Kombucha Tea

Some people love the taste of kombucha tea; others don’t relish it at all. It has been credited with miraculous properties and is a probiotic, making it very curative for digestive issues. Kombucha also comes recommended for acne, constipation, arthritis, depression, and fatigue, and is hailed as a protection against cancer. I regard it as a tasty tonic, and my family drinks it daily. My nephews were the first of my kin to taste kombucha, and they loved its fizziness and flavor. This healthful drink is easy to make so long as you have a “ferment” (which some people call “a “mushroom” because of the way it looks). To procure your ferment, try to find somebody who brews kombucha already. They should have plenty of ferments to share, as every batch of tea grows an extra ferment on top of the original. Before brewing your kombucha, you will need:

• a large wide-necked glass jar, a cloth or paper towel to cover the jar, and a rubber band to secure the covering cloth or paper towel
• 7 tea bags, either black or green (preferably organic)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 quarts water
• kombucha ferment

Boil the water and add it to the tea bags in the jar. Let it steep for twenty minutes.

Remove the tea bags and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve.

When the tea has cooled, add the kombucha ferment with some of the liquor that it came in, which should come out to roughly 10 percent of the total tea in your jar.

Cover the jar with the cloth or paper towel, securing your cover with the rubber band. The lid will serve to keep dust and flies out while still allowing the tea to breathe. Let the jar sit in one place (as moving can disturb the fermentation process), out of the direct sunlight and at room temperature.

The fermentation process will take seven to twelve days, depending on the temperature in the room. Your batch of kombucha will ferment more quickly if the room is warm. You have to check to see when it is ready, and you’ll be able to tell by the taste. When fermented, the tea can be decanted into glass bottles with screw lids and kept in the fridge. Remember to keep a little of the kombucha tea to add to the next batch with your ferment.