« Charisma on Todd Bentley |
Main
| Digital PhotoCamp »
Kombucha: The Latest "It" Health Drink
Please enter the letter "p" in the field below:
Warning: main(/home/virtual/joshharris.com/var/www/html/right.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /nfs/c04/h04/mnt/84154/domains/joshharris.com/html/2008/08/kombucha_the_latest_it_health.php on line 762
Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening '/home/virtual/joshharris.com/var/www/html/right.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/php-4.4.8-1/share/pear') in /nfs/c04/h04/mnt/84154/domains/joshharris.com/html/2008/08/kombucha_the_latest_it_health.php on line 762
Comments (29)
Never heard of it before. But a walk through any aisle of Whole Foods produces that same result for me.
It is reassuring to know that as you try to overcome writer's block, your flavor selection is "DIVINE Grape." Hope it is helpful. Maybe it will also offer some "organic and raw synergy" in weekly sermon preparation as well.
Posted by Chuck Thomas | August 16, 2008 11:41 AM
I got tired of paying so much so I now make my own. It's almost free - tea, water, a Kombucha mushroom (culture) and some sugar to feed it.
It's easy, hands-off, you can use flavored teas (not herbal) and I can control the sugar and fizziness.
I find a drink of Kombucha is very satisfying and keeps me from the afternoon nibbles. Enjoy!
Posted by Chris D. | August 16, 2008 12:54 PM
Um, yeah. I have not only heard of it, my family made their own for awhile.
Am I really admitting this? Anyway, we aquired a special mushroom and produced our own in a gallon jar.
We quit after awhile as our hair was becoming far too thick to manage and being over 6'8" was starting to get difficult. I have written 64 award-winning books.
Of course, I'm totally kidding, but I wanted to toss you a wafer of hope.
However,I am not joking about us making our own. It wasn't half bad, if I remember correctly.
All things considered, have fun with the Five R's of Kombucha.
Posted by Heather | August 16, 2008 1:37 PM
I live in Texas and my family drinks it like crazy. My father even wants to start making it. Anyways, I'd suggest for people who want to try it but aren't used to the taste to actually just buy the hot tea or take ginger root tea and mix it in with straight kombucha. Honey also works well if you take the kombucha with tea.
Posted by Anonymous | August 16, 2008 2:59 PM
I love the stuff! In fact, I found your blog by setting up a google alert for "kombucha." I'm the only one I know who drinks it, yet my grocery store and health food store have trouble keeping it in stock, so I know I'm not alone. Can't vouch for the health benefits--I just love the taste. My first homemade batch is brewing away. I'll pop back here in a few weeks and see if you've written about leaping tall buildings in a single bound.
Posted by Suzi | August 16, 2008 3:33 PM
Oh, the wonderful world of health food fads. I've had at least three people over the past few years try to sell me their wonderful bottle of overpriced magic juice that cures just about everything....not a whole lot unlike the magical medicines sold from the back of a cart in the 1800s. I think each one had a story about someone who knew someone who knew someone who drank it for 30 days and was cured of something. Right.
Stick with Coke or Mountain Dew, it's probably healthier :).
Posted by Jon | August 16, 2008 3:59 PM
ali and i have it in our fridge! (she likes strawberry and guava). we also add water to ours to dilute it.
good stuff, JD
Posted by Josh D | August 16, 2008 4:20 PM
Heather,
Your comment made me laugh. Thanks for the "wafer of hope."
Posted by Joshua Harris | August 16, 2008 5:02 PM
Josh - I have been drinking the fungus for many years and although I can't speak for everyone, I actually enjoy the taste. Maybe it is acquired. Maybe I am weird. Probably both. It has made my fingernails grow like crazy, but no noticeable difference in my already lush mane. Keep drinking! You never know what it will do for you.
Posted by Eric | August 16, 2008 10:26 PM
I've had it a few times, since a lot of my friends make it and thrust bottles into my hand at the first sign of a sniffle. I don't know if it was a placebo effect or not, but it seemed to shorten the duration of one winter cough/cold, and I think it warded off another.
The store-bought stuff is a rip-off, in my opinion, but if you only drink it occasionally it's better than getting your own. The homemade stuff tastes (and works) better.
The only trick is to not breathe through your nose -- it smells like vinegar, but it doesn't really taste bad.
Posted by Melissa | August 16, 2008 11:12 PM
josh, please advise me if it enhances your sense of humor. my jokes are killing me.
Posted by joe lee | August 17, 2008 3:27 AM
Hey, what a loopy guy! =) Actually, it took me forever to talk my mom into eating dried seaweed (for sushi) so I always thought I was brave, but now I'm not so sure. It actually sounds a little dangerous -- "Careful opening. Naturally effervescent." If you ask me, anything that naturally effervesces... Also, it's like when you buy those spring-open laundry hampers and it says, "Warning: Contents under pressure -- point away from face when opening." It's probably not really supposed to send chills down your spine and scare you away from getting involved, but it still always makes me wonder: What caused them to include a warning? Has someone been injured? Hospitalized? Has anyone died? I don't want to overestimate the danger, but I also don't want to be one of those unlucky fools who doesn't take a genuine warning seriously.
Long way of saying: I'll let you be the guinea pig with this. And do keep us posted (as long as you're healthy, sane, and conscious).
Posted by Nicole T. | August 17, 2008 5:39 AM
I can't believe I just wrote all that in response to news of a drink made from mushrooms. Yesterday and today, I spent hours and hours reading all this stuff on predestination, atheism, apologetics stuff, and physics -- taking six pages of notes from just one of the subjects -- and then I come here and it's all gone... Thanks, Josh. =)
Posted by Nicole T. | August 17, 2008 5:46 AM
Please do share if it indeed cures that writer's block. I might use it for school. :)
Posted by Jordan Diann | August 17, 2008 12:00 PM
I just had some today. Gee I hope it helps me grow. Being that I'm just 5'2".
Posted by Erin | August 18, 2008 1:29 AM
Well, if it works for you, knock yourself out...you are welcome to my share though. Take all you want! I haven't been knocked off my feet crazy over any of the healthy energy type drinks at Whole Foods in the past. Unless you count the time I just about got knocked off my feet because the one I tasted was perfectly dangerously healthy. ;-) USUALLY, I prefer my mushrooms whole and chunky or sliced...not pureed. Plus, I'm 5'9"...I don't need to be any taller. My hair is fairly thick. However, if it does indeed cure writer's block it MIGHT be worth it. LOL! ;-)
Everyone else's comments made me laugh! :-)
Just out of curiosity, why can't you drink soda...besides the fact that we all know it's not the healthiest drink on the planet? Just as a note...I don't knock eating healthy by any means. For Pete's sake...I'm gluten free...it doesn't get any healthier than that!
Shalom y'all! :-)
Posted by Sydney | August 18, 2008 1:48 AM
my cube-mate at work drank it ALL the time. When I was fighting off a cold a couple of years ago she made me drink one, but prefaced it with "don't smell it". Of course I had to sniff it, and came close to refusing when the smell of vinegar lept into my nostrils. But I was surprised by how much I liked it.
She almost threw her stapler at my head when I started to shake it. Apparently that is a huge no-no
Posted by kendra | August 18, 2008 9:38 AM
My friend swears by it but I have never tried... she says it tastes like beer. Is that true? Do you think it's really worth purchasing?
Posted by Esther | August 18, 2008 2:30 PM
ever since I learned from biology in high school that mushrooms are basically fungi reproductive systems, I could never eat it. And I won't be drinking it either.
(one exception is when I'll eat mushrooms that are hidden under pepperoni, salami and olives on my pizza!)
Posted by cohesivefaith | August 18, 2008 6:31 PM
Woah, it's like the Gospel in a bottle! Except maybe the synergy part...
Posted by Yurie | August 18, 2008 7:09 PM
Actually, this has been around for some time. When I traveled to California to meet with my husband in 1996, his landlady was brewing her own on her dryer! The mushroom was huge. It floats on top of the liquid. I wondered (at the time) if it contains any alchohol.
Regardless, I could not stand the smell and that was a deterrent to me.
Posted by Jael | August 18, 2008 11:11 PM
A member at my church has knows someone who makes something like this too. They let the mushroom stuff ferment or something. It doesn't taste good but hopefully it has some benefits for our body.
Posted by Manet | August 19, 2008 3:54 AM
I had a shock when I read the name of the drink.
"kombucha" sounds like "scary tea" in Mandarin(kong bu cha)! hahahaha!
But what's in a name right, haha I wana have a taste of it someday too! :D
Posted by yanny | August 19, 2008 6:36 AM
I just read this post yesterday. When I get home, my roommate asks if i've heard of it and offers me some.
o.0
It was weird, not too bad, but there are things it could be compared to that i would rather have instead. I praise God for soda, alcohol, smoothies, and others things i can have to acheive the same results.
Plus i hate mushrooms.
Old tea! Ah, i just remembered what the smell reminds me of. If i don't finish drinking my tea and find it the next day. I could never survive as a health nut. Bad Californian i guess. Oh well!
Posted by Becky | August 27, 2008 5:10 PM
Being in the tea business, I've read and heard quite a bit about this stuff, though I've never tried to make it. I do know a couple of people who brew their own. The process is not unlike brewing beer or wine, just that the mushroom (not an accurate name, but it IS a fungus of some sort) does the fermenting instead of a yeast culture (member of the same plant phyllum). I do know one thing: if you're buying it readymade at three dollars the small bottle, you're feeding some incredible machine set in motion to make someone quite wealthy. Nearly all commercial stuff is brewed in very low grade tea, and since the culture can make many batches without being replaced, you are basically paying three dollars for a bottle of water with a bit of cheap tea (perhaps the equal of one bag Lipton's) and a spot of sugar (please read the ingredients to make certain it is SUGAR and not high fructose corn syrup!!). Hmm.. no wonder so many up here in the Northwet are scrambling to go into production!! The several suggestions to learn how to brew your own are spot on. A gallon glass jar, the culture itself, and tea.... and MY recommendation is to start with good quality loose leaf tea. I've talked with some who brew their own and they've tried many kinds. One chap preferred a good grade of gunpowder green (higher grade than what you'll find in any asian market), I gave him some green oolong magnolia blossom tea which he really liked.... some prefer a traditional black tea, and I've even heard of using a loose-leaf (as opposed to pressed ball) pu ehr. I suppose there's no limit to what tea would work.... in fact, sitting here I am wondering what using rooibos or honeybush, or even toasted yerba maté as the base would taste like. As far as I can work out, the tea itself has little to do with the brewing process, it only serves as a flavour base. My guess.... so, WHICH tea is used matters little. But, using a good quality tea will render a finer flavour and make it far more enjoyable as a finished product. But, even if you start with a hundred dollar a pound Jasmine Phoneix Pearl tea, you'll still be making it for a tiny fraction of what yhou're paying for it at Whole Foods (I've often thought their name should be "HOLE" foods, in respect of the orifice they fashion in the bottom of one's purse/pocket).
As to the health benefits, there IS a long list of them, but I've not seen any regarding the grown of one's hair, height, or literary output. Sorry. However, setting other things right in one's "temple" often renders such issues moot. As in, I'd far rather be a five foot naught hundred year old hairless man than a six foot ten fifty year old dead man with a thick thatch topside. Or, more accurately, at one end (seeing how I'd likely be horizontal in that instance). Immune system, antioxidant, cleansing, blood toner, better metabolism....
On an almost contrary note, however, most of these same benefits accrue to those who drink tea on a regular basis, particularly green and white teas, and rooibos/honeybush. Simpler to brew, quite portable, wide variations in flavour.... and if one buys loose leaf, even top quality, there is an incredible variety of types, and they are far less dear than coffee, soda, juices, very satisfying, and, depending on type, very low in caffeine (for those predisposed to jitters and/or insomnia). My advice: try brewing your own kambucha. If this is too much of a hassle, simply forget the culture and gallon jar, and begin drinking good tea on a regular basis. Little difference in health benefits, but you'll be able to enjoy the tea anywhere. I've travelled even to foreign countries and brought a plug in water kettle, tea infuser, and a supply of tea... in the hotel room, as a guest in someone's home (great to share.... talke about reverse hospitality...) even at a roadside rest stop whilst motoring. Though there are times (mornings, mainly) when I far prefer coffee, the tea is simpler. I usually travel with both..... and it seems to work. I'm over six feet tall, have a full head of hair, and if you've actually read this far it will be obvious I do NOT suffer from writer's block....... cheers
Posted by Nick Jesch | September 6, 2008 3:38 PM
Josh,
Joel and I though that this post and all of the comments were so funny! :-) For the record, I didn't like it either at first, but I love it now that I am used to it and think it's very refreshing. But then again, I can't have soda pop either.....
I am sorry that your friends make fun of you. But.. that's what you get for moving away from Portland. :-P I can guarantee that if you move back, all of the hippies will welcome you back with open arms, garlands of flowers, herbal potions and, of course, bottles of kombucha.;-)
Joel and I got a kick out of reading all of the comments. For those confused, it's not made from the type of mushrooms you eat (no wonder you all think it sounds gross!).
Posted by Kimi Harris | September 11, 2008 12:06 AM
Nick J. is wrong on several counts, and I'm a skeptic of many of Kombucha health claims! The "mushroom" is a SCOBY- Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. There are remnents of the original SCOBY in the bottles (nearly impossible to filter out economically) and Using a bottle of the commerical stuff provides a quick starter for homemade brew. $3 a bottle isn't so much when you consider every bottle potentially creates a competitor or loses a customer forever. BTW SCOBYs do not thrive on Frucutose, so you won't find Corn Syrup in any brand. I Like the flavor because it is Complex, like Lambic beers, and for exactly the same reasons.
Posted by Big Funkin' Polar Bear | October 12, 2008 2:00 PM
Oh, I forgot, it contains alcohol. Less than 0.50% in commercial bottled Kombucha, but you can raise that with homebrew (especially with a secondary fermentation, just like beer or cider or wine) I suppose special hardier brewing yeast would help too. It also does turn to vinegar, rapidly when brewed too long.
Posted by Big Funkin' Polar Bear | October 12, 2008 2:12 PM
I have never tried Kombucha tea but as I understand the tea has antibiotic, antibacterial and antiviral properties and purifies the body by binding to toxins and promoting their excretion
Posted by mike | September 13, 2009 8:26 AM