Over 2200 years ago, Kombucha tea became an immensely popular drink to promote longevity in China and later spread through Eastern and Pacific regions and into Russia.

Kombucha is the result of the interaction between yeast and bacteria and brown seaweed, also known as “kombu.” Some refer to this symbiotic relationship as being similar to tea mushroom production.

Benefits

Kombucha mushroom tea has long been revered as an aid to digestion, energy levels and overall wellbeing. Produced using a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) floating atop fermented black or green tea leaves fermented for two weeks prior to being bottle and aged before creating its unique drink.

The tea produced from these ingredients contains probiotics, enzymes and organic acids known to have many health advantages. Lactic acid in particular prevents harmful microorganisms from growing in your stomach while improving digestion while probiotics fight bad bacteria in your gut. Furthermore, vitamin C and B vitamins are present.

Kombucha tea has long been touted for its anti-aging and cancer prevention benefits, including its ability to lower cholesterol levels, improve circulation and immune system functioning, boost metabolism and help regulate blood pressure. Furthermore, this beverage contains amino acids like glycine and proline which have been shown to aid cellular detoxification processes.

Made with rooibos, tea can be an invaluable remedy for insomnia or nervous tension. It has an inherent natural calming effect that is also effective at relieving headaches, disturbed sleep patterns, depression or hypertension. Furthermore, drinking tea with rooibos can soothe stomach cramps and relieve constipation, and also works wonders in treating allergic reactions like hay fever, asthma or eczema.

Kombucha is generally considered safe for most healthy individuals; however pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems should consult their physician first before drinking kombucha. Making your own kombucha at home may seem easy but safety precautions must be taken to avoid food poisoning; regularly checking fermentation process as well as checking for mold growth is crucial to ensure safe consumption.

Ingredients

Kombucha mushroom tea is created by mixing together a culture of bacteria and yeast with sweetened tea to form a fermented beverage containing multiple species of yeast and bacteria, organic acids, amino acids, and vitamin C. First developed in China over 100 years ago before spreading across Russia over 100 years later before becoming popular as a health drink in the US and popularly referred to as “Mushroom Tea”, due to the formation of an SCOBY on top that looks similar to mushrooms.

Start with cold spring water, fill your brewing vessel 3/4 full, and dissolve the sweetener in it. Allow your tea to reach room temperature (this should take 20 minutes). As time passes, more sour notes may develop; to test this you can simply draw out small samples with your finger through a straw; if the taste is mildly sweet and vinegary it’s ready!

Once your tea has reached room temperature, combine its “mother” and starter tea in a glass container before covering with cloth or coffee filter and securing with rubber band. Leave to ferment for 6 to 10 days in dark conditions that remain at room temperature without direct sunlight; perhaps adding a lid could prevent insects from getting in as well.

At this point, your SCOBY should have had time to reform itself, enabling it to form new layers on top of its old one after fermentation has completed. Once complete, reuse or transfer this one as the mother and give any remaining baby SCOBYs away to friends to start new batches of kombucha!

You might have come across various terms for the SCOBY before, such as “kombucha mothers” and “kombucha mushrooms.” All three refer to the same thing; these SCOBYs are integral parts of brewing kombucha and they continuously reform themselves during production. You might have even seen bottles with little blobby things growing at their top – these blobby things are actually growing on top!

Preparation

It is crucial that when making Kombucha mushroom tea that the fermentation process runs uninterrupted. Make sure it takes place in a dark, warm and quiet location away from sunlight; usually between 7-30 days depending on temperature and desired acidity level of Kombucha; warmer environments will speed it up while cooler ones slow it down; during which time SCOBYs will consume sugar molecules to produce alcohol, acids and carbon dioxide as by-products.

Once your kombucha is ready it should appear cloudy with a slightly vinegary scent, be fizzy like new wine or cider and contain an optimal level of sourness that suits your palate – the longer it ferments the more acidic the taste may become.

Once your kombucha is brewed, you can check its readiness by taking a small sip with a paper straw (using your finger to hold onto its contents while holding down on its contents) and testing for sweetness and acidity using a test strip. When making the drink yourself, be sure to use only glass containers; plastic, metal, ceramic and non-food grade glass may contain chemicals which leech into its contents during brewing.

Before drinking your kombucha, straining may also be useful if using strong tea or fruit with high concentration. This will keep the mushroom from clogging your pores, as well as making the beverage easier to swallow.

People often refer to this small biological factory as a mushroom when it looks more like seaweed than anything. Mushrooms belong to the kingdom of Fungus, while kombucha cultures fall within this same group. Perhaps people associate them because their textures resemble mushrooms’ and both float atop tea to prevent aspergillus contamination.

Storage

Once your SCOBY has had time to recuperate, simply add it back into a fresh batch of sweet tea and store your kombucha for no longer than six weeks at a time.

Kombucha mushrooms or gelatinous gel are living organisms responsible for turning sweet tea into the delicious fermented beverage you love to drink. Their technical name is Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast; in everyday terms it looks similar to mushrooms and can even be called “mother” or “kombucha.”

Once your SCOBY has had time to rehydrate, it should resemble jelly with its round disk shape and may either be dark or light in color. When floating at the top of your tea, bubbling, and producing a vinegary smell/taste then you know your kombucha fermentation is proceeding correctly.

Kombucha fermentation typically takes 8-14 days, or according to most people’s personal taste, to reach the ideal sweet-and-sour balance. Prolonged fermentation times should be avoided as this will produce more vinegar and reduce any of its health benefits.

Make sure that the temperature of your kombucha remains within an acceptable range; too high of temperatures (such as being left in your car on an extremely hot day) could kill its SCOBY, while too low can also damage it.

If you’re going on vacation or won’t be brewing for an extended period of time, kombucha can still be stored by placing it in a glass container with sweet tea and covering it. It will still use sugars and nutrients from the tea as sustenance; it just won’t ferment anymore. Or dehydrate your SCOBY by placing it on parchment paper in the oven at warm temperature until its leathery like texture resembles beef jerky before being rehydrated to make more kombucha (dehydrated kombucha can last for 3 months in total!).