Choosing the right tea for Kombucha
September 16, 2008
Choosing the right tea for kombucha is of prime importance, becasue it determines the drink’s taste. But with so many different teas to choose from, and each of them bringing its own twist, flavour and health benefits, it can turn out to be a hard task. A tea has its own set of vitamins and minerals and has a unique brewing time when added to the kombucha culture. In the lines bellow, you can read about what type of effect a given tea will have on your home-made kombucha.
Black tea is made from fully fermented tea leaves. It brings a strong taste, similar to apple, and a beautiful amber colour to the kombucha. Oolong Tea is in the middle between black tea and green tea. The fermenatation process of Oolong tea requires the leaves to be rolled after picking, while the process itself lasts until the edges of the leaves start turning brown. As mentioned, Oolong is half way between black and green tea, so exactly what you get in terms of taste and colour of your kombucha depends on the variety of Oolong you use.
To prevent oxidation, green tea is first withered, then steamed or heated, and after that, it gets rolled and dried. Generally, green tea has a delicate and smooth taste with light green colour. Therefore, kombucha made with green tea is lighter in taste and obviously lighter in colour than black tea kombucha. But once again, the final taste varies based on the exact green tea being used. It could change from nutty to fruity.
White tea is actually the rarest pick when it comes to making kombucha. This is probably becuase white teas are the most expensive ones, but at the same time, you get what you pay for. White teas give kombucha an exquisite taste of the most wonderful light flowery teas. It brings a natural sweetness and makes kombucha taste more like a champagne.
It’s a well know fact that teas have healing properties. Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, recently proved that consumption of both green and black tea can extend years of life after suffering a heart attack. This is mainly due to the antioxidants contained in tea, which also have a protective role against cancers, because they ‘kill’ the free radicals in the human body, which cause cancer development in the first place. Tea is also a source of vitamins and minerals, such as A, B1, C, B6, Rutin, Manganese and Potassium. So by adding green or black tea to your kombucha, you will be making your body a huge favor.
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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