What is Kombucha? And who is Scoby?

Those of you wonderful people that follow me on Facebook may have noticed that I’ve been doing a bit of posting about my current love affair with kombucha. If you don’t follow me on Facebook, you should. Just click here. I first tried Kombucha when I was living in NYC managing a health club and going to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. There was a health food store down the strret from me that I stopped in pretty frequently to buy kombucha and raw brownies.

So, what is it? Fermented tea full of healthy probiotics (yeast and bacteria). Probiotics are great for digestion and gut health and one of the most important pieces of a healthy, immune building diet. It is said to boost the immune system, reverse the aging process and block the action of free radicals while aiding in detoxification.

Kombucha is made with tea, sugar and a SCOBY which looks like this:

SCOBY  stands for: symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Basically it’s a mushroom. The mushroom ferments (eats) the sugar (and caffeine if you use cafinated tea) in the tea and creates gas. The end result is a fermented drink full of B vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, enzymes and of course, probiotics.

I’ve been having more kombucha lately because it gives me an energy boost and it’s one of those things that you just can’t put your finger on but you know it makes you feel better. And the more you have the more you want. The only problem is that every bottle of kombucha runs you about $3.

Now that I’ve collected enough empty kombucha bottles I’m ready to brew my own at home with my Scoby! It takes about 5 days – 2 weeks to ferment depending on how strong you want it or how strong the initial scoby is. I’m making my first batch tonight. If all goes well I’ll report back to you on how you can make your own at home too. If you’ve never had one you really should try one. And if you live it Fort Worth you should go to Brewed and get a cup, it is by far the most delicious kombucha I have ever tasted. But then again it is also the only homemade kombucha I have ever tasted!

Do any of you brew your own? I’d love tips and your favorite flavor combinations!!