EASIEST KAMBUCHA

I am delighted to see Kambucha is once again getting notice and gaining popularity. An ancient elixir, the seminal book by Gunther W. Frank, Kombucha (Healthy beverage and natural remedy from the Far East) explains this apple cider tasting fermentation detoxifies and is an immune booster.

While very pricey in stores for small bottles, with a small amount of start-up money, one can make the folk remedy cure inexpensively. My first kombucha “mushroom” lasted 20 years because the amazing thing is that with each brew, a new culture forms.

Frank relates the true story about cancer researchers in the Soviet Union after WW11, when the disease had increased dramatically. In the midst of these dire statistics, two districts stood out because they had hardly any cases reported, although there was plenty of industrial pollution there and, in fact, trees and fish in the area were dying. Teams of investigators were set up to study this anomaly.

It happened that one of the scientists visited the home of a family selected to be studied. Only the elderly grandmother, ”babushka” was at home. The elderly woman offered the doctor a drink she called “tea kvass.”

All the people in the region drank it. Very interesting, yes?

I’m on the band-wagon.

        2 gallon glass jar

             Target sells them for under $15

         1 mushroom culture

               amazon.com has a list of sellers from which to choose. Some come as ‘starter’ kits

               which means they enclose the culture with a little fermented tea. But you don’t

               really need it, just means the first time you make your tea, it will take a

               few more days to be ready to pour off and drink. For following batches, you’ll add

               a cup of the made tea to the pot.

         3 ½ quarts water

                If you don’t have a water filter attached to your sink faucet, such

                as Brita, use bottled water

         5 black tea bags (Twinings, Lipton, Trader Joe’s Breakfast Tea or black tea of your choice)

         1 cup sugar

                I use organic cane sugar

         cheesecloth/rubber band

                The culture must breathe.

1.      Use a 6-quart pot to bring the water and sugar to a boil. Boil 5 minutes.

2.      Turn off fire. Add 5 black tea bags. Steep tea for 15 minutes.  Remove tea bags and cool to room temperature.

It’s important to cool as hot tea will hurt the mushroom

       

3.      Pour the tea into the 2-gallon glass container and add the mushroom.

4.      Cover the jar with with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.

5.      Store in a warm, dark place for 10 days.  Frank says the antibiotic properties develop  on the

7^th or 8^th day. You will know the tea is done when you see the new culture on top of the jar.

Most of the sweetness should be gone.

6.      Line a colander with the cheesecloth and pour the liquid into a glass container. I use a 4-quart pyrex measuring cup, then transfer the liquid into glass bottles. Refrigerate.

During storage if  “rat’s tails” appear, you may strain again through cheesecloth.

The amount to drink daily will be determined by how you feel. Start with 4-ounces daily. Some people drink 6-ounces, some 8.

Frank recommends 12--4 ounces three times a day, but it’s too much for me. You should find out for yourself what is the best dosage for you.

COSMETIC TIP

After I cold-cream my face, I use a cotton ball dipped in Kambucha as a skin-freshener.

Hope you enjoy this elixir of life as much as I do!

 

 

These are the cultures. One is older, the darker one, and I will probably use it a few more times before I switch to the young one. As the cultures multiply you can give them to friends who are interested.

 

The brew in the two gallon jar is ready to ferment.

 

Straining the tea.

In the bottle, ready to drink.

All photos by Carol Guilford.

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