I'm having a confused relationship with Kombucha at the moment. I was lucky enough to receive a brand new SCOBY (mother mushroom) from a health nutty friend, and the first batch looks and tastes great.
I favour a longer ferment (14 days) because I want to reduce the sugar content as much as possible. It's good and fizzy.
The problem percolating in my brain is twofold. The first thing is that, even after fermentation, there's a heap of sugar in that drink. An 8oz glass will contain 12-20g of sugar, an amount equal to 2-4 tsp of white sugar. That's also more-or-less the sugar level of a banana, so no need to panic too hard about it. It's just good to be aware when on a low-sugar diet.
The second thing is that the science behind the health benefits is not that convincing (although it does act as a decent probiotic), and unfortunately, one of the most cited side effects is a decreased platelet count :-/ Decreased platelets and platelet aggregation is considered a desirable therapeutic effect of other exotic mushrooms, like the reishi. That's good if you're trying to avoid a heart attack, but not great for someone trying to make more platelets and get them to hang around.
I've bottled up my batch, and started a new one. The darker one is because I brewed the (green) tea for longer.
Kombucha. Do you make it? Drink it? What do you think about it all?
Yes, I read somewhere there's a dark side to kombucha. I guess when you're avoiding dairy, it gets tricky finding an alternative. My cousin makes a water kefir with ginger and lemon. Not sure how sugary that is. I didn't notice it being excessive. My milk kefir has a bit of alcohol in that being a non-drinker gets me a wee bit boozed...
ReplyDeleteYes, water kefir is something I'm keen to do. I've found an NZ supplier for the 'grains' but haven't gotten around to making it happen yet. x I think my kombucha is a bit more alcoholic than it should be too, due to the longer ferment. The next one I'm aiming for 21 days, let's see what that does to me!
DeleteI have no idea what Kombucha is!
ReplyDeleteCheck out the links in the post and you'll see. It's a fermented health drink. You can buy it pre-bottled and flavoured in the supermarket.
DeleteNew things to me. I have never heard about Kombucha before reading this article. I enjoyed it very much since I learned new thing from this post. Thanks
ReplyDelete