Kombucha tea.

[Lydia]

Anybody drink this? I am thinking about drinking this for the probiotics. Its non-dairy and I prefer things in a natural matrix to capsules.

I plan on starting out with a tiny bit to see how it makes me feel. I figure if I can outnumber the bad microbes with good ones, maybe I wont get some crazy death infection this time around.

 

[Lydia]

Well I just tried my first brew. I only drank an ounce. It tasted like apple cider. I'll let you know how I feel from it. I mean if the inmates down at the prison dont die from ketchup brew, how can this possibly kill me, right? lol. Maybe I am nuts. haha.

 

[ameslouise]

Hi Lydia - I've only had it once - drank about a half bottle. Didn't really make me feel any different. But I am on a whole slew of probiotics, flora regulators, etc etc so it would be hard for me to see a difference probably.

Let us know how it goes if you continue to drink it!

-Amy

 

[mikeyarmo]

Did you buy this or did you make it yourself?

I have actually never seen this available, but was somewhat interested in trying it out (for the supposed probiotic effects). My main concern is that it is made with sugar, which is supposed to help grow the bad bacteria. I guess it should not really be a concern if the only reason I have ever heard about this drink is for it's supposed health beneftis though .

Is this something that is available at health food stores usually?

 

[Lydia]

There is commercially prepared Kombucha tea available. You can find it at the organic store or a health food store.

If the pH is controlled properly only good bacteria will grow. I dont have a health food store so I bravely bought a culture and made it myself. I actually like the tart taste of it and have been drinking an ounce or 2 each day with no ill effects. After brewing there is very little sugar left as the culture consumes it. My husband works at a prison and he wont touch it because it reminds him of inmate brew. lol.

I think when trying to restore the gut flora, its important to get a variety of different probiotic bacteria. My mom and I also made homemade saurkraut, which is also a good source of probiotics. I tried to have just a forkful each day with supper.

 

[smithgerry]

Kombucha tea is reputed to help with many health problems such as: excema and other skin problems, hair loss, hypertension, digestive and intestinal disorders, arthritis, high cholesterol and more. I'm not sure how much of this has been scientifically proven, as it seems to cure almost everything. All I can say is, give it a try.

 

[Lydia]

Yeah its been around for a couple thousand years. how bad can it be. Hehe. I am still drinking abour 2 oz a day and I feel fine.

 

[Rio73]

I'm a regular kombucha drinker. But it took me a while a find a kombucha that I liked. I like the kombucha from elixir-of-life.ca I particularly like their blueberry bliss, it's almost like drinking champaigne. I order a case every month and drink 1/4 of a bottle a day.
I feel fine. No side effects for me so far.

 

[musicislife52]

I tried Synergy's Trilogy kombucha the other day (1/4 of the bottle/day), and it was surprisingly good! It was carbonated, which I generally don't deal well with, but gave me tons of energy and made me feel great. I'll pay more attention to how my gut feels next time I drink it.

 

[mnsun]

I've brewed it probably 4 or 5 times. It takes awhile to get the first culture started (2 smaller throw away batches, in my experience). I've bought a culture once, but I realized you can just buy a plain GT's kombucha in the store and start a culture from the unstrained floaties at the bottom.

I am slightly concerned about harmful bacteria somehow culturing onto the scoby ("symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeasts"), however this is SUPPOSED to be obvious and discoloration should be an indicator. I probably wouldn't brew it if I were in a older house or humid environment, but that's just me.

The hard part is keeping the fizz and finding the right flavorings. The last couple times I tried, I was working on perfecting a chai/vanilla flavoring. I also tried to bottle the stuff in hopes of keeping the carbonation. I kinda got bored and lazy with it and gave up. Though it is pretty good stuff and DEFINITELY not worth paying $4 a bottle.

The probiotic effect seems minor, but there may be stronger cultures to start from. In my brew days, I used to drink 16-20 oz a day with no problem, but it is very sugary and I wouldn't recommend drinking it daily. If I ever start brewing again, I'll post.

Anyone else home brew this stuff with any success?

 

[jude099]

love kombucha multi-green. to be honest, i've never noticed a different in any of the flavors, and i know they came under fire for having a much higher alcohol content then they disclosed a couple years ago.

braggs apple cider vinegar is also really good.