Kombucha! You might love it or hate it, or maybe you've never tried it or even heard of it. If you follow our page, you likely have some idea, since this drink has completely taken over the vegan and health community. Maybe you haven't given it a shot yet and want to learn more? Well, this blog post is exactly what you need. In this post, we'll be going over what kombucha is, how it benefits you, how it's made and more. By the end of this, maybe you'll decide if you want to give this interesting drink a chance, or you'll walk away with a bit more knowledge.
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is, simply put, fermented black or green tea drink that is commonly drank for the health benefits it's said to provide. "Booch" is traditionally a carbonated drink with live micro-organisms. In order to make kombucha what it is, a SCOBY culture must be added, which stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. This allows for the fermentation process to begin, which is what gives kombucha its slight effervescent taste. Once left for a week, bacteria and yeast form a mushroom-like film on the surface of the liquid, which is why kombucha is also known as 'mushroom tea'.
A lot of people are unaware that kombucha isn't a new trend, it's something that's been around for a very long time now. It's been reported that this drink originated more than 2000 years ago in China!
How do you make kombucha?
The ingredients most commonly used to make this drink:
Sugar
Cold filtered water
Black or green tea (bags or loose leaf)
SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast)
Tea and sugar is steeped in boiled water and then left to cool before the SCOBY is added. This will then be covered and left to sit and ferment for up to a week or more. Once this done, pour the mix into an airtight container and leave it to sit for a few more days with some extra sugar. Spices and fruits can be added at this stage, and it's important to note that the longer you leave the mix, the fizzier it will become.
You can find some interesting and in-depth recipes all over the web, we personally recommend this fantastic coffee kombucha that Janice from Nourished By Nature created!
Recipe here: http://tinyurl.com/CoffeeKombucha
What are the health benefits of drinking kombucha?
Kombucha can kill bacteria. Sounds confusing, considering that's what makes booch in the first place! Let us explain. As one of the main substances produced from kombucha is acetic acid, this stuff is able to kill many potentially harmful microorganisms. This means it can suppress the growth of undesirable bacteria and yeasts.
Kombucha may reduce the risk of heart disease. Kombucha has been shown to improve bad LDL and good HDL. This is worth looking into studies about, but the general takeaway is that these types of drinks can lower your risk of developing heart disease.
Kombucha is packed with proviotics. These microorganisms are the good kind of bacteria that is similar to what naturally occurs in our intestines. These probiotics are good for your overall gut-health, de-bloating, and helps to promote a healthy immune system.
It's important to keep in mind that the research done thus far on kombucha has been on animals, so we're still waiting on more solid studies to be done on humans. However, the bottom line is that the health benefits are very promising, and kombucha would be a far healthier option than pop, juice or other sugary drinks.
Alcohol & caffeine in kombucha?
Kombucha only contains about one-third of the amount of caffeine as a cup of black or green tea, so if you're looking for a replacement for your daily coffee habit, this probably isn't the best solution. Now, onto the alcohol content; This is a commonly asked question, and yes, kombucha does contain alcohol. However, it natural contains only a teeny amount. In order to be sold on supermarket shelves as a non-alcoholic beverage, it needs to contain just 0.5% alcohol or less.
Some brands will contain higher amounts of alcohol, so be sure to read the label to see. Another tip is to look out for drinks that contain added sugar, as certain brands label their kombucha as more of a sweet treat than others.
Our Favourite Kombucha
At Soul Food Kitchen, we sell kombucha on tap! The kombucha we use and love is called Clever Kombucha, which has a range of fun flavours and is incredibly high quality. We even have our own exclusive flavour of lemon and lime kombucha and it's absolutely delicious! We have this available for both sit in and takeaway! If you're ever down at Soul Food Kitchen, we highly recommend getting it since you won't find it anywhere else!
Clever Kombucha: https://www.cleverkombucha.co.uk/
While we currently don't have any fermentation events planned right now, keep an eye out for upcoming events that we might be hosting in the future! We always love bringing our audience new workshops.
Our events page: https://www.soulfoodkitchen.co.uk/events
