Homemade Kombucha

Kombucha, pronounced kum-BOO-sha, is a drink made from tea, sugar, and a special kombucha culture. A kombucha culture looks sort of like a large pancake, though it conforms to fit the shape of the container it is in. The culture itself is a living relationship of different beneficial bacteria and special yeast cultures. The sugar is a simple carbohydrate that provides food for the yeast and bacteria. The tea provides substances that aid in the brewing process: caffeine, oxygen, nitrogen, tannic acid, vitamins, and some minerals. The yeasts break down the sugar and the bacteria then digest the yeast byproducts, which create your kombucha brew. After the fermentation process is complete you are left with: probiotics (beneficial bacteria), enzymes, acids (acetic, lactic, ascorbic, glucuronic), alcohol (0.5 %), carbon dioxide and carbonic acid, glucose and other simple sugars (about 5%, depending on how much sugar used), B vitamins, and amino acids. You can order a healthy kombucha culture from www.culturesforhealth.com. Though, if you ask around, you are sure to find someone who is willing to give you one.