Kombucha has been around for a very, very, very long time. Here are some names as you may find them in different countries:
Names for the Kombucha Culture:
Brinum-Ssene (Latvian)
Cainii grib (Russian)
Cainogo griba (Georgian)
Chamboucho (Romanian)
Champignon de longue vie (French)
Combucha (Japanese)
Fungus japonicus (Pharmaceutical name)
Funko cinese (Italian)
Hongo (Spanish)
Japan gomba (Hungarian)
Kargasok-Teepilz (German)
Kombucha
Olinka (Bohemian and moravian monasteries)
Tea mould (Java)
Teepilz (German)
Teyaki saki (Armenian)
Theezwam Komboecha (Dutch)
Names for Kombucha tea:
Cainii kvass (Russian)
Cainogo kvassa (Georgian)
Elixir de longue vie (French)
Kombucha-thee (Dutch)
Kombuchagetrank (German)
Bubbles and Holes
We are used to seeing photographs of perfect Kombucha cultures and we are also used to seeing pictures of perfect looking people, but like people cultures are not always perfect, physically. These bubbles which sometimes looks like the bubbly crust on a pizza are simply air pockets. You can expel the air by gently applying pressure and pushing the bubble to one side of your culture. If your culture has a hole or two don’t worry it should still yield some awesome tea.
Mold
Yuck. Nobody likes mold but unfortunatley sometimes mold likes Kombucha, although rare. When this happens I recommend starting over with a new culture, our bodies take in mold consciously and unconsciously all the time but when we can avoid it, it’s usually best to. This just means that something went wrong in your process. In general avoid leaving your culture exposed to air for a long period of time when you harvest, keep covered with a cloth, and leave it away from any plants.
HOT TEA!!!
Placing your culture in hot tea before it has been given a chance to cool down risks killing your culture. You should always let the tea cool down first, if you are impatient trying place the pot of boiling tea into your sink filled with ice, although I would recommend just waiting.
Worn Out
When your culture is looking a little weak and worn out, chances are it’s time to give it a funeral and move on with it’s child. Your cultures should continue to multiply so don’t be afraid to throw them away when they die.
Population Problem
Cultures will continue to grow on top of one another. The tea you have it in however, will not continue to multiply. If you plan on keeping your cultures you need to give them their own jars to thrive in. Don’t be afraid to share the love with your friends and neighbors though. If you don’t have any friend maybe this is a good way to make some.
Thin Cultures
When you go to harvest your culture and it appears too thin chances are it means it was too cold. Your best bet is to keep the temperature between 70 and 90° F. In winter it might help to ad more starter tea to kick start the process.
Freezing
Unless you have an industrial, quick freeze unit DO NOT FREEZE YOUR CULTURES. Your culture will starve to death you are better off giving it away.
Vacation
Just so happens we have a video on this subject. Check it out Below:
How much Kombucha should I drink? Is a bottle from the store ok to drink in its entirety in one sitting? The answer to this and all of these questions delivered to you right after this commercial break…
Today’s Kombucha blog posting is brought to you by “Water”. Water America’s favorite past time is now available in all sorts of flavors. Trick your kids into thinking they are drinking something unhealthy! Water, Yum! Available for free or be silly and pay for it!
Ok were back! So…how much kombucha should you drink? I can’t actually answer that because, well, it depends on your body. Anytime you introduce something new to your system you should do so gradually. I ignored this when I first started drinking kombucha and in the interest of letting you finish your lunch today…I got “the runs”. Some people are even allergic to Kombucha although a small percentage. I would recommend having no more than a 4oz glass of kombucha upon first introducing it to your system. You can then gradually increase the amount having no more then around 32oz in a day. It took me about a month or two to allow my body to get acquainted with kombucha, now I’m drinking it like “Water”. I’m drinking plenty of water too though, it’s always important to never abandon our old friend H20, no supplement or health drink will ever replace drinking lots of water. It’s every important to always stay hydrated. Kombucha tea is amazing, I won’t let you say i’m telling you it’s not! I won’t! BUT let’s also drink water!
My favorite kombucha flavor. I found myself thinking on this for a little too long today. So what does that mean you ask yourself my fellow kombucha tea lovers you. This must mean that I do not have a favorite kombucha flavor. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kombucha flavors? “Flavors? They come in different flavors I thought it was natural.” Well yes my friend you can buy flavored kombucha or you can flavor your own home brewed kombucha very easily by adding a bit of your favorite fruit. Some of my favorites include, raspberry, grape, guava, cranberry and a mixture of all of the above which makes for a really kick arse beverage.
For the more adventurous kombucha drinkers out there I have also added vodka for a reallllyyy nice kombucha cocktail. My friend who would never touch the stuff before are now hooked because they were willing to try some kombucha with vodka. Now they are buying kombucha at whole foods…someday they will brew their own, if they get smart.
I wonder what a grand world we would have if there were kombucha soda shops where you go in and ask for any flavor you like. Then you sit down at the counter, throw your feet up on the stoop, and enjoy a nice tall, tasty, sip of your favorite kombucha flavor iced cold. Mmmm…my mouth is literally watering right now. Then again coffee and tea shops could also start carrying kombucha, some already do, but none around me I don’t think. Sounds like I need to go out and do invetigating/demanding, come on even my liquor store sells kombucha. Well in a perfect world we would have peace before kombucha soda shops anyway but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Some people ask ask and it is given. I’m asking.
I can break down the difference between store bought kombucha and brewing your own kombucha pretty easily:
PRICE
Probably the biggest thing is price. I’ll put it this way, if you buy a bottle a day, let’s say you have 30 bottles a month, 360-365 bottles a year at 5 bucks a bottle. That comes out to 1,825 dollars a year on kombucha tea alone! So much for that new computer you were planning on buying…BUT if you brew your own bottles it comes out to literally pennies per serving, there is the money that goes into buying a kombucha brewing system but after a month of not buying kombucha bottles at the store it has literally paid for itself.
CONTROL THE SUGAR, (kombucha good for diabetics)
You can control the amount of sugar your kombucha has. Most commercially brewed kombucha you buy at the store is loaded with sugar so unfortunately diabetics can’t enjoy the other benefits of kombucha. To control the amount of sugar simply brew longer and your kombucha will “digest the sugar” if you will. This process also allows you to control the fizzyness, some people like it super fizzy, some don’t, simply let it ferment longer for more fizzy kombucha.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN CAFFEINE LEVEL
Some people are really sensitive to caffeine so the idea of store bought kombucha isnt really a good idea. BUT!!! When your brew your own kombucha you can use non caffeinated tea such as honeybush and rooibos for kombucha brewing. You can check out the entire selection of teas approved for kombucha brewing http://getkombucha.com/reforkobr.html
RSS - Posts
