Kombucha: preparation and care. How to make your own kombucha at home

This wonderful drink with a unique sweet and sour taste is like a greeting from childhood. Without even thinking about its usefulness, they simply drank it to quench their thirst, and it was much tastier than modern carbonated drinks. Kombucha, of course, deserves to be remembered today and have his legal rights restored again. As soon as this microorganism is not called “tea kvass” or “tea jellyfish”... But correct name, accepted in all countries, is “kombucha,” which means nothing more than “kombucha.”

What is Kombucha? This is a thick film consisting of layers. It tends to float on a “cushion” of sweet tea. Essentially, it is a conglomerate of yeast-like fungi and bacteria.

What are the benefits of kombucha?
If you consider that the Chinese were the first to use it in ancient times, then there is no doubt about its exceptional benefits. And they wouldn’t call it a “medusomycete,” that is, an elixir of health and immortality. It is amazing that in China this microorganism was known and widely used already 250 years BC!

Medusomycete affects sweet tea in such a way that it becomes a sweet and sour tea kvass, somewhat reminiscent of a slightly carbonated drink. And the process is very simple: sugar is fermented under the influence of yeast, and bacteria help the alcohol to oxidize into acetic acid. The end result is extremely healthy drink. How can it help the human body? The list will be long: kombucha is capable of:

1. Normalize stomach acidity;
   
2. Improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
   
3. Restore intestinal microflora;
   
4. Help cure dysentery and kidney stones;
   
5. Fight constipation;
   
6. Relieve headaches of neurological origin;
   
7. Normalize arterial pressure and cholesterol levels in the blood;
   
8. Eliminate insomnia;
   
9. Relieve hangover syndrome;
   
10. Heal and rejuvenate the human body.
    

Is it possible to grow kombucha at home?
Several decades ago, kombucha was present in literally every home. Three-liter jars filled with this drink and covered with gauze always stood on kitchen tables or window sills. And most often, people passed each other a plate of this mushroom with a small amount of liquid. The kombucha quickly began to develop new layers, and soon the owners were enjoying delicious drink.

But these days, finding those who know how to grow kombucha at home is quite difficult. Although this can be done literally from scratch. Follow the recommendations - and you will succeed. You just have to comply simple rules and carefully care for the mushroom so that mold does not form in the jar. And you can grow kombucha using either rose hips or sweet tea.

Rose hip kombucha
Treat the thermos with boiling water. Pour washed rose hips into it at the rate of 10 pieces per 0.5 liter of water. Pour boiling water over it, tightly close the thermos with a lid and, having patience, do not open it for two months. But when you remove the lid of the thermos, you will see real kombucha, plump, but transparent and not yet dense enough. It is not yet quite ready to produce a tasty and healing drink.

Rinse the mushroom with boiled water cool water, shift in three liter jar and pour cooled sweet tea. The concentration is as follows: for one liter of water you will need 2 teaspoons of tea leaves, and add sugar to taste. Next, cover the neck of the jar with gauze. The mushroom should be stored in a warm place. If it happens in the summer, then in three days the drink will be ready. If in winter, then in a week.

Sweet tea mushroom
For the second method, you will immediately need a three-liter jar treated with boiling water. You need to pour strong sweet tea into it - about 0.5 liters. Next, cover the neck with gauze and place the jar in warm place for two months. Then everything happens in the same way as in the previous recipe.
These are the simplest ways to grow kombucha.

Kombucha care
You managed to independently obtain a source of healing drink. However, that's not all. Remember that you have raised a living organism that will only serve you with good care. The mushroom should always float on the surface. Only in this state will it be useful to you. If it starts to sink, something is wrong with it, most likely you welded it incorrectly.

Usually this tea goes away very quickly, so you need to constantly replenish the liquid supply, this is a prerequisite for the development and growth of the fungus. If there is any spent tea left after the feasts, strain it and pour it into a jar with mushroom. At the same time, make sure that no tea leaves fall there. Add sugar according to your own taste.

But this is not all care. In order for the mushroom to grow well and be healthy, it must be washed in warm boiled water every three weeks. Strain the remaining infusion in the jar, process the jar well, pour in the strained tea solution and dip the washed mushroom into it. The infusion should always be transparent. If you do not do this procedure, all your work will be lost: the mushroom will begin to deteriorate and separate, and the infusion will become unusable.

Storing Kombucha
It is better if it is constantly in a dark place, at an air temperature of no more than +25 degrees. The fact is that direct sunlight and low temperature can destroy the mushroom. Already at +17 it will stop developing and become covered with dark algae. You will have fewer problems if you use two jars at the same time: in one there will always be a mushroom, and in the other you will pour the finished drink: once every three days in the summer and every five days in the winter. It is advisable to store this liquid in the refrigerator. If you do not change the solution, a film will form on it - a harbinger of kombucha disease.

Make sure that the thickness of the mushroom is no more than four centimeters. Carefully pinch off the excess top layers and place them in other jars. It will be a good gift friends and relatives. And the strongest and most productive are the lower layers. Kombucha infusion can be enriched and medicinal herbs– leaves of nettle, blackberry, plantain, strawberry, birch. And prepare the brew not from black, but from green tea.

For the drink to be beneficial, its age should not exceed one month. Next it will be vinegar, harmful to the body. But even in this form it can be used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. A drink that has stood for a week has a refreshing and even slightly alcoholic effect. In this state, half of the liquid should be drained, refrigerated and consumed gradually. And fill the jar with strained tea solution. In a few days, a new portion of tea kvass will be ready. You pour half again and replenish with fresh solution. And so on all the time.

For whom is kombucha drink contraindicated?

1. Patients with diabetes.
   
2. Those suffering from fungal diseases can only drink well-fermented tea kvass.
   
3. At increased acidity stomach, drink the drink in limited quantities.
   
4. It is advisable for drivers to consume only fresh infusion of kombucha.
   
5. It is not recommended to drink tea kvass during or after meals. It is better to do this on an empty stomach or before bed.
   

Those who are not contraindicated can drink kombucha, but only with mandatory breaks to prevent stomach irritation.

The first time the mushroom needs to be poured with strong tea (without tea leaves) with sugar, not hot, maybe in a lukewarm room. temperature, approximately 0.5 liters. As the mushroom grows, liquid should also be added.

If you took a wide thermos, but the jar where you put the mushroom and where it will live is narrow, then after 2 weeks you can drink it. And if the thermos is thin and the jar is large and the mushroom has not grown much in diameter and thickness in the thermos, wait until it grows in the jar, because the drink will be of no use due to the discrepancy between the proportions of the size of the mushroom and the liquid poured into it. It is important. It's just a matter of proportions.

***
CARE OF TEA MUSHROOM

Growing kombucha at home from scratch is only half the battle. The second equally important half - proper care for a mushroom. Otherwise, you risk getting something that resembles vinegar rather than a tasty drink. Or even worse - the kombucha grown with such care will simply die.

By the way, there is an excellent indicator of the health of kombucha - it should always be on the surface of the water. If your mushroom sank to the bottom, or refuses to float up again after adding tea leaves, there is a very high probability that it has become ill. If your kombucha gets sick, you made a mistake in caring for it. This means that it must be treated, and in all cases, without exception, the treatment is the same - cleanliness and proper care.

Liquid volume

As you remember, initially the bank contains a small amount of liquid - approximately 0.5 liters. But when the mushroom has already grown, there should be much more liquid - about three liters. It goes without saying that your kombucha is not a piece of decoration and you will drink it. This means that don’t forget to add fluid regularly.

To do this, you can use already dried tea leaves - pour boiling water over it, cool and add sugar, then pour it into a jar. There should not be too much sugar - no more than two tablespoons per liter of liquid. If necessary, it is better to add sugar to the cup of drink.

Many people do not strain the tea leaves - they simply add it. There is no harm in this for the mushroom, it just won’t be very convenient for you to drink the drink later. But there will be no harm only if all the sugar is completely dissolved - grains of sugar should under no circumstances come into contact with the surface of the mushroom.

Bath day

Once every two to three weeks, be sure to give your kombucha a bath day. Very carefully remove the mushroom itself from the jar and place it on a wide plate, being careful not to deform it too much. Thoroughly strain the liquid in which the mushroom was located using a gauze cloth and pour into a clean three-liter jar.

Place the plate with the mushroom in the sink and carefully rinse with warm (but not hot) water, leave in the air for a couple of minutes. Then also carefully transfer the kombucha into a jar and cover with gauze. That’s it, the “brainwash” of kombucha is over. It would seem like a completely simple procedure, which is very easy to do, and it is thanks to it that your kombucha will be healthy.

Otherwise, the mushroom will begin to hurt - first it will acquire a brown tint, and then it will begin to separate completely. It is very difficult to save such a mushroom, and in most cases it is easier to grow a new one. And drinking a drink from such kombucha is generally not recommended, because it not only loses its benefits, but moreover, it becomes dangerous to health. Remember that the kombucha infusion should always be extremely clear.

Storing Kombucha

Another necessary condition health of kombucha - its proper storage. Firstly, the temperature – it should only be high enough when growing kombucha. Then the optimal temperature should not exceed 18 degrees. Secondly - illumination. For the normal functioning of kombucha, light is simply necessary, and the daylight hours should be at least 8 hours. But straight sun rays must be avoided, so don't make the very common mistake of placing a jar of kombucha on the windowsill.

Benefits of Kombucha

It’s impossible not to at least briefly mention the beneficial properties of kombucha - after all, it’s not for nothing that you bother with it?

» Metabolism and immune system

The first thing worth mentioning is vitamins. Kombucha drink contains much more useful substances than in the most expensive vitamin and mineral complex. Vitamins, minerals, carbonic, lactic and other acids, minerals, enzymes - this is far from full list. Therefore, it is not surprising that a drink made from kombucha has a very positive effect on the functioning of the immune system and normalizes metabolism.

» Digestive tract

Gastritis, colitis, peptic ulcer stomach and duodenum, dysbacteriosis.
Just one glass of kombucha drink, drunk on an empty stomach, can improve the situation in just a week. And its regular use promotes complete healing. By the way, the drink eliminates even the most severe heartburn very well.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in growing and caring for kombucha. Therefore, if you set out to grow this miracle mushroom yourself, go for it, because the benefits are obvious!

Unfortunately, few people in our time know about kombucha, which helps solve complex problems with the inadequacy of modern nutrition, which is often poor in vitamins and microelements necessary for the body.

This mushroom is unusual. It grows not in the forest, but in tea. A kind of homemade mushroom in a teapot.

It looks like a round flatbread, and the infusion obtained from it has a pleasant sour taste reminiscent of kvass and is very healthy.

First, let's look at what kombucha is. This is a jellyfish-like organism that is formed as a result of the coexistence of acetic acid bacterium and yeast fungus (in the photo it is shown in all its glory).

It can grow and live only in tea, because it needs the purines contained in the tea infusion, which it consumes without using the other components.

The body of the fungus, a medusomycete, is located on the surface of the tea solution. Top part its body is light, and the lower part, immersed in liquid, is dark, with thread-like processes.

A miracle mushroom tincture will only be useful if it is grown and used correctly.

Below, in addition to how to grow kombucha from scratch, you can learn a lot more useful information which will help you get rid of health and well-being problems.

Unique properties of medusomycetes

Tea kvass contains many minerals and vitamins.

Let's look at its detailed chemical composition:

• Organic acids;
• Ethanol;
• Vitamins - C, PP, group B;
• Enzymes;
• Pigments;
• Lipids;
• Sahara;
• Polysaccharides;
• Natural antibiotic- medusin;
• Caffeine.

With the help of Kombucha infusion, you can get rid of many diseases.

It is indicated for stomach diseases, colitis, constipation, liver and gall bladder diseases, infectious diseases of the throat, nose, eyes, hypotension, hemorrhoids, all kinds of nervous disorders and headaches, during the recovery period after antibiotics and during infectious diseases skin.

The scope of application of this miracle drink is very extensive.

However, it is important to know about the available contraindications:

1. Stomach ulcer;
2. Diabetes;
3. Any fungal diseases.

The vitamin and mineral composition of the “mushroom” miracle tea cannot be compared with any multivitamins and medicines, because it is much better accepted and absorbed by the body.

Therefore, if you have no contraindications for use, find it and prepare it.

To learn how to use this living organism to treat diseases, watch the video:

Growing your own kombucha

Nobody knows who and when the first kombucha was grown. This discovery occurred many thousands of years ago and is successfully used by people in the household to this day.

Before the war, an infusion of it was in almost every home. The shortage of tea and sugar in the post-war era led to the disappearance of this tradition. Now interest has renewed and many would like to know the recipe for growing it.

Growing kombucha from scratch requires patience. This lengthy process takes from one and a half to two months. But it doesn’t take long to improve your own health and the health of your family.

Method number 1: from brewing black tea

To prepare the nutrient medium in which our mushroom will germinate and grow, you will need the following components:

You need to grow the mushroom by protecting the jar with it from sunlight, but not in the dark.

Since it needs light and air to live, the neck of the jar is covered not with a lid, but with gauze, and tea is never poured to the top of the jar, filling it only halfway.

The tea leaves are poured into a teapot, infused, and sugar is added.

Pour the tea leaves from the kettle into a prepared glass jar, washed with baking soda, after straining it, tie gauze around the neck of the jar and place it in a warm, shaded place.

After a couple of weeks or a little earlier, a vinegary aroma will appear from the jar, which will disappear after a week.

This means that the successful formation of kombucha has begun.

After a month and a half, a thin slimy “pancake” will appear on the surface of the tea leaves.

This is a young kombucha.

For further successful growth, carefully, without injuring the body of the mushroom, move it into a clean three-liter jar filled with weak tea.

Method number 2: from rosehip infusion

The method of growing kombucha based on rosehip tea has its own characteristics. The rosehip drink will be richer in vitamins and useful in the cold season for colds.

It is also necessary to take into account contraindications to the use of rose hips, such as the tendency to form kidney stones.

Ingredients for brewing:

• Half a liter of boiling water;
• 4 large spoons of dry mashed rose hips;
• Brewing large-leaf black tea (1 large spoon of tea per glass of boiling water);
• 5 large spoons of sugar;
• Thermos;
• Clean glass jar;
• Gauze.

Pour 4 tablespoons of rose hips into a thermos and add half a liter of hot boiled water. Leave in a thermos for 4 days.

Pour the resulting rosehip infusion into a clean three-liter jar, straining it through cheesecloth. Add a glass of sweet tea leaves to the same jar, in which 5 large spoons of sugar were dissolved.

Tie the neck of the jar with gauze and place it in a warm, dark place.

As when growing in a regular tea brew, a vinegary smell will first appear, indicating the birth of the organism. Then the smell will disappear and after a month and a half a film will appear on the surface of the infusion - the body of the mushroom.

Now you know how to grow kombucha yourself from scratch and you simply cannot help but take advantage of this knowledge, because improving the most valuable thing a person has - health - depends on it!

Proper care of kombucha

It is not enough to grow this miracle healer; you also need to be able to preserve it. So, our advice will help you in this difficult matter.

As strange as it may sound, kombucha is a lover of cleanliness. This grown medusomycete is not just some kind of mold, but a living organism that needs to be monitored.

If the dishes in which it lives are dirty, the fungus will begin to hurt. Then the drink it produces will be cloudy and will not be beneficial.

The mushroom lives in tea, floating on its surface in a three-liter jar. The diseased organism sinks to the bottom of the jar and the drink produced by it is not worth drinking; the fungus must be treated.

Wash the body of the mushroom, dividing it into layers; if it separates, transfer it to a clean jar and fill it with fresh tea.

When drinking tea kvass, which was formed as a result of the vital activity of the fungus, add a new nutrient solution (4 large spoons per 2 liters of boiled water loose leaf tea and 1 cup sugar).

If all the kvass has been drained, the jar is thoroughly washed with baking soda while the mushroom is on a plate of a suitable size, and then sweet tea is poured.

The mushroom itself loves to bathe, so once a month it is carefully washed in a cup with clean warm water.

Fresh tea is prepared using good water purified from impurities.

You can’t sprinkle sugar on the mushroom, it doesn’t like it. Pour it with cooled, strained tea with sugar mixed in it.

The normal thickness of an adult kombucha is about 4cm. If it is thicker, it may begin to delaminate. Using your hands, without using a knife, separate the layers and place the young mushrooms in new jars.

If you need to leave and there is no one to look after the mushroom, it is taken out of the tea and transferred to plain water and put it in the refrigerator.

The frequency with which the finished tea kvass is drained is determined by taste. Fans of sour kvass take it once every four days; a less sour infusion is ready 2 days after adding new tea to the jar with the beneficial organism.

By the way, it is not recommended to fill the jar in which the mushroom lives to the top; let it be one and a half to two liters of liquid.

On a straight line sunlight The mushroom is not placed so that it does not get sick and die. The optimal room temperature is 18-25 degrees.

Having applied the acquired knowledge in practice and included a “mushroom” infusion in your diet for daily use, you will soon feel improved health and great mood will become a constant companion in your life.

More more information about this unique product, watch the video below:

How grow kombucha at home depends on what kind of drink you are expecting. If you just need a refreshing, tasty drink with a general strengthening effect, then grow kombucha at home Can be based on black tea.

In what way you decide to help your body with the help of kombucha or dietary supplements, it is better to consult a doctor.

How to grow kombucha at home from black tea

Take a 3-liter jar, gauze-based fabric (gauze), a teapot, sugar, large-leaf black tea without additives, boiling water.

Rinse the 3 liter jar very thoroughly.

Kombucha is picky about its “living conditions” and loves clean dishes. Otherwise, it will not grow, but will simply sour and die.

When washing jars, use baking soda, not synthetic detergents. Rinse the jar well after washing.

Put 5 tablespoons of tea leaves into the teapot and pour 05.0 liters of boiling water.

Then leave the tea leaves to cool completely in the kettle.

When the tea leaves cool, add 7 tablespoons to the kettle granulated sugar. Mix well and strain the resulting sweet, strong tea through gauze.

Then you need to pour the resulting sweet brew into a 3-liter jar, cover the top with gauze and place in a warm place for about 6 weeks.

After a week or a week and a half, you will feel that the jar smells like vinegar - this is a normal oxidation process. When another 5 or 6 days have passed, the smell of vinegar will almost disappear, and you will find a thin film on the surface of the broth.

This film is the nascent kombucha. Every day the layers of the mushroom will increase, and this will continue throughout its “mushroom” life. This is how you can grow kombucha at home yourself from black tea.

How to grow kombucha at home from rose hips

A drink made from kombucha based on rose hips has an excellent supply of microelements that are useful during the cold and ARVI season and will become a real helper for your body and the health of your loved ones.
The principle of growing kombucha at home using rose hips is the same as the principle of growing kombucha at home using black tea. However, there are some important nuances, which we will tell you about now.

First of all, you need to buy rose hips, which are probably available in every pharmacy. Take a thermos and pour half a liter of boiling water over 4 tablespoons of rose hips. Close the thermos tightly with a lid and leave for five days.

Then prepare the tea leaves: 1 tablespoon of large-leaf black tea per 1 tbsp. boiling water + 5 tbsp. spoons of granulated sugar - mix everything thoroughly until the sugar dissolves and pour into a jar with rose hips - mix again. Next, leave the resulting infusion alone for a day in a warm place, covered with gauze, so that debris does not accidentally get there.

When the day has passed, strain the infusion through cheesecloth, rinse the jar with boiled water and pour the infusion back into it.

Cover the jar with a clean gauze cloth, which you have previously folded in several layers. Leave in a warm, dark place.

Next, everything will happen along a well-known chain. After about two weeks, you will notice a strong smell, reminiscent of vinegar, which will soon disappear. And after 1.5-2 months you will see the resulting young kombucha grown at home.

Tips for caring for kombucha

Grow kombucha at home- this is not your whole task. There is an equally important part of this process: proper care of kombucha.
Otherwise, the processes occurring inside the jar may go the wrong way and instead of a tasty, invigorating drink, you will end up with an unpleasant sour liquid. Otherwise, carefully grown kombucha at home may even die.

The most telling indicator of the health of kombucha is its buoyancy.

That is, if the kombucha suddenly begins to sink from the surface to the bottom of the jar, if after you add a new portion of tea leaves it does not want to float to the surface on its own - then this indicates that it “feels” unimportant and it’s time to take action urgent actions to “reanimate” him.
If your kombucha suddenly begins to hurt, this indicates that you are doing something wrong. The only true treatment for kombucha is keeping the “banker” clean and proper aftercare.

Monitor the volume of liquid in the kombucha jar
When your kombucha grows, instead of the initial half liter of liquid, it will need much more, about 3 liters.

In addition, you will pour the drink. Therefore, do not forget to add liquid to the mushroom every time you pour a tea drink from a jar.

For such purposes, you can use tea leaves that have already been consumed. You need to pour boiling water over it, cool and add about two tablespoons of granulated sugar per 1 liter of boiling water - mix very thoroughly so that all the grains of sugar are completely dissolved.

If the sugar does not dissolve completely and gets on the mushroom, it “will not like it very much.”

Water procedures for the “health” of kombucha

Wash the mushroom once every two weeks. Remove it carefully from the jar and place it without deforming it on a plate.

Then rinse "gently" under lukewarm water in the sink. Then carefully place the mushroom on a plate and leave to air bath for about two minutes. Meanwhile, strain all the liquid from the jar through a gauze cloth into a clean container.

Rinse the jar itself well with water. Then pour the strained drink back into the jar and put out the kombucha, “carefully” covering it with a gauze cloth folded in several layers.

The liquid in which the mushroom floats should be transparent, not cloudy. The mushroom should not be brown in color. Otherwise, such a drink may harm your health instead of the expected healing effect. By regularly washing the mushroom, you will keep it healthy and enjoy your kombucha drink for a long time.

How to store a jar of kombucha
While you are growing kombucha, the temperature should be about 22-25 degrees, then, when the mushroom has already “gained weight”, the jar with it should be placed in a place where the temperature will be about 18 degrees, that is, not too hot.

It is important to remember that kombucha needs light to survive. That's why you can't put it in a closet. However, be sure to keep in mind that putting a mushroom on the windowsill is a mistake! In direct sunlight, he will “cook” and get sick.

To grow kombucha at home- you don’t need to do anything extraordinary, everything is quite simple. All that is required is compliance with the recipe and preparation technology, and then proper storage.

A drink based on kombucha is known for its beneficial properties to strengthen the body. The easiest way to prepare it is to take a piece of mushroom from friends or acquaintances. However, this is not always possible. But don't despair. Kombucha can be grown at home from scratch. If you care for it properly, you can enjoy a healthy and tasty drink based on it all year round.

Where to begin

The first important step to growing kombucha is choosing the right container. It should be large enough to have room for growth. It is important that the mushroom can be removed from it by hand. Well, of course, it could be covered and hidden from the sun's rays. Most often they take a three-liter glass jar with a wide neck.

You can't think of a better container for kombucha.

Now you can start preparing the tea infusion. You only need half a liter of it. The rest of the space is needed for the growth of the Chinese mushroom (this is another name for it). Brew tea of ​​medium strength.

It is best to use sheet tea leaves. Add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, mix well and cool at room temperature. Strain the prepared nutrient medium for the future mushroom through cheesecloth. It is important that there are no leaves or grains of sugar left in the tea. They will damage the delicate structure of the Chinese mushroom. Cover with clean gauze. It is impossible to close the lid, since the growth of the mushroom will require an influx fresh air

. However, you can’t do it without any coating at all, as the drink attracts insects.

Leave in this state for at least a week and a half in a dark place at room temperature.

After part of the infusion has been taken from the jar, you need to add a fresh portion. To do this, brew strong tea with sugar in a separate bowl, cool and add to the rest. The Chinese mushroom itself needs to be washed under running water. It will feel slimy to the touch, but that's normal. After 3-4 days you can try the drink. It will taste slightly sour.

If the mushroom has become too large and occupies almost the entire jar, then it should be divided. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the delicate structure. Usually old mushroom

peels off easily. You need to separate the required number of layers, rinse under water and return to the jar. The remaining part can be given to friends or simply thrown away. Although you shouldn’t waste such a useful product.

Sometimes, if the can sits untouched for a long time, the drink becomes too sour. In this case, you should simply update the infusion. If brown spots appear on the surface of the mushroom, this is a sign that it is dying. However, you should not immediately pour everything out and throw away the tea jellyfish.

It is enough to refresh the tea leaves and separate the spoiled layers from the mushroom.

In just a couple of days you will be able to enjoy a new portion of the drink.

How to store