Organic Japanese Kombucha Scoby
The organic Japanese Kombucha Scoby produces a fizzy, slightly salty fermented green tea drink. The tartness can be controlled by the amount of time the tea is left to ferment. It contains a range of bacteria and yeasts. Traditionally made with matcha tea and kombu kelp, we have found it works just as well with any type of green tea and seaweed.
The thought of fermenting seaweed with kombucha can both seem a little daunting and disgusting. I know when we first came across this variety we were unsure if we wanted to drink the stuff! What we have actually found is that the end result is fairly pleasant to drink. A slightly salty version of a rich bodied kombucha with all the benefits of seaweed and green tea.
The history of this Japanese kombucha drink is a little confusing. Kombu Cha is a traditional Japenese drink made with seaweed. Kombu meaning kelp and cha meaning tea in the Japanese language. Kombu Cha is something very different from the Western kombucha drink, with the two often getting confused with each other. Japanese kombucha seems to be a hybrid of the two drinks. Rumours of this kombucha being around since the second world war have been stated on the internet, but it is most likely a result of the confusion between the shared the name of the two drinks. Merging ingredients from the two is probably a fairly recent innovation.
Making kombucha with matcha tea and seaweed comes with some wonderful benefits. Seaweed is a natural source of iodine, and one of the only natural sources containing it. Matcha green tea is hailed as the healthiest type of green tea, high in a catechin called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). Infused with the benefits of kombucha, you end up with a supercharged fermented tea drink like no other!
You can make this type of kombucha with any type of green tea. However, if you really want to maximise those benefits, matcha is the way to go about things. Remember that not all matcha is created equal. For the very best matcha tea, we recommend a ceremonial grade. These can often come with a high price tag but are worth every penny. Sadly these days the internet is full of bad quality and fake matcha tea sold as ceremonial grade. It is important to choose a good source of matcha.
A few places we can recommend here are:
Size variations explained:
Starter tea is the most important part of the process of making kombucha. You always need a minimum of 10% starter tea for the total volume of kombucha being made. We offer a range of brewing sizes which all come with the required amount of starter tea to successfully and safely make kombucha at home. We also offer misfit organic kombucha scoby. These are scoby that have not quite formed perfectly. The shape of the scoby has no impact on the kombucha brewed with it. We offer these scoby at a discounted price rather than let them go to waste.
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