Kombucha Taste Depends on the Recipe
- Admin
- Jun 28, 2017
- 3 min read
The booming of healthy living lifestyle products has brought back to us some of the forgotten traditional beverages. One of them is Kombucha. This drink has been traditionally used for centuries in Japan, Russia and Germany. Today Kombucha takes its hit all around the world: USA, Australia, New Zealand, France are the countries where I have personally bought kombucha. Whether it is a fashion trend or people became more aware what kind of beverages they consume, it is important to know that each producer uses a different recipe for brewing kombucha and as a result - it will taste different!
If you tried kombucha from one brand and did not like the taste, please know that each kombucha drink has its own personal characteristics, and each company has their own way to brew it. As a matter of fact, each batch of kombucha brewed within the same company will have its own and unique taste.
Kombucha drink is based on kombucha culture, or in other words SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). What does it mean? It means that kombucha is a living organism! Its taste will depend on factors around, just like our inspirational mood can depend on the surrounding. Kombucha relies on temperature in a brewing space, quality of ingredients used, brewing equipments and tools. Depending on the recipe kombucha can be naturally flavored. For example, a mix of black and green tea, and black and white tea will bring a more intense or more soft taste.
Experiments with flavors in kombucha created many varieties of the drink, sometimes confusing the consumer with added superpower qualities. Any kombucha, in any country, at any brewery will use standard ingredients : tea, sugar, water! Original kombucha requires no more than that! Added herbs, berries or seeds will enrich the drink with vitamins and flavor, but it will not get the consumer to the stage of enlightenment.
Some companies play with the words "raw" and "organic" when they describe kombucha. Unfortunately these misleading, yet magical words have zero meaning when we are talking about kombucha. Why? Because kombucha by nature is raw. For example potato is raw by nature too, therefore the label for this product just says "potatoes." When it comes to the word "organic" it is debatable whether organic ingredients make the drink better or not. When I was learning kombucha brewing process I was told that organic sugar will not be beneficial to the mushroom and instead was advised to use regular white sugar. This is where different recipes will start to make an effect on the kombucha.
There are many companies that have taken the process of brewing kombucha in to the level of performance. Brand names, descriptions and inspirational quotes on the bottle might repel customers who just want to enjoy the taste of the traditional beverage. At the end of the day kombucha is simply a natural and beneficial drink!
I will not be the first one who will tell that the best kombucha is the one that is brewed at home. My family have been brewing kombucha for years and we all come with different tastes. Each person has individual preferences. Some kombucha drinkers like it sweeter, some more tart, some prefer kombucha with particles while others drink it clear.
Trust in your own ability to create kombucha and enjoy the taste you picked for yourself!
RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR BREWING KOMBUCHA AT HOME: