40 replies to this topic

[the_wendy_house]

Hi there,

My It Starts With Food book only arrived today and I'm aware that, with Christmas looming, doing my full whole30 inclusive of Christmas day is looking pretty unlikely SO I am starting now but am just "practicing" between now and the end of December and will start properly in January.

Boring back story aside, I have read a lot about Kombucha on the forum but am a bit confused about it. Having never heard of it before, google has given me a good idea of what it is, but all the stuff on sale to either make or buy it mentions the use of sugar and (while I've only had time to skim ISWF so far) I'm pretty sure sugar is a no, no.

Can anyone advise whether it is allowed as is or whether you have to make a special whole30 sugar-free version in order for it to be ok to consume?

Thank you!

-Wendy

[Renée Lee]

Sugar's necessary in the prep of kombuca, to give the bacteria something to eat/thrive on, and it's mostly used up in the fermentation stage.

As long as you buy the bottles that haven't added extra sugar in afterwards, you're okay. The difference in the labeling is like 1-2g of sugar/serving vs 15-20g. Easy to spot

I don't drink it, but some of the other folks here can give you their fave brands/flavors

[SpinSpin]

Kombucha is most assuredly allowed--but with 2-4 grams of sugar per serving. Kombucha is a fermented tea, and needs the sugar to feed the scooby during the fermentation--think of it like making sourdough bread--and depending on how long it is fermented, will also determine how much sugar is left in the final product. A lot of us here brew are own and often wax poetic on 'booch. A good one to try to just see if you like it is GT gingerade. Just don't drink a lot in once sitting if you are not used to it. Start out with a few ounces and work from there!

[Susan W]

GT Gingerade is awesome! After you love it, we'll teach you how to make it.

Renee..have you tried it?

[Renée Lee]

I haven't. I'm a bad paleo person. I struggle with fermented foods that aren't yogurt. I know it's delicious, i know it's good for you...I just won't go out of my way to eat/buy/make it.

It's one of my faults

[Johnny M]

I think people love it or hate it. I was hooked on my first taste but be warned...introducing a lot of probiotic material to your stomach without building up a tolerance can wreck havoc on your digestion system. Like spinspin alluded to the first couple bottles I drank didn't stay in my body very long if you catch my drift.

[the_wendy_house]

Thanks all! I'm not sure it's so popular in the UK (where I'm at) but I've found a couple sites that sell it so I can have a try first and then you can teach me how to make it myself. That and the intriguing sounding GT Ginerade!

[Kirsteen]

Hi, I'd never heard of it until I started W30 and yes, it does seem a lot more difficult to find over here. I eventually ordered it from

http://www.gokombucha.com/

and I must say i loved it. I've now found a shop that's finally started stocking it and I'm gathering stuff to start making my own

[Emma Stenström]

I agree with the above: be careful in the beginning. I loved Kombucha the first time I tried it and had far too much. I was sick for a week afterwards, really sick. But the doctor had heard about "the kombucha sickness", and just told me to wait - and then start again SLOWLY. Now, I am fine with drinking one or two bottles of Kombucha a day. And yes, I still love it, but it is much more expensive and difficult to find here in Sweden.

[Susan W]

Renée Lee, on 30 November 2012 - 05:48 PM, said:

I haven't. I'm a bad paleo person. I struggle with fermented foods that aren't yogurt. I know it's delicious, i know it's good for you...I just won't go out of my way to eat/buy/make it.

It's one of my faults

LOL..I hated it at first...seriously hated it. I sent my friend JHMOMI an email and said WTH did you talk me into trying. By the end of the bottle, I was in love. It turned into an almost adult beverage for me.

[AmyS]

If it's a fermented tea, does that mean it's caffeinated? I'd like to try it, but caffeine and I are not meant to be together.

[Kirsteen]

Sorry Amy, i hadn't thought of that. The ones I buy are made with either green tea or red pu-erh tea but both of those contain caffeine. I believe people have made it with rooibosch tea which contains no caffeine but I haven't tried making it yet. Once I get started i'll let you know.

[Robin Strathdee]

You could totally use a decaf tea - I don't think it's important to the process.

[Johnny M]

I've read conflicting things about how much caffeine is left after the fermentation but I think there's about 1/3-1/2 left on average. The rest breaks down in the process.

[Phanniemae]

Emma Stenström, on 02 December 2012 - 08:38 PM, said:

I agree with the above: be careful in the beginning. I loved Kombucha the first time I tried it and had far too much. I was sick for a week afterwards, really sick. But the doctor had heard about "the kombucha sickness", and just told me to wait - and then start again SLOWLY. Now, I am fine with drinking one or two bottles of Kombucha a day. And yes, I still love it, but it is much more expensive and difficult to find here in Sweden.

Hi Emma,

Can you tell me more about the kombucha sickness that you experienced? I recently started drinking my homebrew (after being a regular drinker of GT's brand). Is it head cold or digestive related?

I'm curious because I feel groggy in the head and wonder if its related.

Thanks,
Stephanie

[Phanniemae]

AmyS, on 03 December 2012 - 09:21 AM, said:

If it's a fermented tea, does that mean it's caffeinated? I'd like to try it, but caffeine and I are not meant to be together.

Amy,

There is a small amount of caffeine in the store brands, nothing like regular tea tho. If you make your own, there are ways to decrease the caffeine even more, such as cold brewing.

[Robin Strathdee]

Stephanie -

There's a good chance that Emma had some tummy troubles and maybe some overall yuckiness. Since kombucha is a strong probiotic, it changes your gut bacteria. If you do that really quickly it can through things out of balance and make you pretty miserable.

[AmyS]

Thanks for the caffeine info - if I get into home brewing I will use an herbal tea - I used my googler and found a source, hehe

[Phanniemae]

Homebrew can be really easy once you get into the swing of things! Not sure herbal will work tho. From what I've read, only teas from the "tea plant."

[Johnny M]

make sure you do some research on which teas work best. I think there's some flexibility but some work better than others. Also don't use flavored teas or those with oils - they can kill your scoby!