Kombucha Tea

[blondebombshell]

hello!

just learned about Kombucha tea and someone said it would help with bloating/curb appetite. i bought the green tea/Kombucha blend from yogi and wanted to know if there were any benefits from Kombucha tea.

thanks!!

[jvalentine89]

Hi there! I looove kombucha tea. I don't really find that it helps with weight loss, but it does have a slightly laxative effect (at least for me) therefore decreases some bloat. I've never had it from Yogi, but the brand I like is bottled and raw and is probiotic. Good luck and enjoy your tea!

[TestyTommy]

I make my own Kombucha and drink it every day. The main benefit of Kombucha for celiacs is the bacteria in the tea. Like yogurt and probiotic capsules, Kombucha will help repopulate your intestines with "good" bacteria.

[shanluts]

Would you share how you make it? It is sooooo expensive at the HF store.

Shannon

[krzsqrll]

Would you share how you make it? It is sooooo expensive at the HF store.

Shannon

Hi Shannon- Kombucha is very delicate to make- its fermented and raw.If you do not know exactly what your doing-you could get more than just "good" bacteria. I drink 1 bottle of Synergy (they do have a website) Kombucha. It is the best! Various tastes-they have grape-strawberry-guava,ect.....Sure its expensive-to me its like medicine-its worth it.I have IBS-like i said-i drink 1 per day.I havent had acid reflux since and my stomache doesnt get that anxious feeling anymore either-i swear by it. But making it isnt simple-its a fermented tea.

Best of luck- Tam

[ohsotired]

As I understand it, making kombucha is a several day process (my sister's best friend makes it), and I also understand that it's quite smelly (her husband leaves the house when she's making it).

My sister introduced me to kombucha a few months back, and maybe it was the particular flavor she bought, but I have mixed feelings about it. If it's got the same benefits of a probiotic, I'd love to find one that I love.....

Will be watching for recommendations.

[mamaw]

You will need to find a starter baby, I know you can start one but I don't have the recipe any longer... I made it for years & we all drank it, then I got lazy & stopped. I now buy the synergy. It is pricery.... I do like the flavors with the bottled ones.......

I get a new found energy when I drink it. I do one bottle a day.

I think it tastes like a vinegar or a dry wine........

mamaw

[ohsotired]

Found some links for you!

This link is to my sister's friend's blog: Open Original Shared Link

In her blog entry, there are a couple of links for sources on learning to make it.

Hope that helps!

[TestyTommy]

Kombucha is NOT hard to make. In fact, it's very simple.

Basically, you boil a big pot of water and add some tea bags to make tea. Then you mix in a bunch of sugar (the more sugar, the stronger the Kombucha will be), let it cool in a glass jar and add the 'baby'. Then you store it for a week or two in the glass jar, covered with some cloth (to let the air in). The baby will eat the sugar and turn the tea into kombucha. That's pretty much it.

The only expense is a few dollars for a glass jar and some glass bottles (the kombucha is very acidic, so it needs to be stored in glass). The only difficulty in making the kombucha is getting a 'baby'. And once you get a baby and start making the tea, you will be swarming in new babies and won't know what to do with them!

[sickchick]

MMMM Kombucha!

[positivenrgfairy]

I'm obsessed with Kombucha. I drink Buddha's brew. I didn't even know if was beneficial for celiacs, but with the probiotics that makes sense.

bonus!

[Korwyn]

Would you share how you make it? It is sooooo expensive at the HF store.

Shannon

It it quite easy to make, the only hard part is getting a starter (SCOBY). Once you obtain one (and some starter tea) you need only the following: 1 Gallon glass jar, tea, sugar or raw honey (if you can't get raw honey just use pure cane sugar), and a nylon or piece of cheesecloth that will cover the top of the jar securely.

I use the continuous brewing method and it is quite easy (and better than doing a whole batch at once for a number of reasons).

For your initial batch:

Let the scoby (starter) and starter tea come to room temp while you do the rest of this.

Take a gallon of water, 1 cup of cane sugar or honey, and eight tea bags, at least two of which must be caffeinated. These must not be fruit teas, though some herbal teas will work, but I'd suggest you start with plain green or black tea. Other teas can introduce unhealthy bacteria.

Clean out your gallon jar with some boiling water and vinegar. Do not use dishsoap or run it through the dishwasher.

Bring the water to a rolling boil and turn it off. As soon as it stops boiling dissolve the sugar or honey in it (stirring with stainless steel spoon or whip - not nylon/plastic/wood). This is the only time you should EVER use metal with your tea.

Place the teabags in the water and walk away. You want it to cool to ~80 degrees F, no warmer. If you have a candy thermometer you can use it, or you can drop some on the inside of your wrist to see how hot it feels. If you would give it to a baby (temp wise) in a bottle, it is probably about the right temp.

Remove tea bags. Pour about 3/4 of the mixture into your jar. Then add the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) and starter tea, gently placing the SCOBY into the jar. Do NOT ever use metal to touch the SCOBY or stir your tea after brewing the initial tea. Use your hand or a wooden/nylon spatula.

Then slowly pour the rest of the brewed tea over it, filling it to within about an inch of the top. You will probably have some brewed tea left over to drink.

Cover the jar with your cheesecloth or nylon. As it becomes more acidic it will attract vinegar flies. The cover keeps them and the dust out.

If your house is ~70-75 degrees, you will need to leave it for about 4 days. Cooler, add a couple days, warmer about three days.

Using a nonmetal dipper (or if you got a gallon jar with a dispenser spout) gently scoop some out and drink it slowly over a couple hours.

For the continuous brewing method, simply replace the amount you take out with an equivilent amount of tea. 2 Cup (16 oz) water + 1 teabag (make sure that at least every other teabag is caffeinated) + 1/8 cup sugar or honey will give you the correct proportions.

In the morning when I get up, I take out a glass of kombucha for my wife and I, pour two cups of boiling water, a 1/8 cup of honey, and a teabag into a glass measuring cup. Just before I leave for work it has cooled enough and I fish out the teabag and pour it into the jar. Total prep time: 5 minutes.

I'd suggest you initially start drink no more than 1/2 an 8oz glass as some people can get and upset stomach or other reaction. It will continue to get more acidic but if you replace daily the amount you take out with the sweetened tea, in about 14 days or so it will achieve what some people feel is best balance of acids.

The SCOBY will continue to thicken, and when it gets to about an 1" think, I take it out and clean the jar with boiling water and distilled vinegar.

Drinking small amounts throughout the day will provide a number of benefits, not the least of which is helping to keep the correct acidic balance in your gut which is conducive to good bacteria and not conducive to bad bacteria.

There really isn't much sugar in it or caffeine as the yeast and bacteria consume and metabolize them into a variety of acids.

[DreamWalker]

I used to adore kombucha yet I can't drink it anymore as it causes a lot of sharp, burning pain. The only explanation I can think of is that the tiny amounts of alcohol from fermentation set my pancreas off. Then again, pedialyte or even water can anger it.

My guts definitely miss kombucha but it just isn't worth the pain (or price).

Anyone else with this issue?