It’s tea time! How do you take yours? With milk and sugar? With a lemon? What about … fermented?
Fermented black or green tea is called Kombucha. Kombucha is brewed like regular tea but with a little sugar and a special ingredient called SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.)
Of course, it sounds very off-putting to drink bacteria and yeast, but it also has a lot of healthy probiotics. The list of health benefits goes on quite long as it has been around for many centuries.
Some stated health benefits include boosted immunity, improved digestive health, weight loss, liver health, and heart health.
Aside from all of the good stuff it does from your body, the brewing process is probably the most exciting part about the drink itself.
I have been drinking it for quite a few years now after I got over the initial taste. I did some research and found out that it is quite easy to brew at home yourself, so I figured I would give it a shot. All I needed to get started is a wide mouth glass jar, food thermometer, distilled white vinegar, white sugar, unflavored green or black tea, a coffee filter, filtered spring water, and of course SCOBY.
Once the ingredients are compiled, the directions are simple: heat the water, add the sugar, add the tea and let it steep.
Once the tea is made, add the vinegar and SCOBY, cover with a coffee filter, and the waiting begins.
Kombucha takes about 30 days to brew. During that time, the SCOBY and tea will work together to create all of the goodness it holds. The best part about having homebrew is the ability to flavor it when the brewing is done. During the flavoring is also when it is carbonated.
To carbonate kombucha, it must be put in bottles with tops that can easily come off and on but also seal tightly. It should be kept like this for a couple of days but no longer because sometimes they can explode if kept sealed for too long.
Almost all store-bought kombucha is typically flavored with fruits, vegetables and a variety of herbs. Homebrewing, though, provides endless possibilities.
However, the one thing that sets people off from this tea is the taste. Kombucha is bubbly, bitter, sweet, sour and tangy. A lot of people compare the taste to vinegar. It seems to be very common that those that don’t like it cannot get past the sour taste of it. Most brews seem to be much less sharp, especially before carbonation. If store-bought kombuchas are too bitter, I recommend trying out homebrew once or twice.
If you’re looking for something new to drink, a home project or a new kind of tea, I would recommend kombucha for you.