NUTRITION AUTHOR
Rachel Cook
BREW YOUR OWN KOMBUCHA n How to make the best kombucha you’ll ever drink.
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f you’re wanting to learn how to make kombucha, it’s likely you’ve tried the drink and are quite the kombucha enthusiast already. For those who haven’t, kombucha is a fermented tea that originated in the northeast region of China over 2,200 years ago. In this particular process of fermentation, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) is required. Sucrose, popularly known as table sugar, is broken down into glucose by the yeast. After that, the bacteria can convert the glucose into other things. Komagataeibacter, also known as gluconacetobacter, is
APRIL 2021
always the most abundant bacteria strain in the symbiotic culture and converts glucose into cellulose and fructose. Bacteria then convert the fructose into ethanol and carbon dioxide which breaks down further into acetic acid, giving it its vinegar-like flavor. As you can see from the diagram, bacteria also work to convert glucose into gluconic acid which is further converted to glucuronic acid by acetic acid bacteria. While the vinegar-like flavor might be an acquired taste, part of what makes kombucha so popular is the allure of its health benefits. Originally, the drink was consumed in Traditional Chinese
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Medicine as an elixir of life. Since then, many studies have come out examining the fermentation process and health benefits, including probiotics, antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonoids. In a study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “green tea was characterized by the most significant antioxidant properties, [and] slightly lower potential was observed for red and white tea types, whereas black tea featured the lowest values.” These antioxidants “act as free radical terminators, metal chelators, singlet oxygen quenchers or hydrogen donors,” which can help lower inflammation and support
