Kombucha.
Its one of those things I knew was good for me for a really long time. It's an ancient naturally fermented drink, full of good bacteria. Amazing for gut health. Good gut health is fast becoming a well recognized component which is essential for overall health and well being. But.....Lets be real, the "SCOBY" which is the mushroom like thing that makes kombucha so amazing for its health benefits is well....... pretty ugly.
Anyway, after getting hospitalized with a nasty case of pericarditis last December, which turned into a chronically inflamed heart which caused ongoing chest pain and chronic fatigue. My approach to health has been top of my priority list. My goal is to reduce overall inflammation, eat foods which support my immune system and help my gut health.
One of the various things I have done is to introduce fermented foods into my diet on a daily basis. Kombucha and sauerkraut are things I really enjoy, and I genuinely find they help my tummy feel better. So I thought I'd share how I make kombucha, the slack persons way. Its super simple and it is quite expensive to buy if you wanted to drink it daily.
First you need a SCOBY, which is a kind of fungus or mushroom which full of beneficial bacteria. This is the little (ugly) workhorse of the whole thing.
The SCOBY, clearly not blessed with beauty!
Preparing the brew for the first ferment. The SCOBY remains out of the tea until it is cooled.
You can get a SCOBY off someone else who brews kombucha very easily, as they make baby SCOBY's on the top of the tea, or if you buy a bottle of kombucha you can feed it with sugar and tea and a SCOBY will grow.
Like a giant cup of tea - simple!
I have few SCOBY's as you can see, I either give them away as they form or feed any spare to the chooks. Mine are square as they will take to the shape of the container they are in.
So firstly you need a sturdy glass container. This big one of mine holds a little about 1L and it was simply one I had in my cupboard. To this I add about 3/4 of a cup of white sugar, a black tea bag and a cleansing herbal tea bag, and fill with hot water to allow to steep while it cools. I chuck some roughly chopped ginger in at this stage. When it is tepid I drop the SCOBY in, cover with a lid/clean cloth and set aside on the bench for a week.
Making up the honey and lemon mix that will flavor each bottle for the second ferment.
A week later its ready for its second ferment. I like to keep it simple and make up a mixture of local raw honey and fresh lemon juice. About 1 good table spoon of honey and the juice of 2-4 lemons. I mix this up till then honey is dissolved and then pour evenly into the bottom of the two glass jars you can see pictured.
Straining the SCOBY off.
Then I strain out the kombucha into a jug, and pour the fermented tea into the bottles for their second ferment. I secure their lids and leave these in a cupboard for a few more days. Then I pop them in the fridge ready to use. Super simple, and ginger, honey and lemon make a lovely addition to the tea. You can also add fruit and experiment with all kinds of flavors if that's your thing.
Then we are at the beginning of the cycle, ready to start a new batch, you might like to keep a little of the "old" tea to put in with the fresh tea and the SCOBY but to be honest I usually forget this stage and really the whole thing is pretty flexible in my experience.
The bits down the bottom of the jars is roughly chopped ginger, also known for its anti-inflammatory and tummy benefits.
I hope if kombucha is on your list of things to do, this post highlights the simplicity of it. It costs nothing to set up, is super simple to maintain, is really good for you and on top of all that really make for a lovely, refreshing drink.
Much love,
Emma
xx
