Homemade Kombucha Tea

 

I make my own kombucha tea. (I also buy it in the store sometimes, but it's quite expensive. So making it at home can save heaps of money- after you invest in the supplies you need.)

Kombucha tea is basically regular sweet tea that has been fermented with a live culture of bacteria called a scoby or a mother. If you look at the photo above, you can see two scobies in the jar of kombucha.  The scobies look like jelly pancakes. One is sitting on the bottom of the jar. The other is floating on the top.  I know it's weird, but I think it's also totally awesome to be able to do this kind of thing yourself at home.  

So kombucha tea has live bacteria. That's the point.  It's good for you in the same way yogurt or kefir are good for you. Your gut actually needs healthy bacteria. Just a quick Google search can bring up several articles like this one about the benefits of maintaining your gut health by using probiotic foods or drinks like kombucha.   

Click here for a video tutorial with a lot of basic information about making kombucha.  This video will tell you what equipment you need: jars, tea, sugar, etc. and the video also includes the basic recipe that I use (so you may want to have a pen and paper ready so you can jot it down). That way you won't have to watch the video again to hear it when you actually want to make kombucha. Note: If I am making kombucha tea using a quart jar, I just follow that recipe verbatim. If I am making more tea in a bigger jar, I just multiply the ingredients according to the size of the jar/ amount of tea. 

You can also click here for a free e-book that will also give you lots of basic information about making kombucha. 

Like it is with any new endeavor, there is a learning curve when you want to begin making kombucha.  You will have a lot of questions and concerns.  Hopefully, the links I provided above can help answer your questions and alleviate your concerns if you are interested. It took me a while to get used to the idea and get comfortable with the process myself. But it really is quite easy once you get used to it. 

And it's delicious! Today I am drinking plain kombucha on ice.  (What I mean by "plain kombucha" is I just let the tea in the recipe on the video above brew for approx. two weeks, then I tested the PH, then I strained it, and then put some ice in it. Viola!)  It tastes like a strong southern sweet with lemon (only it's better for you than drinking that.)  

Kombucha isn't a miracle food/ drink or anything like that. It's not like you can add this to your diet and still eat whatever you want and be healthy, feel great, and lose weight. But eating/ drinking probiotics is one of many things you can do to improve your health.  It's one of many things I did on my weight loss journey.  It is really good for you. So if you drink it and also eat lots of nutritious, whole, healthy foods, cut out processed foods, count calories, exercise, etc., you will be closer to health and wellness.  

I haven't been brewing for long, but I have already come up with some delicious flavors/ recipes that I will share here in the future. 

My husband calls kombucha "hippy tea."  And I have to admit, it is the kind of thing Fillmore would do.

But even though my husband jokes about it, he likes kombucha. He also buys it for himself when he is at a store that has it.  And even my kids like it!  (My kids didn't drink it at first. It took them about a year to come around to the idea.  I think they needed that much time seeing me drink it over and over again it without dying.)  At this point, though, they beg for it.

Do you drink kombucha? Do you make kombucha, too?  Feel free to post comments or ask questions.

Happy brewing!