Kombucha: 19 cents per Gallon

There are so many amazing Kombucha brands on the market right now, however, for college students, drinking a Kombucha per day can really start to add up. A 16 oz bottle can range anywhere from $3-$5. Make your own for about 2 cents per bottle!


Kombucha is a grain and sugar-free drink that requires sugar to make! Find out why below.

Here is a Kombucha Recipe from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Kombucha
Makes about 2 quarts

3 quarts filtered water
1 cup *white sugar
4 teabags of *organic black tea
1/2 cup kombucha from a previous batch
1 kombucha mushroom (Find one here)

______________________________________

1. Bring 3 quarts of filtered water to a boil
2. Add sugar and simmer until dissolved
3. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep until the water has completely cooled.
4. Remove tea bags
5. Add 1/2 cup kombucha from previous batch to the tea and sugar mixture
6. Place the kombucha mushroom on top of the tea and sugar mixture
7. Cover, with either a lid or some cheese cloth, and let sit in a warm, dark place for 7-10 days (time varies with different temperatures)
8. The end result should be slightly sour and fizzy and should no longer taste like tea

Tips & Tricks

*White sugar, rather than honey or rapadura (less refined sugar), should be used! Also, organic black tea should be used! White sugar and organic black tea produce the highest amounts of glucuronic acid, which is the main health benefit of kombucha. Non-organic tea contains fluoride, so better to only use organic.

Where to Find a Kombucha Mushroom- the link above takes you to kombucha2000.com; however, kombucha mushrooms there are $39.99 plus shipping. Check to see if you can get a mushroom locally, first. Kombucha makers are overrun with mushrooms and would be more than happy to give you one for free!

To Flavor your Kombucha- the easiest and most convenient way is to buy organic and sugar-free fruit juices to add to the kombucha liquid. Not a lot is needed. Just a little dash in each kombucha bottle. 

Save Kombucha Bottles from the Store- the best way to preserve your kombucha liquid is in bottles that you save from the store because they retain your kombucha's fizziness the best. You can also store it in mason jars, but it soon becomes flat.

Double this Recipe-makes a gallon of kombucha at a time.

A new Kombucha Mushroom will Form-during each fermentation process a new kombucha mushroom forms, so make sure you give extras away to family and friends along with 1/2 cup of kombucha liquid!

How to Store Unused Mushrooms- store unused kombucha mushrooms in a glass container in the refrigerator with a little bit of kombucha liquid in the bottom of the container.

When to Discard- if a kombucha mushroom becomes black, it means that it has become contaminated or has died, so discard it and start using a fresh, new kombucha mushroom. If you're concerned about your mushroom, buy some pH testing trips to check that your kombucha is brewing properly. The final product should be between 2.6 and 4.0. 

Make Without a Stove Top- I boil water in an electric teapot and pour the boiling water into glass containers with sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved all the way. For those of you with limited time and patience (me!), this is a quick and easy way to start a new batch of kombucha.

What is kombucha?

• Kombucha is an old, traditional fermented Eastern European beverage that came from the Ural mountain region of Russia.

• A kombucha mushroom is a symbiotic colony of healthy yeast and bacteria.

Health Benefits

It is regarded widely as an immune system booster and detoxifier. - Tom Valentine Search for Health

Sugar is needed in this recipe because the kombucha mushroom eats the sugar and tea to produce acetic and lactic acid, as well as glucuronic acid--a potent detoxifying substance. 

The hospital in Tashknent that inspired
Solzhenitsyn to write The Cancer Ward.

Glucuronic acid is normally produced by the liver to neutralize the body's toxins. 

Once glucuronic acid binds with toxins, toxins cannot be reabsorbed by the body.

However, as our liver becomes overloaded, from increasingly poor diets and contaminated water, more glucuronic acid is needed than your liver can produce on its own.

Kombucha gives your liver an extra boost!

It's also a proven cancer preventative, as well as a preventive to other degenerative diseases.

For instance, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote about kombucha in his novel The Cancer Ward. He contributed kombucha to healing his stomach cancer while imprisoned in a Soviet camp in Tashknent. 

The healthy probiotic bacteria in kombucha regenerates the good bacteria in your gut needed for good colon health as well as decreased sugar cravings.

Would you like other fermented beverage ideas to curb your sugar cravings? Click here for 5 of the most beneficial fermented foods and beverages. 

Was this blog helpful? Do you already make your own kombucha and would like to add a tip & trick to this list? Please comment below!