A significant number of baby boomers are interested in staying healthy and active. Many have discovered kombucha tea and are making it themselves at home. Some do it to save money, as it can be made at home for about thirty cents per bottle. (Commercial brands range in price from $3.00 to $5.00 per bottle.) Others, simply enjoy making their own and experimenting with the flavors. Still more are convinced that it helps boost their metabolism, guards against a plethora of diseases, especially cancer, and slows the aging process.
There are pros and cons on the subject, and anyone considering brewing their own should spend time on research to determine if making the commitment is to their advantage. Otherwise, kombucha is readily available at most health food stores and even some groceries.
What is Kombucha tea? It's a fermented, effervescent, probiotic drink containing many of the following beneficial components:
Malic acid: Used in the body's detoxification process.
Oxalic acid: Encourages cellular production of energy.
Gluconic acid: Effective against yeast infections like candidiasis and thrush.
Butyric acid: Is produced by the yeasts, also combats yeast infections.
Nucleic acid: Aids in cell regeneration.
Amino acids: The building blocks of protein.
Enzymes: Proteins that speed the rate at which biochemical reactions proceed.
Kombucha also contains Vitamin Groups B and C, beneficial yeasts and living Bacteria.
Overview of how to get started: The very first thing needed before you can brew kombucha is a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). It is also called a 'mother' or 'mushroom', and it is essential to the success of your brew. You can get them online from my favorite site on this subject, www.kombuchakamp.com, or you can grow your own. To do that, start with a commercial bottle of raw kombucha that has visible, live sediment (mother) at the bottom. Brew two cups of black (or green, NOT herbal) tea with 2-3 teaspoons of sugar, and cool to room temperature (it cannot be warmer than 85 degrees). Combined the kombucha and sweetened tea in a large wide-mouth jar. Cover with a paper towel or coffee filter secured with a rubber band, and place in a warm (65-85 degrees), dark place, out of direct sunlight. In about 10 days to two weeks, you will have your starter SCOBY and can begin your brew (see links to step-by-step videos at the end of this article).
To learn about kombucha in greater detail, you can start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha. The video attached to this article (Part 1 of 2 http://youtu.be/XTbGmfl9pFI) will show you the basics. When you are ready to bottle your batch, please view video 2 at http://youtu.be/x0khGtJZaV4. As an aside, there are dozens of how-to videos on this subject at YouTube, and other sites online.
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