|Traditionally, black tea was always used for brewing and maintaining kombucha mushroom culture. There
are reasons for using black tea that aid in the longevity of the cultures vitality working as a nutrient solution.
When using herbal teas or plants to brew kombucha with the main concern will be with the amount of oil
contained within the plant in question. Kombucha does not like herbs or plants with high amounts of volatile
oils, an example would be peppermint tea. Herbal teas that contain high amount of bitters should also be
avoided. The medicinal herbs used when preparing kombucha tea can greatly enhance the beneficial
properties of the kombucha tea tonic.
An great alternative to traditional tea is dried rose hips and dried elderberries. This is a very old traditional
recipe as both ingredients could be gathered in most areas with very low cost, if any,
compared to imported tea.
However, herbal teas with high amounts of volatile oils are not recommended for
brewing kombucha tea beverages.
These include but are not limited to - Sage, peppermint, St. John's wort, chamomile, ginger, or plants
within the pepper family.
Adding a little black or green tea within your herbal mixture gives the
kombucha the needed nutrients without to much unwanted tea. You can also add a
little green or black tea from time to time. One other draw back to using herbal tea are that they contain
more wild yeast spores than does green or black tea. This may contaminate the kombucha cultures, on the
other hand the wild yeast may assist in producing a more fizzy beverage. This happens by introducing more
yeast into the brewing vessel. The draw back is that you have no control over what type of yeast you
introduce. In short, there may be a higher chance of contaminating your kombucha mushroom cultures
by using herbal teas or plants. Use a backup culture for experiments!
Always use properly dried herbs and plants or fresh herbs that have been washed and cleaned.
See our recipe page for more brewing flavors!
You can mix or match any combination of herbs for medicinal value or for taste.
A good list of herbal medicinal that may be used without worry follows:
Aniseed, young blackberry or raspberry leaf and berry, chicory root,
club moss, dandelion, elder flowers and berries,
fennel, hibiscus flower, nettle leaf, oat straw,
rooibos tea(red bush tea), plantain leaf, rose hips common,
yerba maté leaf, and valerian root.
|Because we use only organic
ingredient & controlled
conditions our brewing
process, we believe this makes
our cultures some of the
purest, giving them extra
strength, vitality, and enhances
their beneficial properties!
|Benefits of Kombucha : | : Kombucha Use : | : Warnings : | : Cultures & SCOBYs : | : Mushrooms : | : Bottled Kombucha Tea : | : Brewing & Care : | : Organic Starter Kits : | : Kombucha Extract
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