What on earth is Kombucha you ask? Well as it turns out, that is a complicated question. Kombucha is an effervescent tea that is fermented with a solid mass of yeast and bacteria often called a scoby, mother or mushroom. Kombucha contains numerous organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids and beneficial bacteria. Kombucha also has been reported to detoxify the liver, aid in digestion, inhibit cancer growth, repopulate the gut flora and boost immunity. Not to mention that it tastes delicious. So how do you get your hands on this miracle beverage? You won’t believe how easy this is!
Make your own Kombucha Scoby
I have let my Kombucha mushroom die many times, so I am the expert at growing a new one. First go to a health food store and purchase one bottle of plain unflavored Kombucha.
1 bottle Kombucha from the store
5 black tea bags
1 gallon purified water
1 cup white sugar
Boil water and add tea and sugar. Steep until very dark and remove tea bags. Let tea come to room temperature. Pour tea into a large glass container and stir in the bottle of Kombucha. Remember that your mushroom will take on the shape of the container, so a very large mouth or wide bowl would not be best. I use a tall glass pitcher. Cover this with a cloth and rubber band it closed (gnats love Kombucha). Wait 7-10 days depending on temperature of the room. (in the winter mine took 16 days once, don’t give up)
You will know that it is finished because a crazy looking mushroom will have grown on the top of your tea! Can you see it in the picture pretty cool huh?
Now instead of paying $3.00 or more per bottle at the store, you can make your own at home for pennies. In my next post I’ll show you how.
Making Decaf Kombucha- coming soon
Anastasia said,
February 17, 2012 at 11:58 PM
My mom used to make this! Yum!
arealfoodlover said,
February 18, 2012 at 8:38 AM
Anastasia, Thanks for the comment. There is much speculation about where Kombucha originated. Some say China, others Japan or Russia. Any insight on that? I’ve always been curious…
Making Kombucha « A Real Food Lover said,
February 18, 2012 at 9:28 AM
[...] your homemade Kombucha Scoby [...]
Kombucha Tea, Cure All Or Flatulence Factory? « Human Body Engineer said,
February 26, 2012 at 8:17 AM
[...] Make your own Kombucha (arealfoodlover.wordpress.com) [...]
ladyabigail90 said,
March 9, 2012 at 9:58 AM
I love kombucha! Thank you for posting this!
I’m writing an article on kombucha for a girls’ webzine, (www.feelinfeminine.com) but I don’t have any kombucha to photograph myself. May I use your photo at the top of this post?
arealfoodlover said,
March 9, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Sure. My kombucha won’t mind being famous
Gabby @ the veggie nook said,
April 27, 2012 at 8:14 PM
Thanks for this! This is something I have wanted to try for ages. Can’t wait for your decaf tutorial
arealfoodlover said,
April 27, 2012 at 8:59 PM
Decaf tutorial coming very soon. I was very excited to figure it out. I was really missing my Kombucha every day.
sarah b said,
November 27, 2012 at 1:00 AM
do you think i could “half” this recipe (maybe with 3 tea bags?) I don’t have a container large enough for a gallon+ of water….but I’ve been planning on making it for weeks, and finally have the kombucha and tea bags in house. Would it be too weak that way?
arealfoodlover said,
January 29, 2013 at 4:19 PM
Yes you can make half. It’s very hard to mess up Kombucha. It’s tough stuff.
colleen said,
May 6, 2013 at 3:10 PM
can you please tell me where do you buy black tea bags from