Last year, I was coming to the end of my 7 day fasting retreat in Devon, when I came across Kombucha Tea. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with the way it looked and was a bit put off by the ‘mushroom’ that is used in the fermentation process. However, after tasting the tea I was pleasantly surprised and have been making it every week since.

So, what is Kombucha Tea?

Kombucha (pronounced com-boo-cha) tea is a very healthy drink and is simply made of fermented tea and sugar. Apparently, the tea has been around for centuries particularly in China where it was considered to have magical properties. Eventually, the mushroom was exported other countries such as Russia and Eastern Europe.

You may be slightly put off by the look of the ‘mushroom’ but it is actually a combination of beneficial bacteria, yeast and other substances and looks nothing like a mushroom! The actual name for it is Kombucha culture, which can be difficult to obtain as it’s normally passed on as a gift.

But hold on, it contains sugar I hear you cry. Yes it does, however, once fermented, there is very little sugar left in the finished product. The sugar feeds the culture and a by-product of this is alcohol – be it in very small amounts (less than 1%), so fortunately (or is that unfortunately….) you cannot get intoxicated on it. The end result is a drink which has a slightly sweet acidic taste.

Why drink it?

Well….because it tastes very nice and the added benefit is the nutrient content. My nickname for the tea is ‘liquid vitamin’ as it contains many beneficial properties as well as being a natural immune booster, detoxifier and energy provider.

I drink a glass each morning as an energy booster and sometimes I add a little apple cider vinegar which gives it a ‘kick’ and helps with digestion. Do not confuse the energy you get from this drink with the type you get from fizzy sugary drinks such as lucozade or red bull, which only provide a short term energy boost.