Kombucha is a raw, fermented, probiotic, and naturally carbonated tea.
Some like to call it love at first sip, but it took a hundred sips for me to fall in love. I’ve seen videos of how this fermented tea is made and knowing I was drinking a colony of bacteria and yeast totally grossed me out …but I’m cheap so I’m going to finish that bottle no matter what (Kombucha is expensive, okay). The tangy and fizzy taste eventually grew on me— and the aftertaste became heavenly!
While kombucha is not recommended for people who are sick, it does seem to make healthy people feel even healthier.
Drinking Kombucha is just like eating yogurt but you get more probiotic bang for your buck and you save on the calories. It also contains a trace amount of alcohol at 0.5% and being the weaksauce that I am, I swear I started to feel a little light-headed after that bottle …but I did drink it on an empty stomach, after a cup of coffee. Excuses aside, I am a granny and not ashamed to admit it.
Kombucha is easily brewed at home but it is a really creepy method and you have to be extremely careful of contamination. After fermentation, the rubbery-mushroom like mother, SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is formed, which then eats the sugar you put in the tea, magic happens and probiotics are born. That totally sounds sci-fi but I love sci-fi.
Benefits of Kombucha:
- Detoxification
- Will make you feel more alert and energized
- Boosts your immune system
- Aids digestion and gut health
- Joint care
- Weight and appetite control
- Clearer skin, thicker hair (as some also claims)
There is actually no scientific evidence to support the benefits of Kombucha but that just means there are no direct evidence at this time so I really don’t know if it’s actually good for you. All I know is that I like the taste of vinegar-ish tea. There has also been reports of serious complications and even deaths (that still hasn’t been linked directly to Kombucha) linked to the tea but if you are a Kombucha-lover like I’m turning into— you can’t go wrong with MODERATION.
Have you tried kombucha? What are your thoughts?
Talks of bacteria and yeast aside, I just had to post some images from my awesome weekend:
