Are you tired? Are you having digestive issues? Are you searching for a healthy beverage that does more than just quench your thirst? Do you crave sweets, but don’t want to eat refined sugar or processed foods? Do you just generally love delicious beverages?
Well…KOMBUCHA is the answer for you!
Delicious, Commercially Available Kombucha varieties
Kombucha is a fermented, effervescent tea, that contains live cultures. Think of a cross between a fizzy soda, a tea, and a probiotic, all in one. Kombucha starts with a scoby (also called a mushroom or mother), a culture of bacteria and yeast. To this tea is added (really any flavor depending on what type of Kombucha is being made), as well as sugar. Wait a second, sugar? That’s not very crunchy. No worries. As the concoction sits, the bacteria eats the sugar, creating the beverage’s fizz. By the time it’s fermented, which usually takes 3-4 weeks depending on temperature and brewing environment, all the sugar has been eaten by the live strains. When initial brew is complete, fruit or other natural flavorings, such as ginger, can be added to change the taste of the beverage. The scoby is living and as long as you keep “feeding” it, it can be used over and over again to ferment additional batches of tea. Kombucha is available bottled commercially, if you aren’t in to brewing it on your own. Our local grocery store and health food store carry a few varieties. Candice and I have started working on creating our own scoby, since we’ve fallen in love with the beverage…future posts to come on how to go about making your own. Once you initially get past the slight vinegar smell, it really is delicious. We are looking forward to experimenting with different teas and flavors.
Kombucha started it’s roots in ancient Chinese culture, referred to as an Immortal Health Elixir. It more recently has gained popularity in our end of the world. It has be touted for having many health benefits, including detoxification, prevention/treatment of arthritis, digestion aid, reduction of depression symptoms, and immune booster. I myself have found it to provide many benefits in addition to these. I suffer from acid reflux and chronic indigestion, always have. For the past few years, after searching for an answer through ‘modern’ medicine, I found a great alternative to a pharmaceutical in probiotics. As long as I take them daily, I for the most part am indigestion free. Well since Kombucha is naturally fermented with live strains, it is a probiotic, and provides the same benefits for me as taking the bacteria in a pill form. It’s an easy option to have a few sips throughout the day and remove any worries of a bout of indigestion or reflux. The first few times I drank it, I remember feeling a warming sensation in my gut, that was the bacteria working I guess you would say. As a busy and often sleep deprived individual, especially after the birth of our daughter, I have been addicted to coffee. Although coffee touts it’s own health benefits, excess amounts of caffeine of course do not. Kombucha gives you a little bit of an extra kick in your step, without the nasty side effects. It doesn’t take much, about 8 oz., and I feel energized. Careful not to drink it too late at night! My wife Candice, who is breastfeeding, has found this to be one of her favorite benefits. Kombucha also takes away my un-kickable sweet tooth craving most of us struggle with. It’s also a great alternative to soda, if you are looking for something with a little fizz. In general, it just makes me feel good, and how can that be bad.
Cheers to your health.
thiscrunchylifeblog 
I need to try this myself. Do you known if the commercial stuff is as beneficial as the stuff you make at home? I really want to learn more about the process of making it and please share any good recipes you come up with for flavoring it in the future.
I would say that the raw store bought kombucha is as beneficial as the home brewed tea. When growing your first SCOBY, the recipe I use calls for one whole bottle of store bought, raw, original flavor kombucha. The difference is that after to grow your first SCOBY and maintain it, your tea cost pennies on the dollar. I’m looking forward to blogging about the process in the near future.
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