Sorsa Kombucha brewing – Organic, Raw & Low Sugar Drink‎

Do you love tea? Then did you know that tea especially green tea, is often said to be good for your health as it contains substances which are linked to lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. However though moderate intake is recommended as drinking too much could lead to negative side effects, such as anxiety, headaches, digestive issues, and disrupted sleep patterns.

Kombucha is a fermented, slightly alcoholic, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink which is commonly consumed for its supposed health benefits.

Lately there has been a major surge in popularity, for Kombucha even though it has been around for thousands of years. It is essentially a sweetened tea which is fermented with the help of a SCOBY. SCOBY is an acronym, which stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It’s an odd looking thing bit like a flat slippery rubbery pancake but it’s the essential ingredient in making Kombucha. Its flavours can range from a vinegary to a sweet champagne like taste according to the brew and fermentation.

But what makes Kombucha better than other tea? Well Kombucha has many great health benefits and is rich in beneficial probiotics and contains antioxidants, and can kill harmful bacteria and may help fight several diseases.

It is said to be healthy for your gut health, it reduces the risk of cancer, reduced infection, helps with mental health, heart disease, helps with weight loss, improve liver health, and helps with type 2 diabetes management.

So when I was gifted a brewing kit to brew my own Kombucha courtesy of Sorsa I just had to take up the challenge in brewing.

Sorsa Kombucha

Sophia love for nature and the environment pushed her to start Sorsa Kombucha with the hope of bringing all her customers delicious naturally fizzy drink.

Her Mother gave her a love for cooking and taught her the connection between food and health. Fermentation caught her eye while in school and she became fascinated with the abundance of life happening all around her, unseen. These special sources inspired her to start brewing her own Kombucha when she was 15 years old. She fell in love with the cycle of brewing the mother brew and growing the new baby SCOBY. With each new batch, she was able to share a SCOBY with a neighbour or give a bottle of the finished brew to a friend, connecting her closer to her community and to nature.

When Sophia moved from West Virginia to London, she was surprised to find that Kombucha was hard to come by. The few options available lacked the intensity of flavour and acidity that she knew and loved. On a trip home to West Virginia, she took clippings from her sister’s SCOBY so she could start brewing again when she got back to London. After a few years of brewing in her tiny apartment and sharing her batch brews with friends, she decided to turn her passion into a business and created Sorsa Kombucha. This then led to Sorsa Kombucha selling probiotic tea.

With Sorsa Kombucha you can buy your own Kombucha brewing kit which will provide natural health benefits to your diet and making it yourself will give you an empowering experience that you can’t get from any commercially bought bottled Kombucha.

Taste of Kombucha

I love tea but to be honest this was the first time I heard about Kombucha so when I read about it’s health benefits I just could not pass on the opportunity of experimenting courtesy of Sorsa in brewing my own Kombucha.

Before brewing I learned that Kombucha is a probiotic drink which is traditionally made by fermenting sweetened tea and provides good health benefits.

Brewing Kombucha at home

Sorsa Kombucha provides kits which are designed to make brewing Kombucha at home fun and easy and it certainly was.

Watch the video below to see the steps I took to achieve my first brewed batch of Kombucha.

The brewing of my first Kombucha went well with the easy instructions supplied by Sorsa Kombucha but what I found difficult to tell was, was my SCOBY culture healthy and safe? The way to ensure to tell it is by testing if your mat is hardy and you can test this by pressing between your fingers and if it does not tear then that is a good sign. Plus if you have a yellowish to lighten tan SCOBY and you can see visible strands or brown, black or bluish clumps this is also a good sign of a healthy SCOBY.

For my Kombucha I used the black tea provided within the kit and after 9 days of brewing it was ready to taste. It had a effervescent, tart, and slightly sweet taste bit similar to apple cider.

However it did smell quite pungent of vinegar so i was a bit uncertain if it was completely ready.

It is good to note though that all Kombucha’s can come out differently as it depends on the tea you use, if you add any other flavours to it and how long you brew it for.

Plus the longer you ferment the less sugar your Kombucha will contain. Usually by day 10 there won’t be any trace left but your tea will be more acidic in taste.

If you are happy with your Kombucha and feel it does not need brewing anymore then you can bottle it. Click here to discover alternate ways to flavour, bottle and store your brewed Kombucha.

Verdict

This was a fun way to taste my first Kombucha as I learned the health benefits to Kombucha and how it is made. The starter kit was great and with the easy instructions provided it made it fun and I felt so happy with my achievement at the end of it. At least I know exactly what went into my Kombucha from start to finish, no chemicals just pure organic products and a healthy SCOBY which has lovingly been grown by Sophia of Sorsa Kombucha.

I highly recommend if you are looking for a project to do at home and if you are looking to consume a healthy drink which will help your mind and body.

Sorsa Kombucha order your kit now

Sorsa Kombucha
Tel: +44 (0) 7535830559 (phone lines open Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm)
Email: Sophia@sorsakombucha.com

A Kombucha kit is priced at £44 and comes with:

• 4.5 litre (1 gallon) wide-mouth glass Kombucha brewing jar
• Large home-grown SCOBY
• 300ml of proprietary starter tea for healthy SCOBY growth
• 15g of our organic tea blend
• Reusable 100% cotton tea bag
• 240g of organic cane sugar
• LCD stick on thermometer
• Tight weave 100% cotton cover and rubber band
• Tasting pipette
• PH testing strips
• Detailed step-by-step instructions

Plus other products can be purchased via clicking here.

Discover more about Sorsa Kombucha click here.

Thank you to Sorsa Kombucha for the kit and experience. All views are of my own honest opinion.