What is kombucha?
Kombucha is fermented sweet tea. That's it, that's the drink — and it puts kombucha in very good company.
What is kombucha? · Watch on YouTube
Fermented sweet tea, in good company
The fermentation process brings good yeasts and bacteria into the sweet tea, and that's what differentiates kombucha from just plain old sweet tea. We eat and drink a lot of really great fermented food: wine, beer, bread, chocolate, cheese and pickles are just a few examples. Kombucha is another one to add to the list.
All you need to make kombucha is tea, sugar, water and some kombucha culture (a SCOBY + starter tea).
Similar to how sourdough bakers need a bit of "mother" or "starter" dough from a previously fermented batch to create a new loaf, kombucha requires some kombucha "starter" to create more of itself. It takes a bit of itself to replicate itself. That's why it's important to get a quality culture (a SCOBY) with a good amount of "starter tea" — which is basically just another word for plain kombucha that's successfully gone through the fermentation process. That "finished" kombucha inoculates a new batch of sweet tea with bacteria and yeast, turning it into more kombucha.
At the end of first fermentation, you have fully drinkable (albeit unflavored) kombucha. A second fermentation bottle-conditions it in a sealed container — like champagne or beer — if you want your kombucha bubbly.
Kombucha's supposed health claims
There are a lot of people out there who tout kombucha's health benefits. There are also plenty of naysayers who say it's all nonsense. The truth is that there will always be a "well-researched" article or two that can "prove" pretty much whatever point you want to make.
Ange's perspective: in its most basic terms, kombucha is simply fermented tea. It doesn't cure anything, and it isn't guaranteed to help any medical ailment. Like any food we consume, it affects each body in a unique and individual way — her body is different from your body, and her kombucha will likely be very different from any kombucha you make or buy. She personally experiences health benefits from her homemade kombucha; your mileage may vary.
If you have serious concerns about your own health, always heed your doctor's advice and listen to your own body above all else. For the in-depth perspective, read Is kombucha good for you? →
Where kombucha comes from
It supposedly originated in China, though some accounts claim origins in Russia, Japan or Korea. Cultures all over the world have been consuming fermented foods for hundreds of years, tending all sorts of unique (good!) bacteria and yeasts — kombucha exists in various forms in many countries.
When Ange was a kid, her mother used to buy fermented tea from the Asian market and have her drink small amounts, like a tonic, to help with digestion. It wasn't labeled "kombucha," and it wasn't flavored or fizzy. (She remembers not liking it at all!) But she strongly suspects that fermented tea was kombucha by another name — first fermentation only, no bottle conditioning.
Her mother actually brewed kombucha in the Philippines in her 20s. It wasn't called kombucha, but the cultures looked exactly like Ange's do today. She'd let it ferment for months until it got really, really acidic, drinking a few tablespoons a day for digestion — a culture passed to her by a friend. Kombucha cultures have been passed friend to friend for generations, taking different forms and names depending on the country.
Today kombucha is more commercially available than ever, with an endless variety of flavors and acidity levels. Modern brewers stop the fermentation earlier so some residual sugar remains (so you're not drinking straight-up vinegar), then run a second fermentation — a.k.a. bottle conditioning — for bubbles and fruit flavor.
You Brew Kombucha's homebrew process is modernized and made simple for today's homebrewer. This is not your mama's kombucha — and it's not Ange's mama's kombucha either, thankfully!