It's an Acquired Taste

A local Madison entrepreneur was recently on the television show "Shark Tank", and when a Shark was given a taste of her brewed Kombucha she said "It's certainly an acquired taste."  It may have been the founder of QVC, a Loyola of Chicago graduate.   We had to make sure to watch this episode because the woman sells kits for people to make Kombucha, is from Madison, and my wife makes her own Kombucha.  This drink is all the rage, and according to that entrepreneur Kombucha is the fastest selling drink in the United States.  The drink is described on the unimpeachable Wikipedia site as "...a fermented, slightly alcoholic, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly intended as a functional beverage for its supposed health benefits"  (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha ).  Its "supposed" health benefit is that it is claimed to be a probiotic, that is, it is supposed to provide good bacteria for your digestive system.

Tea brewing in water with some sugar

My wife has been making Kombucha for a few years now, and drinks a glass a day.  Hence, the interest in Kombucha and why we made a point of watching that episode of "Shark Tank".  Besides brewing tea and some sugar, the key ingredient is what is called the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). In fact, I just learned that it is an acronym.   The SCOBY, at least since my wife keeps the brew in a large 2 quart jar, looks like a round gelatinous blob that could be mistaken for a decaying, slimy hunk of ham, or worse.  The worse could be some body organ set aside by Dr. Frankenstein for future use, or what Dr. Hannibal Lecter would love to eat, perhaps with a nice Chianti on the side. 

Removing SCOBY from a batch ready to bottle

The SCOBY is to Kombucha what Herman is to sourdough bread.  Showing the paradox of the chicken and the egg, it seems that you cannot make a SCOBY, but need to get part of one from another person. A Kombucha kit includes the SCOBY.  Why, it can't be started from scratch I don't know.  As I said to my long-time bride, someone had to make the first scobi, so it must be possible.  The SCOBY, all or part, is reused and is placed in a jar in the cupboard with the fermenting Kombucha.  Sometimes the SCOBY gets so big that part needs to be peeled off and ends up in the compost bin.  A few times my wife saved the SCOBY in a large jar in the refrigerator and it grew so large  I wondered if it would break the jar and take over the refrigerator. I think it could be a great science fiction horror movie--the SCOBY that ate McFarland.  Or, perhaps, SCOBY meets Hannibal Lecter.  The seemingly secretive existence of the SCOBY adds to the mystique of the beverage.  Of course, it could be a beverage that came about by happenstance when some old Japanese woman experimented with some odd looking gelatinous object and decided to put it in her tea and let it sit awhile.  Or, some odd growth developed when tea was forgotten. Or, she came across some weird growth and decided to use it to make a beverage. What would drive a person to use something as ugly as a SCOBY.

Filling bottles with fermented Kombucha

Not to get too involved in the science of brewing Kombucha, but readers should know that there is both anaerobic and aerobic fermentation by yeast and bacteria.  In that sense it is reminiscent of the long recognized treatment process for human waste, that is sewage, which also uses both anaerobic and aerobic processes to clean the waste water.  So, why would this drink have been invented, or come about?

Some brew remains with SCOBY parts

We know that in many situations the water supply was not good to drink.  Many years ago the connection between waste water and drinking water was not as known or identified as it is today.  Think about it, people dumped their waste right in the street or out the back window, and probably not far from their water supply.  For example, Madison was served by sanitary sewers that directly dumped untreated sewage into Lakes Mendota and Monona.  Cholera and other diseases were prevalent then and are still present today particularly in under developed or undeveloped countries.  People used fermentation to help provide a more suitable beverage--think beer and wine.  Today, we drink fermented beverages not because we need to to, but because we like to.  However, a doctor advice column in the "Wisconsin State Journal" on Dec. 5, 2018 noted that to promote varied bacteria in the digestive system it is best to drink fermented beverages, and eat fermented food.  That must mean beer is also good for the digestive system. 

Pour newly brewed tea into the jar

I home brew beer and the basic tenant is to make sure everything is properly sterilized.  Yet, with Kombucha there is really no sterilization that occurs.  The tea is brewed on the stove with some sugar, cooled, put into a jar with the SCOBY, covered with some muslin and left for a week or so.  It is more simple than brewing beer, particularly since no double fermentation is involved. My wife will drink the Kombucha, but not drink beer.  I find it rather fascinating that she would prefer Kombucha over beer, and I think she finds it fascinating that I like beer but not Kombucha.  Now, I may be going out on a limb, but if a reader desires to know how to home brew Kombucha, you can either buy the kit, or ask my wife.  Lacking a run on the SCOBY, she will likely give you part of hers.  Although, you may have to get in line, she has a friend who desires to learn how to make it. But to me, saying it is an acquired taste, was a kind way of saying....well, that is best left unsaid.

 

Add all or part of the SCOBY

Place tea in storage for fermenting