Captain Ed’s Kombucha Tea Experience
Kombucha Tea has long been considered a potent health elixir by many Asian and Eastern Europeans. It is only in recent years that Americans have come to know the health benefits of Kombucha. I am a recent Kombucha convertee. I have been brewing and drinking Kombucha Tea for two months now and although I was very healthy when I started drinking K-Tea, I feel even better today, if that is possible. If you research the health benefits of Kombucha on the internet, you will find some wide ranging and vastly different claims from the many testimonials recorded there. With this paper, I intend to add to growing base of data available to curious internet researchers.
One of the primary claims made by Kombucha Tea drinkers is that light but steady consumption of the tea will “clean out your system”. Although skeptical at first, I am now a believer. This is a potent brew and new comers to this health tea are wisely advised to begin consumption in moderation until your body gets used to it. Too much will give you diarrhea. I recommend no more then 2 fluid oz a day for the first week, then increasing consumption by 2 oz a day, incremented weekly, until finally you arrive at your full adult dosage of 24 oz a day (3 cups a day). For most, that will take 12 weeks to achieve. For some, the 3 cups a day recommended dosage is just too much. You will have to experiment to find out what is right for you. Don’t try jumping in to the deep end right from the start. Wade in slowly. Feel out the waters first. What I mean is listen to your body. You’ll know if you are drinking too much kombucha too fast.
Kombucha will definitely help “clean you out”. I found that its serves as a diuretic and even a laxative so make sure you increase the amount of water you drink to compensate. If you don’t, you will dehydrate and lose the energetic high that you derive from the regular drinking of Kombucha Tea. The only adverse side effect I have noticed is increased flatulence. But I guess if the secret to a long and happy life is all about “balance” then I think this is God’s way of making sure that the pleasurable benefits you experience from Kombucha consumption are “balanced out” by something less desired. A some price to pay for improved health and vitality I should think.
The secret to Kombucha is in the many subtle reactions that take place in the tea when it is fermenting. As the Kombucha culture (called a “mushroom”) grows, it releases a range of acids, minerals, and vitamins in to the tea solution as it consumes the sugar. This mushroom is actually a complex fungi culture that lives together in a self-supporting, symbiotic relationship. Generally it takes 7 to 8 days (depending on room temperature) to “brew” a batch of K-tea. As the K-tea sits, the solution becomes increasingly acidic and as Robert Barefoot points out in his book “Death by Diet”, that is the real secret to Kombucha. The acidic nature (2.5 to 3.5 pH) of Kombucha Tea works together with your body’s own natural chemistry to help your stomach and intestines pass the maximum nutritional value of foods you eat through to your rest of your body for use in daily metabolic functions.
In order to begin your first batch Kombucha Tea you will need a “starter mushroom”. Apparently there are different breeds of starter mushrooms. According to some accounts, some starters have more potent then others and provide different health benefits then others. I don’t know. All my experience is derived from the same starter mushroom. I do know that because the mushroom is a living organism, it to important to free of outside bacteria and other contaminants that might effect its overall nature. Because the mushroom already resides in an acidic medium, passive contamination is not likely but not impossible. That is why it is important to start with clean equipment whenever brewing a batch of Kombuchs Tea. You don’t want to do anything to introduce outside comtaminants and prematurely destroy your Kombucha mushroom.
As Kombucha ferments the starter mushroom will prompt a new “baby” mushroom to grow on the surface of the solution. At the end of the brewing period this new baby can be gently peeled away from the original starter and used to start another batch of K-tea.The old starter is still viable. Simply reuse it in your next brew. It can probable be used 8 to 12 times before it should be discarded. For obvious reasons, you should not dispose of kombucha in a private or public septic system. It is a living culture and may continue to breed and fowl the septic system. You can store K-mushrooms in a Ziplock bag along with ½ cup of K-tea in your refrigerator for up to 4 months and it will still remain viable. If your brew ever begins to mold (begin to form green, spidery looking spots floating on the surface) you will need to completely discard all contents and thoroughly sterilize all your preparation equipment. Because finished Kombucha is pretty acidic (2.5 to 3.5 pH), you should only use glass, ceramic, and quality plastics in the making and storing of your Kombucha brew. Steels may leach undesirable heavy metals in to the mixture. You should avoid using them, including steel strainers. Of course, using stainless steel pots and kettles when the initial brewing tea is just fine. Just don’t let it sit in these steel containers when fermenting. I have found that Glass sun tea jars are ideal for Kombucha Tea fermenting and storage.
Finished K-tea tastes a bit like a strange blend of sour beer, lemon and apple cider. If you like your brew sweet, you will have to pull it sooner. If you like a sour, more vinegary tasting tea, you should let it brew a little longer. Generally seven days is about right when the tea is brewed in temperatures ranging from 73 to 83 degrees F. Let sit for a day longer in colder conditions, 65 to 72 deg. Brewing in temperatures outside these extremes is not recommended. Always cover your tea with a clean, air porous, material during fermentation. The weave must be tight enough to prevent fruit flies from getting through. I find tea cloth or cheese cloth ideal for this job. Secure the cheese cloth to mouth of your jar with a rubber band to keep your culture safe from outside contamination. It is important that your K-tea be allowed to “breathe” while fermenting. The brew needs to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide while it sits. This infusion of oxygen is what gives the tea its effervescent quality. Find a quiet, dark place to set the tea while it “brews”. Disturbing it or introducing it to direct sunlight reduces the quality of the newly forming baby mushroom. After a week or so you should be are ready to bottle your brew. You will need to remove the mushroom and strain out the tea before bottling. Again, I find clean tea or cheese cloth ideal for this purpose as well. I bottle my tea in empty plastic water bottles. By filling each bottle nearly full and closing the cap tightly, I seal in the brew and fine that the beverage is even more effervescent and fizzy after 24 hours. Store your bottle K-tea in the refrigerator. I’m told it will keep just fine up to one year. I don’t know. I haven’t kept any that long yet.
Ingredients:
· 5 bags of Orange Pekoe or Black Tea
· 1 cup of refined white sugar (do not use a sugar substitute, the kombucha culture “feeds” off this sugar)
· 3 quarts of water
· Kombucha starter mushroom
Brewing: