Guest Post: Making Kombucha Tea by loveurbelly

My beautiful friend May, founder of www.loveurbelly.com, is my go-to kombucha expert. Her original kombucha instructions were the ones I followed when I first started making kombucha, and she’s got the most amazing flavour variations ever! If you’ve ever wanted to know a bit more about kombucha, and maybe even start making it yourself, this post is for you! Read on…

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My family love kombucha tea, so I’m excited to share with you our personal experience with the benefits of drinking this delicious beverage, how to make it and my super boosting lemongrass, ginger & turmeric kombucha tea recipe.

About 2 years ago, my holistic doctor introduced me to kombucha tea to help heal my then 5 yo’s tummy issues. Since then, my son and the rest of the family enjoy a glass of kombucha every morning and evening. It is a very refreshing drink and can be made quite fizzy which is a great replacement for soda (soft drinks). You can also flavor it to your own preference with minimal to no sugar content.

What is Kombucha tea?

Kombucha tea is a fermented tea believed to have originated around 220BC China. A home brew, that is passed on from generation to generation that somehow has gotten lost along the way and is currently making it’s comeback! The tea is fermented with a SCOBY (acronym for symbiotic colony of bacteria & yeast) and it is just that. A whole lot of beneficial gut restoring bacteria and yeasts living and thriving together. It is sometimes also referred to as a mushroom (although it is not a fungus) and can be 5mm thick to an inch thick depending on how long it’s been left to grow and the temperature.

What are the benefits?

Some of the benefits are:

• Full of probiotics (gut friendly bacteria)
• Boosts the immune system
• Improve digestion
• Rich in B Vitamins
• Assists with balancing blood sugar levels
• Assists with joint lubrication & rebuilding of connective tissue
• Help fight yeast & parasite infections
• Improve skin conditions
• Increase metabolism
• Helps with constipation
• Cancer prevention
• Reduces kidney stones
• Assists with headaches & migraines
• Boosts energy
• Detoxifies the liver and much more

 

I personally can say my family and I have found including kombucha in our daily life really beneficial. My son’s health improved with no more ‘curling up on the floor tummy pains’, increased energy, stronger immune system (my son had a very weak immune system and caught anything going around, he now barely gets sick and if he does he recovers quickly), balanced blood sugar levels and it is also a great recovery drink after a big night out 😉

I am a huge advocate for drinking Kombucha tea daily and if you ask any of my friends, I’m usually successful in converting about 90% of them to start brewing their own and consuming this amazing drink daily. I do have to say, it may not be for everyone. As with any health food, you need to listen to you body, if you feel good and enjoy it keep going. If you feel it isn’t working, take a break.

I also recommend to go slow if you are new, start with 100ml with a meal once a day, then slowly increase if you feel good to 200ml. I have about 200ml twice a day. It’s a health drink, so I don’t recommend drinking a litre all in one day. For my 5yo, it’s 150ml twice a day.

How to make Kombucha tea

Before you make Kombucha tea, you will first need to get a SCOBY and starter tea. If you know someone already brewing their own, they may have a spare to give you. Otherwise you can order them here.

For the first fermentation recipe you can click here.

Most Kombucha drinkers like to flavor their kombucha tea with a second fermentation. This is where you can make it fizzy like soda and add your preferred flavours. My oldest son loves passionfruit, while my two younger son’s love raspberry. The below lemongrass, ginger & turmeric kombucha tea is my current favourite.

Lemongrass, Ginger & Turmeric Kombucha Tea

You will need:

• 1 x 1 litre capacity bottle with flip top lid (preferable or a recycled glass bottle with screw top lid will work) washed with hot water and distilled (white) vinegar, allow the bottle to cool
• 1 lemongrass stalk, flattened with a heavy knife and cut into 2 inch pieces (discard the leafy green part)
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 inch piece of turmeric peeled and thinly sliced
• Funnel and strainer

Method:

1. When your first fermentation is ready (for the first fermentation recipe you can click here) remove ½ cup of the fermented tea and scoby’s for your next batch.
2. Add the lemongrass, ginger and turmeric to the bottle.
3. Using a funnel with strainer placed on top to catch all the stringy bits, pour the remaining fermented tea into your bottle. It is really important to leave at least 5cm from the top of the bottle for the gas to accumulate, this will reduce the likelihood of the bottle from exploding.
4. The second fermentation will be ready in 2 days, careful when opening as it may spray out like a shaken can of soda and you will lose half the bottle!
5. Store in the fridge if you prefer to drink it cold.
6. The bottles will last about 1-2 weeks before becoming too sour, it is really important to slightly open the lids every day to allow the gas to escape to prevent exploding bottles (it has happened to me a few times when I have forgotten especially when summer comes and it heats up)

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you have any questions on brewing your own kombucha tea, head over to www.loveurbelly.com or email me at may@loveurbelly.com.

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About May:

I am a foodie and recipe blogger. Inspired by the health benefits my family experienced on a paleo based diet, I created www.loveurbelly.com to share our journey and hope to inspire others to lead a healthier real food lifestyle. I run workshops on how to make kombucha tea, fermented foods and kid friendly healthy snacks.

A mother to 3, Saigon born, Australian raised and now living in Vietnam with my family. I also share my travel adventures with the kids and how we balance modern day living and our mostly paleo lifestyle.

You can read more about my journey here or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.