Kombucha is a fermented tea made of SCOBY, yeast and sugar that offers amazing health benefits. The unique taste is due to a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast in this beverage; while its unique name (fungi in this case) owes to its appearance as it appears like a flat disk covered by gelatinous material resembling mushrooms. Kombucha can often be described as an intriguing blend between apple cider and champagne!

Kombucha contains several different strains of probiotics and acids that are beneficial to digestive health, helping improve gut health while decreasing cancer risks, cholesterol levels, blood pressure levels, as well as providing antioxidant protection that keeps us looking younger for longer.

Distilling your own kombucha can be a simple and affordable process. All it requires is a starter culture, some black or green tea leaves and sugar; flavoring may be added at your discretion but isn’t essential.

First, ensure your brewing container is clean. Washing it with boiling water and white vinegar should help eliminate any unwanted organisms from entering the fermentation process. Metal containers tend to react poorly with acids produced during this step of the fermentation process and should be avoided where possible.

Once your container is prepared, place the kombucha mushroom inside it. A cloth or paper towel secured with rubber bands may need to be placed over it while it brews – this helps protect from pests. However, plastic wrap can also work just as effectively for protection purposes. Be mindful not to disturb or disrupt its process too often during this step!

Once your jar is full of tea and sugar, stir thoroughly to combine and then cover.

Covering the jar is necessary for keeping away pests, while still allowing some light into the room. Kitchen lighting works well but direct sunlight should be avoided as this can interfere with fermentation. Be mindful that if you move the kombucha while it’s fermenting it will need to start over from scratch!

After approximately one to two weeks, you should notice that your kombucha has started fermenting. At this stage, it is time to begin tasting it – if the flavour doesn’t suit you just pour it back out into a new container until a fresh batch can be produced and wait – once finished, either drink it directly or use as part of a recipe; you could even give the old batch away or use it as a starter for future batches!