Believed to have been the beverage of choice for ancient emperors, it was called “The Tea of Immortality” or “Elixir of Life”, used to keep the emperor young and healthy... "Young & Healthy you say??" fabulous hand me the Bucha Char!
Packed to the brim with goodness & nutrients it's not hard to see why it has already found it's feet in many big cities.
I had heard of it before, but never actually tried it, maybe I just needed a friendly intro ... cue Charlotte, who offered me my very first glass!
I almost held my nose as I took the first sip, naturally expecting a fermented tea drink to be pretty unpleasant haha, but nooooo quite the contrary, don't get me wrong it has a very unique flavour but one you can absolutely get your head around and enjoy once your taste buds have given it the green light!
Oh and your stomach - little did I know that my gut would thank me a million times over..
but more to follow on the incredible benefits shortly!
I decided to visit a local Kombucha connoisseur Calum Adams who resides in a rather hip rustic plant based restaurant called Hypha in Chester. Calum, Nicholas & Ice are the founders of Hypha and are deeply passionate about exploring super high quality plant based cuisine (the food here is Incredible their Sunday roast is next level deliciousness & their beetroot brownie & hazelnut ice-cream makes me want seconds ALL THE TIME!) ... wait .. I'm easily side tracked .. I do that a lot ...
KOMBUCHA! .. So i headed into Hypha and met with the boys, who kindly let me pick their brains and sample some of their latest brews!
What is Kombucha? it is a fermented drink that is popular for its purported health benefits. To make kombucha, sweetened green or black tea is fermented with a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, otherwise known as a SCOBY ...Kombucha becomes carbonated after fermentation, which is why the drink is fizzy!
What are the benefits of drinking Kombucha? Kombucha, when raw and unpasteurized, is rich in probiotics — the healthy gut bacteria associated with heart health, lower rates of anxiety and depression, fewer yeast infections, weight management, boosted immunity, and, you guessed it, improved digestive health = Happy days!
What is "Scoby" ? is the living home for the bacteria and yeast that transform sweet tea into tangy, fizzy kombucha -
How do you make Kombucha? There are so may recipes out there but we found Deliciously Ella's page super informative plus a fab recipe to experiment with
https://deliciouslyella.com/2018/02/19/brewing-kombucha/
If you want to experience a fresh Kombucha vs a bottled supermarket version be sure to visit Hypha
There are so many flavours to choose from - I absolutely loved the cucumber flavour so refreshing and light in texture. After my introduction to Kombucha I'm pretty sure I will have little go myself and see what I come up with but until then Happy Kombucha making!
