The Bar Journal

For the celebration of the Chinese New Year, we share with you an expert talk on Kombucha! Discover this ancient drink in our interview with Freya from Fix8. 

Kombucha has become a popular drink particularly in the last few years: can you tell us when you first encountered the drink? What were your first impressions? When I was studying medicine in Shanghai – and doing yoga – one day the teacher (a doctor) brought some samples of ‘SCOBY hotel’ and it looked so bizzare! I thought ‘what is that?!’ The doctor said it is so good for your guts, liver and system. I tried some, and it completely blew my mind for the combination of sweet and sauer, freezy and refreshing drink as well as a health benefit. I became obsessed with it! So I decided that I want to bring Kombucha from the wellness space into everyday life because it is a very healthy product but is also so delicious! It can be an amazing drink and a mixer in your cocktail…we can really increase its versatility.

Well, there is definitely a lot of chemistry and science into the production of the drink: is it really safe to make it at home? It is very easy to create kombucha: you need a good quality starter with low ph level. kombucha is low risk, it is exciting to make at home, it’s delicious and good for you. Plus, you really need just 4 ingredients and a bit of time!  Even if it seems quite scientific (and it is at a big commercial level) to make it at home is very easy and safe: there have been no reports of anyone falling ill. You are more likely to feel sick from something wrong you eat, than from a kombucha drink.

It seems that yeast and bacteria are particularly important in the preparation of kombucha. How should it really look like and taste? Well, first of all it should taste good, you should like it! Kombucha has a balance of enzymes, bacteria and yeast in the drink, most of it is a citric acid which gives the drink a vinegar note: you know it’s a dominant flavour because you smell vinegar. The longer you live it to ferment, the more sauer it will taste. There’s not really a perfect example of what kombucha should taste: it tastes different depending on the tea, the starter, the time, …there should be a right balance between time of fermentation (10 to 14 days) and a flavour that you should like at the end, not too sauer but good to drink!

Is there any perfect time or season of the year to make kombucha?
Not really. You need 4 ingredients and you can make it whenever, wherever! The external environment is very important for producing Kombucha. The most recommended temperature is around 27° degrees. Anything below 16° is too cold and you get a stagnant brew (and potentially mauled to throw away). Anything above 32° is too hot, and it would ferment too quickly and taste a bit too acidic. So, I would say 10 to 14 days is perfect for a homemade Kombucha. Many people have tried fermenting tea at home during lockdown periods and over the holidays: the kombucha homebrew kits have been performing really well because everybody is looking for a meaningful hobby to learn about – it’s time to give it a go! 

As you mentioned, kombucha is good for you but what does it exactly do to the body? Not all kombucha is the same: you have to find the freshly squeezed kombucha if you want to get the most benefits from it. Kombucha is a fermented tea fundamentally, so we have the benefits of tea (polifinerals, antioxidants, …) with the additional effects of fermentation. Kombucha is a more bioavailable means to imbibe the drink; on top of it, you have the organic acid which is antibacterial, antifungal and good for balancing the pH in the body. Kombucha gives a lot of good bacteria for our diet.

Would you say that people with high blood pressure or diabetes can drink kombucha? Well, it depends on the personal cases. I am not a certified nutritionist, but kombucha is basically tea, water, sugar and SCOBY: I would always look at the sugar content and be sure that it is pretty low (the drink should taste very sauer). The only contraindication is if you are pregnant: since kombucha is not pasteurized, it is not really recommended under pregnancy.

However, kombucha is a great alternative to many drinks: it’s a frizzy sweet and sauer refreshment with many functional benefits! It’s completely natural and quite easy to introduce into your diet. It has been around for thousands of years: I am trying to bring an ancient healthy product to fit it into the modern time. There’s a huge amount of heritage in kombucha!

The question becomes now obvious: since it was born in China, how do people use  kombucha in Asia today? It is curious but kombucha is not very common there now. Consider that it was created in Asia, it traveled along the silk road into Eastern Europe and Russia, and it died out in the original areas. In my workshops sometimes eastern Europeans tell me that kombucha was made at home from their grandmas, but during the war periods a lot of things were rationed so making kombucha was probably a luxury and the tradition slowly disappeared. Kombucha is not popular in Asia today, but it is very big in the US and Australia and it is travelling back from these countries into Asia. The most abundant geographical location for resourcing tea is in Asia (China and India in particular) so it would make sense for these countries to create a beautiful product like kombucha! It will be big again in the time to come. 

Hopefully! You also created a little cocktail book: is there any recipe for the Chinese New Year that you would recommend to prepare? One of my favourite ways to drink kombucha is in a cocktail: it can add complexity to a drink but not necessarily alcohol. I like many different cocktails with kombucha flavours and one of the most exquisite is the Kombucha Negroni, with two different types of Martini and a lemon garnish. What’s really nice about this cocktail, apart from the rich taste, is that it’s low in alcohol – so I can have three of them and still be able to walk back home straight! So, if we are looking to drink moderate, adding kombucha instead of gin, gives a nice acidity and complexity to the drink without necessarily using alcohol. You can use kombucha in a eyeball cocktail instead of any mixer – it’s delicious and good for you!

What’s the first tip to make kombucha at home? First you need a SCOBY – which stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” and it’s basically the ‘mother’ or starting culture for making kombucha. Once you have a SCOBY the rest is very straightforward: you only need tea, sugar and water: you mix all together and leave it to rest. It’s very easy to create but it’s very important to start with clean vessels, make sure you measure everything carefully, add your ingredients and cover everything with a cloth: leave it to ferment for 10 to 14 days. At the end you’ll have a light frizzy kombucha to enjoy alone or in a cocktail, or you can drink it on your hangover! 

… Salute!