Two Chefs, A Little Lady and Liam Bruce: Kombucha

What is Kombucha?

kom·bu·cha

kômˈbo͞oCHə/

noun

a beverage produced by fermenting sweet tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria.

"bottled kombucha is available in many natural food stores"

What is a Scoby?

"Scoby" is actually an acronym: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. And that's exactly what it is! A scoby is the living home for the bacteria and yeast that transform sweet tea into tangy, fizzy kombucha — think of the scoby as the coral reef of the bacteria and yeast world.

Kombucha is a fermented beverage of black tea and sugar (from various sources including cane sugar, fruit or honey) that’s used as a functional food. It contains a colony of bacteria and yeast that are responsible for initiating the fermentation process once combined with sugar. After being fermented, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains vinegar, b-vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic), which are tied with the following effects:

Improved Digestion

Weight Loss

Increased Energy

Cleansing and Detoxification

Immune Support

Reduced Joint Pain

Cancer Prevention

I was having serious stomach issues and my good friend actually told me about Dr. Axe and the healing foods plan. It has been over a month since I have made the change in my diet and I can say it is for sure working. She aslo gave me a scoby and gave me a step by step guide to make my own Kombucha at home and boy am I hooked! The kids even love it and love creating new flavours of "Boocha", as Liam calls it. The whole family is enjoying its "good side" affects!

How To:

Remove Scoby from fridge 24 hours before making Kombucha

You will need large glass jar

Wooden spoon

Organic tea

White sugar

Water

Process:

In large glass jar, Steep 8 organic tea bags (I used green tea) with 1 cup of sugar and 13 cups of boiling water

Steep until room temperature

Remove tea bags with wooden spoon

Add scoby and reserved liquid to the glass jar

Cover with clean tea towel and elastic bands (so nothing can get in but the scoby can still breathe)

Keep in a dark warm place (I leave on my counter and let the tea towel hang over to cover the whole jar) The warmer your environment the quicker the Scoby gobbles up the sugar!

They say 4-20 days for the first fermentation , 7 days has been the magic number for my house and then I taste it to see if I like the taste. (No metal utensils!)

At this point I Remove the Scoby, and reserve 1 cup of liquid and put that in a sealed glass jar and keep in the fridge until next batch.

(fresh ginger and lemon)

At this point I add my flavouring to the remaining kombucha, seal tightly and let it carbonate on the counter until it is the desired flavor and fizziness I like.

(Lemon and fresh raspberries)

I leave this for another 3-20 days. Sometimes I remove the flavouring (ginger sometimes get bitter) and reseal for more carbonation and let it sit out until I like.

When I’m ready to bottle it I strain the liquid and funnel it into my glass bottles (from ikea, they seal awesome, only $3 a bottle!)

Then you can refrigerate and serve at this point. You will notice the longer it sits the less sweet it gets.