Who likes kombucha? What do you do for your gut health? I can't afford $4 for a bottle of fermented tea, so I made it by myself. Kombucha is a sweetened black tea drink that’s been fermented with the use of a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. Due to the fermentation process involved in creating kombucha, it contains a large number of healthy bacteria known as probiotics. These bacteria line your digestive tract and support your immune system, as they absorb nutrients and fight infection and illness. Drinking kombucha every day can help you to maintain peak immune health, which trickles down into an impressive number of benefits for your overall health.

I brewed tea, which has to contain caffeine and added sugar. Kombucha is produced by fermenting tea using a "symbiotic 'colony' of bacteria and yeast", called "scoby". I took a small Scovy from the one I bought from whole foods market. You can buy scoby on amazon.  After fermentation, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains vinegar, B vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic). These bacteria are known as “cellulose-producing bacteria,” meaning they produce cellulose, which acts as a shield to cells. Naturally, the antioxidant prowess of this ancient tea counteracts free radicals that create mayhem in the digestive system. However, the greatest reason kombucha supports digestion is because of its high levels of beneficial acid, probiotics, amino acids and enzymes.

Kombucha can also help heal candida from overpopulating within the gut by restoring balance to the digestive system, with live probiotic cultures that help the gut to repopulate with good bacteria while crowding out the candida yeast.

According to this study, although kombucha does contain bacteria, these are not harmful pathogen bacteria. Instead, they are the beneficial kind that compete with “bad” pathogen bacteria in the gut and digestive tract.

Scoby got bigger and bigger day by day.I took out 1st fermented tea and put it in another bottle for 2nd fermentation, which makes tea fuzzy. This process happen in 2weeks and you can repeat.

I made hibiscus version. By the way, you need caffeine to make scoby work for fermentation. This is not 100% hibiscus. I would say 50:50 meaning half black tea and half hibiscus. On the right picture, Scoby keeps getting bigger and another scovy came out as 2nd layer. Looks scary...

Making your very own Kombucha tea is exciting! Let me do more research on how to make kombucha more. Once figure out how to make the best, I'll share how to. I made a basic, unflavored kombucha. You can try adding unique flavors like fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice, ginger root “juice” made by blending ginger and water, blended berries and fresh-squeezed orange.

Made German dish with cast iron pan. To be honest with you, this is not for kombucha, but real deal IPA. I need beer!! Choucroute garnie came out really nice! Wait, maybe kombucha vokka might be acceptable. 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. I make my kombucha with raw honey. Most of recipe for kombucha recommend using sugar, but raw honey is better sweeter choice. Let me know your favorite kombucha.