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Kombucha, health elixir
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Friday, 01 August, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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R Rekha and K Vineesa
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fiogf49gjkf0d Kombucha tea is a functional food traditionally prepared using sugared Chinese black tea fermented by a mixed culture of bacteria and yeasts.
The origins of Kombucha have become lost in the mists of time. It is thought to have originated in the Far East, probably China, and has been consumed there for at least 2,000 years. The first recorded use of Kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty. It was known as "The Tea of Immortality."
It has been used in Eastern Europe, Russia and Japan for several centuries. It's from Japan in 415 AD that the name Kombucha is said to have come. A Korean physician called Kombu or Kambu treated Emperor Inyko with the tea and it took his name, "Kombu" and "cha" meaning tea. Russia has a long tradition of using a healing drink called "Tea Kvass" made from a "Japanese Mushroom."
The beverage has a rich anecdotal history of health benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.
Scoby
Made from sweetened tea that’s been fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake - it's often called a 'Scoby.' The culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a bowl full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids.
The culture used in Kombucha tea varies, but consists of several species of yeast and bacteria. It may include Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Bacterium xylinum, Bacterium gluconicum, Bacterium xylinoides, Bacterium katogenum, Pichia fermentans, Candida stellata, and Torula species, among others.
Nutrients
Kombucha is loaded with organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids and polyphenol antioxidants. The most common components include various organic acids such as acetic acid, butyric acid, usnic acid, oxalic acid, malic acid, gluconic acid and lactic acid. It also contains active enzymes and probiotics.
Health Benefits
- Helps to prevent the formation of certain types of cancerous cells
- Reduces hot flashes during menopause
- Counteracts chronic constipation
- Strengthens kidney and bladder functions
- Tones the heart, thus helping to prevent heart attacks
- Helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol deposits by softening veins and arteries
- Guards against and helps heal arteriosclerosis, rheumatism, arthritis and ischmatic attacks
- Assists in the treatment of thrombosis and thrombophlebitis
- Alleviates insomnia
- Aids digestion
- Assists in liver dysfunction and the liver’s detoxification process
- Alleviates many allergies and aching nerves
- Re-energises muscles
- Helpful in the treatment of cataracts and other cornea problems
- Stimulates cleansing of the gall bladder, and alleviates colitis and nervous stomach
- Helps weight control by stimulating greater fat metabolism (burning off fat)
- Assists to level off glucose, thus helping to avoid sudden drops of blood sugar in diabetics. Also, if taken daily, will optimise urea levels in approximately100 days
- Useful co-therapy in cases of bronchitis, asthma, coughs, usually alleviating these conditions in two to three days
- Stimulates healthy hair growth, thickening hair and helping to eliminate grey hair, thus long-term aid in avoiding balding (Baldness, once established, cannot be reversed)
- Useful in preventing and treating gout and ulcers
- By energising and rejuvenating cells and tissues, it improves sexual potency
- Strengthens the immune system fighting yeast
- infections
- Helps in metabolism
- Finally treating the sense of well-being of the body
Ingredients for Kombucha
1. Variety of teas
2. Sugar or honey
3. Culture
Variety of teas
Black Tea: Black tea consists of fully fermented tea leaves and has traditionally been used to brew Kombucha. Black tea is most nutritious for the Scoby and will promote the most ideal brewing conditions and maintain the most consistent pH level, all of which contribute favourably to the health of the Scoby.
Oolong Tea: For a bit softer taste, Oolong tea, which consists of partially fermented tea leaves (and can be categorised as both a black and green tea). Oolong tea provides an amber-coloured Kombucha with a somewhat fruity, somewhat grassy taste.
Green Tea: Green teas are commonly mixed with black teas for brewing Kombucha but can also be used alone. While not quite as ideal as black tea for fermenting Kombucha, green tea provides most of the necessary nutrients and can be used in combination with black or herbal teas. Green teas tend to brew a little faster than black tea, and yield a lighter colour, softer-tasting Kombucha. Jasmine green tea makes a particularly tasty Kombucha.
Red Teas: Many Kombucha brewers enjoy using Red Roobios. We do recommend using it in combination with black tea (25% black tea).
White Teas: White teas tend to make a very flowery and delicate Kombucha. For the health of the Scoby, it is best to use white teas in combination with black, Oolong or green teas.
Herbal Teas: Herbal teas do not contain the necessary nutrients to nourish the Scoby and should be used in combination with black tea (25% black tea) to prevent problems for the batch and the Scoby.
Sugar: It is required for the fermentation process and cannot be by-passed or substituted. During fermentation, the Scoby breaks down the sugar and transforms it into acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and carbon dioxide (which accounts for the fizzy texture Kombucha is known for). Upsetting the ratios will disrupt the fermentation process and potentially result in a beverage that is unsafe to drink. Keep in mind that at the conclusion of the fermentation process, Kombucha contains only 1 to 2 gram of sugar or less per cup.
Honey: Pasteurised honey may be used. Raw honey may successfully be used to brew Kombucha, Raw honey has its own bacterial profile and may disrupt the balance of yeast and bacteria in the Scoby. Additionally, raw honey may include organic material that might disturb the Scoby or attract mould.
Culture: Kombucha Scoby
Also known as a starter culture, mother, mushroom, etc., the Kombucha Scoby is a collection of yeast and bacteria existing in a symbiotic relationship. A Scoby looks like a slimy pancake or the top of a mushroom and is a necessary component to brewing Kombucha. Size of the Scoby is not particularly important. A small Scoby can brew a relatively large batch of Kombucha. The Scoby should be primarily off-white in colour or sometimes more tan. Blobs of brown or stringy brown particles clinging to the Scoby are normal byproducts of the yeast.
Points to be considered
- Kombucha products are well under the federal 0.5 per cent alcohol limit. The beverages are pasteurised for safety and certified organic by the USDA and Oregon Tilth.
- Kombucha Wonder Drink tastes best cold. Serve chilled in a champagne glass, over ice or right out of the bottle.
- Kombucha tea may contain contaminants such as moulds and fungi, some of which can cause illness.
- After the tea is fermented, it is usually highly acidic and contains alcohol, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, and lactate which may lead to acidity.
- May cause lactic acidosis.
- Drinking excessive amounts is not recommended. Several experts warn that since home-brewing facilities vary a great deal, the tea could become contaminated with harmful germs
(Rekha is faculty in food and Vineesa is student,
nutrition and dietetics department, Andhra
University, Visakhapatanam. She can be contacted at rekhareddyr@yahoo.co.in)
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