Kombucha

I am loving all the research coming out on our gut microbiome and disease.  I am actually doing my morning report lecture on this topic, focusing on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) also called poop transplantation (yes, this is a real thing haha!) and prebiotics and probiotics for C. difficil infections.  Honestly, the research coming out is promising and exciting!!

Okay, onto Kombucha!

What is Kombucha? 

To put it simply it is fermented sugared tea.  To ferment anything you need bacteria.  This is where SCOBY comes into play.

Who knows what SCOBY is?
SCOBY is an acronym that stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.  It is the bacteria and yeast that ferment the tea and sugar into Kombucha.

Are there benefits to drinking Kombucha?

To be clear, there is very limited clinical evidence of beneficial effects of Kombucha in gastrointestinal health or disease.  There is some research and evidence on the benefits of eating foods and drinking products that have probiotics in them.  That is because these probiotics can help increase the good bacteria in your gut. These effects include decreased bloating, abdominal discomfort and constipation. 

Do you know the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? 

Prebiotics are nutrients that are used as fuel for your gut bacteria to make products that help your body.  Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria.  These products help decrease gut and body inflammation.  There is a lot of research coming out on the connection of our gut flora with chronic diseases and potentially some treatments in the future!

Are there risks?

Some people report worsening abdominal discomfort. Probiotics are not as regulated as medications are, so you have to be careful.  Also, there are some reports of immune compromised patients getting sick from probiotics causing blood and other infections.  In general though, probiotics are generally safe and well tolerated.  They are not a miracle fix though. And prebiotics, or fiber rich foods, are always good for you!

Things to Prepare for When Making Kombucha 

First you need a SCOBY. My best advice is find a friend who can share a piece with you.  If not, you can buy a starter kit online.  To be honest, I almost put a SCOBY starter kit on my wedding registry, but then I found someone to share a piece with me :)
Next, here are some tips:

1. Make sure you have a big glass jar. I have two with rubber stoppers on top.  SCOBY does not like metal, so I do not recommend using mason jars with metal lids.  Also have two smaller glass bottles for flavoring.
2. Clean everything really well. SCOBY is a live organism, but you do not want bad bacteria or mold growing with it.  Once your SCOBY is contaminated with mold, you must get rid of that batch and throw out your SCOBY*so sad!  And, yes, SCOBY is gross looking, but usually mold stands out as green, black, and times fuzzy in a circular pattern.
3. To prevent mold, I have some suggestions.  Do not add fruit or other ingredients directly to your fermentation with the SCOBY.  Fruit and flavoring is for the second fermentation.

Kombucha Recipe

Fermentation #1

Ingredients

• 14 cups clean water (usually recommend distilled but I used tap water and it is okay)
• 1 cup white sugar (most of this ferments (aka eaten by bacteria) so it is not a very sugary drink
• 10 bags black or green tea 
• SCOBY 

Directions 

1. Bowl water and add sugar and tea. Mix until sugar dissolved.
2. Let sit for 20-30 minutes until cool.
3. Take tea bags out.
4. Add tea and sugar mixture to SCOBY in glass jar
5. Cover jar with cloth and secure with rubber band
6. Then place jar some where semi warm (around 75 degrees F) 
7. Let ferment for about 3 weeks

Fermentation #2 

* where the flavor is added!

Vanilla Berry

1. In a sauce pan heat up 1 cup mixed berries (I use the costco frozen), 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 table spoons of sugar. Mix until it becomes a syrup.  
2. Take your syrup and our into a glass bottle. 
3. Take your SCOBY out of your fermented liquid and pour the liquid into the syrup bottle. 
4. Save some of your fermented liquid so that your SCOBY can sit in it until you create another batch; enough that your SCOBY is submerged.  
5. Put the cap on your flavored bottle let ferment for another week or so. 
6. Make sure to open the top of the bottle once every day to let the air out. This is called burping. If you do not do this it could explode. To be honest we keep our beer making bottles and kombucha in our extra tub just in case haha. 
7. When it is bubbling every time you pop the top it is ready!!
8. I recommend straining out the fruit but most of the time I leave it in because it is easier lol.
9. I also keep it in my refrigerator but that is because I like mine super cold.
10. ENJOY 

Apple Cinnamon

1. 1 cup of cut apples and 2 table spoons of sugar added to your bottle.  
2. Add a half cinnamon stick to your bottle (I used a full one and it came out wayyy to cinnamony... it kind of tastes like Fireball haha)
3. Follow steps 3-10 above

Lemon Ginger 

1. Add 1/2 cup cut up lemons, a tablespoon of grated ginger and 2 tablespoons of sugar or honey to a bottle.
2. Follow steps 3-10 above