I was reading about five weeks ago on www.realfoodfreaks.com about Kombucha tea. I was instantly intrigued but totally clueless. This is a perfect example of a "rest stop" as I call them where I feel like God honors my desire to know more and understand more so He opens up a journey to do just that!
Last week, I was at the health food store right here in town and it's a very small town! The owner there told me about a lady here in town who makes her own Kombucha and sells it for $12 a gallon.
(These 16 oz. bottles in the picture, I have found at Fred Meyer's or Rosauer's for $3 each. The Grape on the left has chia seeds (mega healthy! another future post) in it and the Passionberry Bliss is my favorite so far! But you can slightly see the enzymes on the bottom of the bottle on the right. Trust me, they are more scary in person! DO NOT SHAKE!!! Shaking will destroy the enzymes and become less beneficial to your digestive gut. When I get to the bottom, I give it a swirl and swallow hard, picturing only the benefits going in.)
Yesterday, I met Mary, "Kombucha Mama!" The entire trip to her house was a gift. She walked me through how she makes it, dates it and how she stores it. I got to try several different kinds that she makes and was so impressed. When I originally went on the link http://store.kombuchakamp.com/ "KombuchaKamp" from realfoodfreaks above, I thought, I'll just buy and never brew; it's too overwhelming and I'm too frugal to purchase the brewing system they showed.
If I have learned anything at all on this journey thus far, it's that whenever I say "never" in my thoughts or out loud, God has a way of bringing it back around to fruition each and every time! I guess this one slipped by my conscious mind until today. Mary doesn't use the expensive brewing system that I saw previously online. Instead, she starts by boiling water, sugar, (yes sugar) and black tea. This begins the process but when the tea has sat for a day and the "Scoby" is added, it consumes the sugar and leaves behind natural enzymes & probiotics. These are natural probiotics and definitely cheaper than the ones you buy in capsules on the shelf for $40-50!! These days, yogurts unfortunately are so processed that there are very few probiotics or live cultures left by the time we consume them. Now, my lil guy thinks Kombucha is the soda that I never use to buy!
This tea ages back far into cultures where refrigerators didn't exist and natural fermentation was considered a healthy thing. People were way more healthy! Where did that go? Oh ya, our culture & society today says carbonation belongs in soda, otherwise it's garbage. Huh? I beg to differ! There are SO many benefits from Kombucha, I've snagged a few here:
- Liver detoxification
- Increase metabolism
- Balance internal pH
- Rebuild connective tissue
- Cancer prevention
- Relieve headaches & migraines
- Increase energy and vitality
- Reduce blood pressure
- Reduce kidney stones
- High in antioxidants & polyphenols
- Improve eye sight
- Heal eczema
- Fight candida & other yeast infections
- Reduce gray hair (this one alone was worth a try for me!)
- Lower glucose levels
- helps leaky gut
- aides in digestive issues
After reading up on Kombucha benefits & talking with Mary yesterday, I hardly think this ancient tea is "garbage" because of its' fermented goodness! Yes, the scoby is a bit scary but I think over time, with Mary's help, I may just try brewing it myself. After all, my kid thinks it's soda! When something SO great for your body tastes that good, I take it as a gift from God! Kind of like the stumbling over Kombucha five weeks ago...this whole health kick in our New Year has this amazing magnetic force to unravel more hidden health secrets. I'm slowly becoming less clueless and more intrigued...and I'm lovin' it!
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