Mar 23 2012
Kombucha: The Ultimate Liver Cleansing Elixir
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With all this talk about detoxification around here lately, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you all to a wonderful traditional beverage that my family loves! It is called kombucha, and it also happens to be a great detoxifier! I’m sure that many of you already know about this wonder drink, but for those that don’t, please allow me to share with you all the numerous benefits and a simple recipe to start making your own.
It wasn’t until I discovered traditional foods and picked up a copy of Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon that I had even heard of this strange drink. Because it was so strange, by name and by looks, I wasn’t all that excited to try making it as I was to try everything else. It is a fermented beverage, not unlike traditional wine or beer, and uses a culture called a mushroom, or scoby, that looks like a thick pancake. And, it has little floaty pieces of yeast in it! Despite all that, kombucha is a beverage that is gaining in popularity. Most traditional foodies have heard of it, and most of them probably make it too. It is now popping up in health food stores for your convenience, but it is not cheap! In Ontario, you can expect to pay over $3.00 per 500ml bottle!
Kombucha is essentially a sweetened and fermented tea. Thought to have come from China, the recorded history of kombucha began in Russia during the late 19th century, according to Wikipedia. Legend has it that the word Kombucha came from Japan around 400 AD, when a physician named Kombu served it to the emperor. The doctor’s name was then combined with “cha,” meaning tea. This drink reproduces itself, similar to kefir, and contains live friendly bacteria and yeast. Ironically, it is made from black caffeinated tea, white sugar, and a bacteria/yeast starter culture. Starting a batch is as easy as finding a starter culture. The starter is a called a mother, or SCOBY – symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria. So, if you are asking yourself how there could be any benefit to consuming a beverage with these seemingly “unhealthy” ingredients, well, let me, or should I say, Sally Fallon explain! ”The scoby acts on the sugar and tea to produce both acetic and lactic acid, but also a potent detoxifying substance called glucuronic acid. Normally this organic acid is produced by the liver in sufficient quantities to neutralize toxins in the body — whether these are naturally produced toxins or poisons ingested in food and water. However, when liver function becomes overloaded, and when the body must deal with a superabundance of toxins from the environment — certainly the case with most of us today — additional glucuronic acid taken in the form of kombucha is said to be a powerful aid to the body’s natural cleansing process, a boost to the immune system and a proven prophylactic against cancer and other degenerative diseases.” (Source – Taken from pg. 596 of Nourishing Traditions)
Health Benefits and Reported Claims of Kombucha Tea:
- Immune system booster
- Body detoxifier
- Provides friendly and beneficial probiotic bacteria and yeast
- Prophylactic against cancer and other degenerative diseases
- Active enzymes and amino acids
- Contains B-vitamins
- Aids digestion
- Increases energy
But how does it taste you ask? I tell people that it tastes like a slightly sweet and sour, fizzy apple cider. It’s delicious, and refreshing. The kids absolutely love it! It is a great replacement for pop or sports drinks, and is a great thirst quencher, even better than plain water in many cases.
Here’s the basic recipe for Kombucha:
1 cup organic white sugar 
5-6 organic tea bags (black, green, or white tea – basically any type of camellia sinensis tea)
1 gallon filtered water
1 kombucha scoby/mother + 1/2-1 cup of starter liquid from a previous batch
1. In a small pot, boil a couple cups of water (out of your total 1 gallon).
2. When the water comes to a boil, add in sugar and stir to completely dissolve. Remove from the heat.
3. Toss in the tea bags and allow to steep until the mixture has fully cooled. Remove and discard the tea bags. This will be your concentrate.
4. I prefer to use a gallon size glass jar to ferment my kombucha in. You can also use a very large glass bowl. Be sure not to use plastic or metal as the tea may leach chemicals and or react negatively with the bacterial culture.
5. Put your scoby and starter liquid into the jar or bowl, and add the cooled sugar/tea mixture (concentrate). Fill the rest of the jar almost to the top with your filtered water. Stir all together with a big wooden spoon. Cover the jar with a coffee filter or clean cloth and a rubber band. You want the culture to be able to breath, but keep out the dust and bugs.
6. Place the jar in a warm spot in your kitchen, out of the way, and away from direct light.
7. Do not disturb for at least 7 days! After this time you can test your kombucha by drawing up a sampling of liquid with a straw. It should no longer taste like very sweet tea, but slightly sour with an apple cider flavor. If it is not ready, allow to ferment longer, testing every few days. In the summer, fermentation will be faster with the warm weather, and slower in the cool winter weather. Also, multiple scobies in your brew will speed up the fermentation.
8. Once it is done brewing, you can now filter the kombucha into smaller jars. If you are fine with tiny pieces of yeasty strings, don’t bother straining. They are harmless to consume. Be sure to leave at least 1/2-1 cup of fermented liquid in the original jar, along with the scoby to brew the next batch.
8. At this point you can do a second fermentation, after the kombucha has been filtered. Tightly cap your jars and allow to sit out at room temperature for another day or so. This will build up the gases in the jar and create some fizz that most people enjoy.
9. If you are feeling extra creative, feel free to add some flavorings to your second ferment! Try some ginger or citrus slices, frozen fruit such as berries, pineapple, or mango, herbal tea bags, or even some concentrated fruit juice like grape! The choices are endless.
10. Brew another batch right away in the original jar, or give it a rest for a short time, somewhere in a dark cupboard. Just be sure to leave enough tea in the jar to feed the scoby. It will continue to ferment and grow off of the tea in the jar, eating up the liquid. You will not be able to make another batch if there is no liquid left!
Side Notes~
You may be wondering why we are using white sugar in this recipe. Interestingly, it is white sugar, rather than honey, maple syrup or any other unrefined sugar and black tea (rather than flavored or herbal teas) that give the highest amounts of glucuronic acid. And, did you know, that kombucha that has been long-brewed, is legal on the full GAPS diet!
Each time you make a new batch of kombucha, a new baby scoby will form on the surface of the liquid, usually on top of the mother scoby. You can keep the babies attached to the original mother, or peel them off and start giving them away. Eventually, you will end up with more scobies than you can handle! At that point, you can feed them to your dog, the chickens, or the compost pile!
*Warning: Kombucha is so good, you might want to start drinking a lot of it right away! However, please go slow! Start by drinking about 1/2 cup per day and slowly build up your tolerance from there. It is powerful stuff and can have a detoxifying effect (I can attest to this from personal experience!).
For the locals: If you are looking for a kombucha scoby and are wanting to begin your fermentation adventure, I can sell you a starter culture! Please contact me for more details!
So, are you willing to try your hand at making kombucha? Do you make and love it already? Let me know in the comments below!
This post is part of Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Monday Mania, and Simple Lives Thursday.
Photo Credit: Kombucha Tea- 1 by: zeevveez’s photostream on Flickr
I am a new convert to Kombucha. I am hooked. Leslie (my friend and blogging partner) bought a Kombucha continuous brewer, but I think I might try to brew it myself.
Hey Christine! Is this safe to drink during the breastfeeding stage?
Hi Christa,
Some would say it is not safe to drink while pregnant or breastfeeding because of its ability to release toxins. However, I feel that our bodies are always processing and releasing toxins, whether pregnant, breastfeeding, or not. If I remember correctly, I started drinking kombucha when I was still nursing my second child. I would recommend if you start to go slowly, maybe drinking 1/4 cup of kombucha per day or less, and slowly building up your tolerance so your body gets used to it, and so that you do not dump too many toxins all at once.
Hi Christine,
Can you tell me what symptoms you might experience with a detoxifying effect? I have been suffering with and itchy rash for 2 weeks now. I made that fels naphtha, borax, washing soda, baking soda laundry recipe about a month ago and thought it might have been caused by that, but I have not been exposed to it in 5 days and no change in the rash. I have been drinking water kefir for over a year, yogurt etc. recently I have been drinking kombucha, milk kefir and been eating LF sauerkraut and pickles. So, I have definitely increased my cultured food consumption.
Hi Patti,
Yes, it sounds like you are experiencing a detox rash. I would doubt it is the yogurt of water kefir, especially if you’ve already been consuming them for a year. The kombucha and milk kefir are much more powerful. This happened to me over four years ago when I introduced practically all fermented foods into my diet at once. I believe for me it was the kombucha causing the rash. I cut it out completely for a couple weeks, then introduced it back literally one TBSP per day for a week, then 2 TBSP the following week, then 3, etc. Eventually the rash went away after a few months, but no doubt it was the fermented foods. Too much at once. Trying cutting down and see if that helps. Your body needs to build up a tolerance to the good bacteria as it is killing off the bad.
I was afraid it might be from over doing the cultured foods. I will go back to my yogurt and water kefir and then SLOWLY reintroduce the other cultured foods. My family says I look like a witch with all my different ferments brewing. I just began liking the taste of kombucha more than kefir too:( I certainly hope my rash doesn’t last a couple of months.!!! Thank you very much for the info.
I started my second batch of Kombucha this week. First one came out really good and I’m very excited. I’m using a big glass bowl, but would love to find gallon size jars so I can do more than one batch per week. My family loves it! Glass jar are more effective, space speaking I suppose. So instead of getting more big bowls I rather get big jars. Do you have any idea where to get 1 gallon size jars?
Hi Yissell,
I use the glass jars I get my raw milk in. You might also be able to get them online. Maybe even a brewing supply store?
Bulk Barn has large glass jars, called Montana Jar, with a wide-mouth opening for good air exchange. I have the 1.5 gallon size and there is at least one larger size as well as the smaller ones.
I use a non-lead water cooler crock that I got from foryourwater.com. It has a spout so it is easy to bottle it. It is two gallon though.
I just started a batch of Kombucha last week. I use a big glass container I found at Target.
My 10 year old athlete recently replaced sports drinks with Kombucha. We love the stuff.
It may have some interesting properties but the ultimate liver elixer? I think that’s a stretch. I could think of several things above this on the elixer such as schizandra, milk thistle, reishi, lipoic acid, etc.
Yissell, I found that the cheapest way to get glass jars was to go to Sam’s Club or Costco, or other such store, and buy the gallon size jar of pickles.
Also, for anyone interested in brewing their own kombucha, but who doesn’t know anyone with an extra starter to give away, it is really easy to start growing your own. Follow the steps above, but rather than add the scoby and starter to the tea, add 2 bottles of unflavored store bought kombucha. It will take longer to brew, (I think we left ours for 2 weeks) but a mother will begin to grow.
I have brewing Kombucha for 4 years now and am making 4 gallons at a time. Pineapple in the second ferment is our favorite and I do the second ferment in the long necked resealable bottles that our local market sells sparkling lemonde in, the kind with the metal hinge on the top. They really pop when we open them and the fizz has helped me stop drinking soda.
I’m on my 3rd batch of Kombucha and I’ve been making more and more each batch. I didn’t experince any ill effects from consuming a normal amount and I usually have a several glasses of it a day. In my experience, some people find the smell a little off putting, so I use a BPA free plastic cup with a straw and lid (found at WMalMart, Target, Bath and Body etc), just so no one has to smell the vinegar baes. I also make my batches in mason jars. They provide a perfect single serve size. After my brew is done, I bottle it up and refridgerate for 24 hours before drinking. Perhaps I should let it sit unrefridgerated for 24 hours after it’s done…side note for next time! Enjoy your foray into Kombucha making!! PS: add the fruit or juice last, I put some an orange slice into my last batch and the orange fused to the SCOBY and I had to throw them all away. No worries, I still have PLENTY! Another PS: my family hates it, so it’s my selfish treat
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I found a 1 gallon pickle jar at B.J’s. Ha, I gave away most of the pickles because I just wanted the jar. I think that it was about $4.25. I heard that Target also has them.
Make sure that you get the wide mouth kind….The mother gets as wide as the jar.
Enjoy!!!!
I use the Sun Tea jars with the spout on the bottom. I found them at a thriftstore. It’s easy to pour off the batch with the spout, leaving a small amount in the bottom. I make the tea komucha, and I have also made coffee kombucha. I got to the point where regular coffee was upsetting to my stomach, but the coffee kombucha doesn’t do that. It’s not the best tasting and I do add some agave or stevia after it’s brewed, but it does give me a quick pick-me-up.
Thanks for the clear instructions. I drink Kombucha but buy it from the store where it is 3.99 a bottle! Definitely going to start making it on my own….
For folks who like to drink this after supper, do note: I’ve been making this with decaffeinated black tea bags after experiencing insomnia from using caffeinated tea!
A great post; thanks.
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