence in the West until recently.
In the first half of the 20th century, extensive scientific research was done on Kombucha’s health benefits in Russia and Germany, mostly because of a push to find a cure for rising cancer rates. Russian scientists discovered that entire regions of their vast country were seemingly immune to cancer and hypothesized that the kombucha, called “tea kvass” there, was the cause. So, they began a series of experiments which not only verified the hypothesis, but began to pinpoint exactly what it is within kombucha which was so beneficial.
German scientists picked up on this research and continued it in their own direction. Then, with the onset of the Cold War, research and development started being diverted into other fields. It was only in the 1990s, when Kombucha first came to the U.S., that the West has done any studies on the effects of Kombucha, and those are quite few in number. As is typically the case in the U.S., no major medical studies are being done on Kombucha because no one in the drug industry stands to profit from researching a beverage that the average consumer can make for as little as 50 cents a gallon.
Thanks to it’s rising commercial popularity in the last decade, the older Russian and German research has been made available in English to Westerners, and a few wide-spread anecdotal surveys have been sponsored by Kombucha manufacturers, but that’s about it. While there are limited amounts of research done on the beverage, there has been lots of research done on many of the nutrients and acids it contains in large quantities (such as B-vitamins, antioxidants, and glucaric acids).
Regardless of the “lack” of scientific evidence, the fact remains that this beverage has 2,000 plus years of tradition behind it and an ardent and addicted following.
#1 — DETOXIFICATION
Detoxification produces healthy livers and aides cancer prevention. One of kombucha’s greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many of the enzymes and bacterial acids your body produces and/or uses to detox your system, thus reducing your pancreatic load and easing the burden on your liver. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer. Central to the detoxification process was drinking Kombucha regularly. Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the recently deceased Russian author and Nobel-prize winner, in his autobiography, claimed that kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer during his internment in Soviet labor camps. (And because of this testimony, President Reagan used Kombucha to halt the spread of his cancer in 1987. You’ll note he didn’t die until 2004, and that was from old age, NOT cancer.)
#2 — JOINT CARE
Kombucha contains glucosamines, a strong preventive and treatment all forms of arthritis. Glucosamines increase synovial hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid functions physiologically to aid preservation of cartilage structure and prevent arthritic pain, with relief comparable to NSAIDs and advantage over glucocorticoids. Hyaluronic acid enables connective tissue to bind moisture thousands of times its weight and maintains tissue structure, moisture, lubrication and flexibility and lessens free radical damage, while associated collagen retards and reduces wrinkles.
#3 — AIDS DIGESTION AND GUT HEALTH
Because it’s naturally fermented with a living colony of bacteria and yeast, Kombucha is a probiotic beverage. This has a myriad of benefits such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, mental clarity, and mood stability. As such, it’s noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc.
#4 — IMMUNE BOOSTING
Kombucha is extraordinarily anti-oxidant rich, and you all know the benefits of anti-oxidants for boosting your immune system and energy levels.
My first attempt at Kombucha..
What You will need:::::
Gallon-Size Glass Jar I like to have more then one these are great
Plastic or Wooden Stirring Utensil
Tight-Weave Cloth or Paper Coffee Filter
Something to secure the cover to the jar
(rubber bands work well)
Bottles .....you can use either of
these ,
I am using
these for my first batch
Funnel with strainer
Scoby ....ask a friend whos brewing or order one
here... .
( My DIL Gave me my first )
You can even get a Starter Kit
HERE
Unfluoridated, Unchlorinated Water. 13 to 14 cups hot
Tea Bags (8) or Loose Tea (2 Tbls),
I use Organic Black tea
Starter Tea (save 2 cups from each batch to use in the next ) or
Distilled White Vinegar ( 2cups)
Combine hot water and sugar in a glass jar.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
The water should be hot enough to steep the tea but does not have to be boiling.
Place the tea or tea bags in the sugar water to steep.
NOTE: Using a metal tea ball to contain loose tea for making kombucha is acceptable. The tea ball should be removed before adding the SCOBY and starter tea, so the tea ball will not come into contact with the SCOBY.
Cool the mixture to 68-85ºF. The tea may be left in the liquid as it cools or removed after the first 10-15 minutes. The longer the tea is left in the liquid, the stronger the tea will be.
Remove the tea bags or completely strain the loose tea leaves from the liquid.
Add starter tea from a previous batch to the liquid. If you do not have starter tea, distilled white vinegar may be substituted.
Add an active kombucha SCOBY. It may float to top, side , bottom, even side ways this is fine.
Cover the jar with a tight-weave towel or coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
Allow the mixture to sit undisturbed at 68-85°F, out of direct sunlight, for 7-30 days, or to taste.
The longer the kombucha ferments, the less sweet and more vinegary it will taste.
Retain the SCOBY and enough liquid from the bottom of the jar to use as starter tea for the next batch.
Using a plastic funnel with a strainer pour into bottles You can drink plain or do a F2
I do a second fermention with Fruit added for flavor. second F1 will be for 2 to 3 days at room temp, make sure to burp bottle every day ( They can explode )
A quick google search will give you lots of flavors
After 2 to 3 days of F2 put in the fridge and Enjoy,,,
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