Kombucha

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Kombucha Remix

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New methods of brewing, mixing, and imbibing put the fun back into this fermented favorite. Tart and effervescent, polarizing and mystical, kombucha has taken the fermented beverage market by storm with its uniquely vinegary flavor and alleged ability to treat everything from arthritis to dull hair to liver disease. Whether concocted in your kitchen, sipped in a cool cocktail, or slipped into a culinary creation, this versatile elixir made from tea goes way above and beyond natural-foods market shelves.

Kombucha

How to Make a Big Batch of Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage popular in Russia, China, and elsewhere. The culture forms a leathery skin called the "mother" that floats on top. This week's Instructables TV episode shows how to wrangle the jellyfish-like "Mother" and make Kombucha 5 gallons at a time. This method produces a fizzy carbonated kombucha that tastes very much like hard apple cider. For background on this bizarre beverage, read Arwen's Making Kombucha Instructable and the Wikipedia Kombucha article . Some confusion arises from the existence of a Japanese kelp tea also called "kombucha".

Kombucha including the culture Kombucha is an effervescent fermentation of sweetened tea that is used as a functional food . Sometimes referred to as a "mushroom" or "mother", the kombucha culture is actually a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). [ edit ] Biology

Kombucha

F.A.Q. - Kombucha America - Frequently Asked Questions Page

What is a Kombucha Mushroom? The Kombucha Mushroom is not a true mushroom but pseudo lichen. It is a fibrous cellulose spongy membrane that is formed by the various Kombucha bacteria and yeast cells that live in the liquid sugary tea. It is primarily grown to act as an evaporation cap to keep the tea from evaporating and also to prevent other microorganisms from getting to the sugary tea. It has no sex, and produces no seeds or spores for the purpose of reproduction but within the cells of the membrane are contained the same bacteria and yeasts cells that exist within the tea. When your transfer a newly formed mushroom to a new batch of tea you introduce these bacteria and yeasts to the new tea which quickly colonize it, cause the tea to ferment, and grow a new membrane on the surface.