Posted on 31 March 2013. Tags: What is Kombucha Tea

What is Kombucha Tea ?

What is Kombucha Tea? The fermented beverage called Kombucha Tea is comprised of four simple ingredients. It is mad from tea and sugar, with the addition of a symbiotic culture made from bacteria and yeast called SCOBY. A Scoby is comparable to the mother that is used to create vinegar. The end product of the fermentation process that this mixture goes through is a fizzy beverage that supposedly offers a number of health benefits. It is easy to make your own batch of this tea right in your own kitchen.
Process for Making Your Own Kombucha Tea
Check out the information below on how to make kombucha tea at home.
Ingredients
1 cup of granulate sugar
3 1/2 quarts of filtered water
2 cups of kombucha starter tea (either bought in a neutral flavor and unpasteurized or from your last batch)
2 Tablespoons of black loose tea or 8 tea bags
1 SCOBY (it can be made (recipe is online) or bought in the store) for each jar of tea
You will also need a stockpot large enough to hold the ingredients, 1 one-gallon glass jar for mixing and fermentation. Then for storing, 6 sixteen-ounce glass bottles with lids that fit securely.

Directions
Make the tea by boiling the water and taking it off the heat to add the sugar. Once the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, add the tea and let it steep until the water is cool. This could take awhile, if you let it happen just at room temperature. You could use an ice bath if necessary to cool it faster.
After the tea is cool enough, strain the mixture or remove the bags of tea. Pour in the starter tea at this point. This will turn the mixture acidic and will keep harmful bacteria for growing during the fermentation process.
Pour mixture into jar so that the SCOBY can be added. Gently place the SCOBY into the jar and cover with layers cheesecloth securing them in place with string or a large rubber band. Let it sit at room temperature in a place where it will not be bothered or be in direct sunlight for about 7 to 10 days so it can ferment properly.
Before removing the SCOBY, mix another batch up, that you can transfer the SCOBY to it directly from your fermented batch. You may have to trim part of the under layer of it off though, as it may have become quite thick. Make sure your hands are clean before touching the SCOBY and have a clean tray or plate handy to hold it in between transferring it to new batch.
When the kombucha tea is finished fermenting, then it is time to transfer it to smaller bottles and cap. Before you do this though, take out some starter for your next batch of this tea. At this point, you could choose to add flavorings such as fruit, herbs or juice, but this is optional.

Possible Health Benefits of Kombucha Tea
This tea provides helpful probiotics to your body as part of the possible health benefits for the body. Other benefits are said to be improving your immune system, liver function, and digestive system.
Possible Unpleasant Side Effects
Even though, there are some benefits touted about this tea there are also, some unpleasant side effects reported from time to time and these include:
Allergic reactions
Stomach upset
Infections
Now, that you know the answer to “What is Kombucha Tea”, go slow with this tea until you see how your body reacts to it. If you have no adverse reactions, then drink a moderate amount each day. Remember that it does contain caffeine, so you can overdo it in that area, if you drink too high a quantity in one day.