First of all, what the hell is Kombucha, right?

Kombucha is a fermented tea which is very rich in probiotics. It is a concoction of bacteria, tea and sugar. There is a mushroom called SCOBY, which is a living symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and this is used to ferment kombucha. The fermentation process produces vinegar and several other acidic compounds, trace levels of alcohol and gases that make it carbonated.

The drink has a vinegar-like smell and a taste that has been described as everything from rotten apple cider to fizzy, tart apples. It is quite weird the first time you taste it, but you can be addicted to it after a while, too, because you just start to like it. Escpecially when you notice its health benefits.

8 health benefits of consuming kombucha:

1. Rich source of probiotics: probiotics provide your gut with healthy bacteria. These bacteria can improve many aspects of health, including digestion, inflammation and even weight loss.

2. May help improve mental state: the gut-repairing function of kombucha also plays a role in mental health. Depression may be a major symptom of leaky gut, specifically due to the way that bad gut permeability contributes to inflammation

3. Contains antioxidants: antioxidants are substances that fight free radicals, reactive molecules that can damage your cells.

4. Kills bacteria: has strong antibacterial properties, particularly against infection-causing bacteria and Candida yeasts.

5. May reduce heart disease: some studies find that kombucha can greatly improve two markers of these diseases, LDL and HDL cholesterol, in as little as 30 days.

6. May help manage type 2 diabetes: kombucha slowes down the digestion of carbs, which reduces blood sugar levels. It also improves kidney function.

7. Helps maintain a healthy liver: Since the liver helps to filter and convert harmful compounds, it’s a vital component in digestion and overall health. The antioxidants in kombucha may protect the liver from oxidative stress and damage induced by acetaminophen overdose.

8- May help protect against cancer:kombucha helps prevent the growth and spread of cancerous cells, due to its high concentration of tea polyphenols and antioxidants.

How to brew your own kombucha...

Ingredients:

• Scoby
• Green tea or black tea
• Sugar

First of all, you need a SCOBY, which can be ordered from Amazon and Ebay, too, if there is no place nerby where you could buy it.

Then you need to make a big batch of tea. When your scoby is still small (rigth after you buy it), make 3 liters of tea, according to the description of your tea label (3-4 tea bags/liter). Use black or green tea, this is what the scoby needs to be feeded. Put 4-5 tbsp sugar per liter into the tea.

Wait until the tea cools down to room temperature, then pur it in a glass jar and place the scoby in it. Cover the top with paper towel in order to allow the scoby to breath. Depending on your room temperature, the fermentation process can take between 5 days to 2 weeks. If it's warm, it ferments faster. During the fermentation process, the scoby consumes the sugar, so even if you don't eat sugar, just like me, you can still drink kombucha. The longer you ferment the tea, the more vinegar taste it has. So when it has a vinegary-like taste and smell already, then it should be done (if it's still quite sweet, you need to wait a couple of more days, because it still has sugar).

Once it's ready, pour 3/4 of the kombucha into smaller glass jars and store them in the fridge. If the jar has a tap, it's even easier, but if not, see the picture below how to do it. Leave the rest of the kombucha in the jar, because this is going to give the base for the next kombucha. Make your tea again, and fill up the jar with it. That's all.

The drink last for weeks in the fridge, so you don't need to be in a rush to drink all of it within a day.

And one more great thing, the scoby grows and grows all the time, and it will also have new layers after a while, which you can separate, so you'll have a new scoby. This way you'll always have a scoby once you buy one. That' why I have three huge jars already, for brewing kombucha :D