The Kombucha Craze

Last summer, while visiting friends in Portland, Oregon, I had my first sip of kombucha. After a morning hike up the trails of hilly Forest Park, we stopped at a food co-op near Northwest 23rd.

Renee was keen on having some kombucha.

"What's kombucha?" I asked. Somehow, I hadn't yet noticed the fermented tea creeping into the aisles of Brooklyn bodegas and grocery stores.

"You know that jar of liquid on the sink with a blob fermenting in it?" she said. I had to admit, I'd been afraid to ask what that was. It looked like some sort of liquid compost. 

At first, I thought it was nasty. Sour with a slight carbonation and little wisps of what I would later learn is a SCOBY ("Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast"), kombucha tasted more like fizzy cider vinegar than tea. But over the course of a few days, kombucha started to grow on me. I learned that it's a traditional fermented tea with a long history in China, Russia, and the Middle East, and that it's packed with B vitamins, probiotics, folic acid, and organic acids of various sorts (though which ones is a matter of some dispute). I experimented with several flavors of GT's, a popular brand that I found in ready supply at Portland's New Seasons Market. On my return to Brooklyn, I began seeking out local brews such as Kombucha Brooklyn. Thus began my fascination with this tart, fizzy beverage.

As I write in the March issue of Body + Soul (Download Hannah Wallace- Strange Brew) kombucha is the latest health craze, with indie companies and giants alike jumping on the kombucha bandwagon. (Red Bull has its very own label called Carpe Diem, and Celestial Seasonings is about to launch their own line of bottled kombucha, too.) Purportedly, the drink has all kinds of health benefits—devotees say it boosts the immune system, promotes energy, and improves everything from acne and digestion to arthritis pain and tendinitis. (Others swear by it as a hangover remedy.) But in the course of reporting this story, I found it very difficult to find even one M.D. who would champion the beverage. One, a well-known integrative physician, wrote simply, "As far as I can tell, the buzz is mostly hype—not much research behind it. For that reason, I’ve been reluctant to recommend it to my patients, although I don’t actively discourage it either."

 As with many healthy foods and supplements, kombucha hasn't had a groundswell of research dollars to help prove or disprove the health claims. For now, we only have a few in vitro and animal studies that show kombucha has potent antioxidant and immuno-stimulating effects. (It also improves sleep and reduces pain in rats, apparently, though don't ask me how the scientists know the rats sleep better once they've imbibed kombucha.)

But many holistic doctors and nutritionists spoke to me of seeing their patients improve once they introduced kombucha (and other fermented foods) into their diets. Brooke Moen, a San Francisco-based acupuncturist, told me that B vitamins, live enzymes, and organic acids are all crucial for good digestive health. "B vitamins are one of the things that get wiped out when the gut is imbalanced," she says. "And enzymes catalyze processes. They move things along, break things down."

Though Moen is skeptical of many of the health claims made about kombucha, she says it's not uncommon for many conditions to improve when a person's digestive tract is working properly. "Digestion is the foundation of health. Anytime you improve assimilation and elimination, the rest of your symptoms resolve," she says. From a chinese medicine perspective, sour and bitter flavors can "move liver congestion and qi stagnation"—meaning they assist the liver and gallbladder in breaking down and removing toxins. "A fundamental treatment principle for much illness is to help move that which is stuck," Moen told me. 

See here for my guide to making your own batch at home.

 

Comments

[Jess Claflin]

I personally LOVE kombucha, but one of my friends had a HORRIBLE reaction to it (hard to breath, covered in hives, face swelling, dizzy). I was wondering if you found record of any other reactions in the course of your research. If so, I'd be interested...

[hannah wallace]

That's scary, Jess. Did she react this way to bottled kombucha or a home brew? The CDC has never had a report of someone falling ill from commercially-produced kombucha, though there are a few isolated cases of "adverse events" from home brewed batches. (Mostly from aspergillus mold, which can cause the reactions your friend had. But it's also easy to spot... see here www.happyherbalist.com/howtomakekombucha.aspx) Sally Fallon, in her book "Nourishing Traditions" says that a small percentage of people are allergic to kombucha. Another reason to start out with small amounts--4 ounces--before downing a whole 16 ounce bottle!

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[Mike]

Happy Sparrow (off 30th and Belmont) makes a great kombucha from scratch! They are also celebrating their 1st birthday today ;-)

[hangover cures]

I am hooked to this too. Just like you, I didn't gave it much attention because it does not seem interesting when you look at it, but when you tasted a good brew, you will definitely change your thinking.

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It's true that there are plenty medicinal elements in nature that have curative powers like kombucha. The taste will not be good in the beginning but once you will get used to it, you will learn to love it even more. Just think of how many medicinal plants that existed in the forests or jungles that are left undiscovered.