Kombucha – what is all the hype?

These past few months I have been exploring the world of fermenting in a big way, and one of my favourite findings has been kombucha. You may have heard of this health drink, it has been fairly popular with celebrities and health gurus.  But the truth is, kombucha is an amazing addition to your daily diet, and if you are prepared to make your own it is incredibly inexpensive. This may sound a little time consuming, but once you have the starter ingredients, making kombucha is little more effort than brewing a cuppa. Most importantly, I have noticed a drastic improvement in digestive function, bowel regularity, overall immunity, skin conditions in the people I have been encouraging to drink it (myself included). I am now hooked, and never go a day without a small glass of my new favourite drink between my hot water and lemon, and breakfast.

Why is kombucha so good for you?
Well, it is naturally fermented from organic tea and sugar with the help of a lovely thing called a ‘scoby’ – this is the live culture part that ferments the drink, and has the appearance of a large mushroom (gross I know). So after brewing tea and sugar, you leave it to go cold, add to the jar with the scoby and sit in a cool place for 2 weeks. That’s it – just bottle it up and enjoy daily. It tastes sweet-sour-fizzy – and you can adjust the taste depending how long you want to leave it.  One scoby will make endless brews, and live forever if you look after it!

In short, the known properties of kombucha include –

  • Probiotic to improve gut function, mineral absorption and immunity (also aiding digestion reduces bloating)
  • Alkalizing to the body (acidity is the cause of many diseases)
  • Supports appetite control and metabolism
  • Improve liver function – therefore skin appearance, cholesterol & blood pressure levels and hormone balance

Where do I buy a kombucha making kit?
I have seen kits on the internet, though some are pretty expensive so shop around.  This site offers a postal service of the scoby – if you want to put together the rest of the items yourself.  I bought mine from Northey St Markets (Sundays in Newmarket), but the same people do West End Markets on Saturdays too.  They sell you a kit containing everything to start for just $25!  And considering a 700ml bottle (they sell it in 4 different flavours there) is around $10, a DIY kit is really cost effective!