The History of Kombucha
September 16, 2008
The history of kombucha tea is really interesting. First of all, this beverage actually has more than 80 different names, simply based on the culture and area it’s found. All cultures who have tried it, say that it has a range of beneficial effects and modern studies have supported many of these claims. Kombucha Tea is a fermented drink, made from tea, sugar, and a Kombucha culture known as a mushroom.
One interesting fact about the history of kombucha is that Japanese warriors considered the properties of kombucha so special that they were going into the battle field with it carrying it in their field masks. This must be one of the few instances where tea is fermented on the move. Historical archives indicate that their habit was to top up the ferment in their hip flasks with freshly brewed tea. They considered it to be a refreshing and strengthening beverage and the spiritual Zen Masters considered Kombucha to be a source of chi, which is the live giving energy inside a person and harmonises the body and mind with the soul.
Tom Valentine wrote a book on kombucha, here is a quote from it: “Kombucha culture has been used for hundreds of years by the Asiatic people of his homeland because of its surprising success as the most effective natural folk remedy for fatigue, lassitude, nervous tension, incipient signs of old age, hardening of the arteries, sluggishness of the bowels, gout and rheumatism, hemorrhoids and diabetes.”
The earliest documented consumption of Kombucha tea dates back to the Chinese Qin Dynasty of 221BC. In ancient documents from that period, kombucha tea is referred to as ‘The elixir of life’. There is even a reference in the Bible regarding kombucha:
“Ruth 2:14 Ruth 2 Ruth 2:13-15 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.”
Although it’s not mentioned directly, it can hardly be anything other than kombucha.
As trade routes expanded beyond the Far East, Kombucha, carried by traders, made its way into Russia, India and Eastern Europe, arriving in Germany around the turn of the 20th Century. Quite soon, people throughout Europe started enjoying kombucha, until World War II broke started. By the early 1960s, Kombucha’s popularity started to rise again.
Nowadays, Kombucha tea is going through a rejuvenation, something like a further resurgence of popularity across the whole world, even in Hollywood. Madonna, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon and Meg Ryan are just few of the starts who enjoy the miracle drink.
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