We all love a fizzy drink but most have unhealthy sugar levels and additives to boot, so making your own ( once you get the hang of this) offers up a whole range of delicious alternatives. Fermenting in general, has been around for centuries, a simple way to preserve food when in season, to stop waste and see us through the long winter months ahead..we have lost this whole experience of seasonal eating although a new surge in popularity over the last year or so has seen a renewed interest in Kombucha, as well as other fermented foods like Kefir, Yoghurt, Kimchi and Sauerkraut.

A simple place to start before diving into the fermenting world is making your own kombucha drink.  

Gut loving Kombucha is a slightly fizzy, fermented "tea" loaded with probiotics and is a great digestive tonic, it's made by adding a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast ) to a cooled sugary tea mixture. The scoby "eats" the sugar and activates the drink to produce a gut healing beverage ...simple :)  

Kombucha and other fermented foods give our bodies some good bacteria, processed foods and medications can take away good bacteria, fermented foods put it back. It's FULL of antioxidants and probiotics or live bacteria that boost the internal health of the intestinal cells, improve immune function and aid in food digestion.

It certainly is a great start to support a healthy gut, but remember it's not a substitute for eating fresh fruit, vegetables, fibre, nuts and seeds, these are all important components for good gut health.

Kombucha Recipe 

Plain Kombucha 

2 x  Black organic tea bags ( normal tea just doesn't work as well )

4x  tablespoons of caster or granulated sugar - Honey doesn't seem to work as a substitute either but Rice Malt Syrup can be swapped in ) 

1 x SCOBY in Juice    I bought mine which is Organically Certified from here.

1 Litre water 

Sterilise a glass or ceramic bowl with boiling water, it needs to have a wide opening to allow plenty of oxygen.

Combine sugar + water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Take off the boil and add the tea bags,cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes. 

Remove the tea bags and pour the liquid into your sterilised container. Leave to cool completely. 

Gently ADD the SCOBY and juice (which it comes with) to the liquid, this may sink to the bottom,cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 7-10 days to ferment. The temperature should be around 24-30C.

At the end of 7 - 10 days remove the SCOBY and place in another glass container, cover completely with some of the juice, then pour the rest into a 1 litre bottle either hinged or with a stopper.

If you like a very fizzy drink - add seasonal fruit and spices ( see below)

Winter Chai Kombucha 

1/2 litre of Plain Kombucha 

 1/2 apple  cut into small matchstick pieces 

Vanilla & Chai  PUKKA tea bag ( available on website ) cut the tea bag and use the entire contents 

5 cloves

1 stick of cinnamon broken into pieces

Place all the ingredients in a sterile, large jar with a tight seal or a 1 litre swing - top bottle and let it sit at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Check the fizz after this time ..when your happy refrigerate ..this will stop the fermenting process. 

 

Enjoy