Kombucha – “Tea of Immortality” (Recipe)

The origin of the tea fungus Kombucha is Japan, but besides here, it has been used in Russia, Eastern Europe for centuries.

Kombucha was initially consumed only by the Japanese kings, and it was a well-protected secret for many years. The Japanese emperor has given the tea to the Chinese emperor who was on a visit, but the Chinese emperor shared the tea fungus with all of his people no matter of their social status.

The Russian people call this drink “tea kvass”, and from here the tea was spread to Poland, Prussia, Denmark, and Germany, but during the World War II it seemed that it disappeared. Dr. Rudolph Skelnar regained the interest for this beverage in Germany, after the war ended. So, he began using kambucha in his practice in the treatment of metabolic disorders, cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Various complex reactions are happening when the fungus ferments. It feeds on the sugar in the tea, thus producing other beneficial substances which are constituents of the kombucha liquid, including: lactic and glycolic acid, amino acids, vitamins, antibiotic ingredients, etc. You can now see why this fungus tea is considered as a real small biochemical factory.

The vitamin C in its content is more abundant than in lemons. Moreover, it contains vitamin B (1, 2, 3, 6, and 12), different types of enzymes, and not to forget the milk – L acid, which can reach up to 3ml in 1 liter of liquid. Kombucha has been used for thousands of years in the treatment of exhaustion, fatigue, anti-narrowing of blood vessels, anti-aging, rheumatism, constipation, and diabetes, while Russians use it for all kinds of illnesses and call it as a “Russian home remedy”.

Furthermore, kombucha effectively treats diseases of internal organs, inflamed tonsils, inflammation of the colon, small intestine and stomach, narrowing of blood vessels, sclerosis, high blood pressure, etc. It has been proven that a lot of its components have detoxification and antibiotic properties which play important part in the biochemical processes.

It solves hemorrhoids, constipation, fixes the flora, solves problems with urinary canals, kidney stones, and bile, and improves digestion. Moreover, the metabolic products of Kombucha can regenerate cells and be efficient remedy for arteriosclerosis. It stimulates the metabolism so it cleanses the blood from toxins. The tea fungus helps in joint pain, constant headaches, rheumatism, and age-related problems. Only after several days of its consumption, you can notice positive results.

Dr. Dan Pon from Japan has proved that this tea fungus provides beneficial effects in the following conditions:

• helps prevent cancer;
• prevents wrinkles’ formation;
• extends life span;
• positively affects joint rheumatism, relieves arthrosis;
• improves breathing;
• treats liver disorder;
• improves food taste;
• eliminates nausea while driving;
• lowers body weight;
• soothes menopause symptoms;
• helps with shingles and pox;
• strengthens the muscles in legs;
• improves potency;
• cleanses blood vessels, positively affects the cell membrane regeneration and the cardiac infarction;
• strengthens the function of kidneys;
• heals conditions on the back, hands and feet, insomnia, gray barbell;
• softens, dissolves, and cleanses gallstones;
• cures hemorrhoids;
• treats diarrhea;
• normalizes acid-base balance
• reduces blood cholesterol;
• enhances hair growth and quality;
• boosts immunity;
• enriches the useful intestine micro flora

Kombucha shouldn’t be consumed by those sensitive to acids, and kids younger than 1 year, as it contains enzymes and bacteria which might be too strong for their digestive system.

The recipe for Kombucha in this post is only for 1 liter, but we recommend making 4 liters to have up till the next week. 

 Add 1 teaspoon of green or black tea, and 100 grams of sugar in a liter of water. Boil the mixture and let it cool.

You can get the “mushroom” from bio-stores. Wash it in warm water and add it in the prepared tea. The whole mixture should be placed in a big glass jar, covered with gauze. Store it in bright place for 8 days.

After this period, decant the tea and consume it. Then you can wash the “mushroom” and do the whole process all over again. If the mushrooms stays longer than this period, the tea will become vinegar perfect for pickling, and the “mushroom” will most likely recover. Dry the “mushroom” between 2 sheets of paper if you want to use it in future.

Kombucha is way more than a fungus. It’s a combination of various organisms, including yeast, ringworm, and some bacteria (acetobacterketogenum, gluconicum bacterium, bacterium xylinum, acetobacterketogenum), and pichiafermentantsa. It’s grayish, built in a multi-layer membrane form, and not eatable.

Don’t forget that the drink should be sweet as it has glycolic acid in its content. This acid is produced by the liver under normal conditions, it goes directly into the blood and protects our body. Increased concentration of acid in the blood can result in excessive acidification, which in turn can significantly distort the organism’s balance, and in serious cases it can even cause death.

Ingredients

• 2 cups starter tea from store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) or last batch of kombucha
• 5 quarts of water
• 8 bags of green tea, black tea, or a combination (or 2 tbsp of loose tea)
• A cup of sugar (the best one to use is the regular granulated sugar)
• Stock pot
• 2 to 3 cups fruit juice, 1 to 2 cups chopped fruit, 1 to 2 tbsp flavored tea (like hibiscus), 2 to 4 tbsp spices or fresh herbs, 1/4 cup of honey as optional flavoring choices
• 1 symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (scoby) per fermentation jar, purchased online or homemade
• Four liter glass jar
• To cover the jar you need tightly woven cloth (such as tea towels or clean napkins), paper towels, or coffee filters
• Small funnel
• You will need 6 swing-top bottles, clean bottles from soda, or six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids

Note: avoid longer contacts between metal and kombucha during and after the brewing process since the in this way the flavor can be affected and the scoby weakened.
Boil the water, remove it from heat and add the sugar. After the sugar dissolves, add the tea and let it soak until the water has cooled, which can take for couple of hours. Put the pot in an ice bath if you want to hasten the cooling process. Once the liquid cools, strain the loose tea or remove the tea bags. Then, add the starter tea to make the liquid acidic (this is beneficial since it prevents residence of bad bacteria in the first couple of days of the fermentation process).