The Kombucha Kamp Blog by The Kombucha Mamma

How Kombucha Relieves Stress & Anxiety and Makes You Feel Good

You check the calendar and realize that its April 12th. You still haven’t done your taxes! Yikes!

Your heart rate jumps, muscles in your face start to twitch, your hair falls out and you double over from instant ulcers!

Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but stress is a killer!

Taxes and finances are a common source of stress. But good things like job, family, relationships, and deeply caring for something all cause stress as well.

Even the stress from love can be very tough on the body.

Never fear, Kombucha is here to take the edge off that stress!

Yes Kombucha benefits the body by helping to reduce the effects of stress and anxiety. But first we must understand how stress works.

What is Stress?

Stress is a valuable defense mechanism. When a threat appears, a snap decision must be made. Fight or flight.

Specific chemicals & hormones (adrenaline & cortisol, if you must know) are released to increase the heart rate, sharpen the senses and prepare the muscles for quick action.… Continue Reading

How to Copycat GT Kombucha Flavors at Home

Copycat GT Kombucha with these tips — GT’s Synergy – Trilogy flavor

Like many people, the first Kombucha we ever tried was GT’s. This was 2004, so there weren’t a lot of brands on the shelf. In fact, it might have been the only one that fateful day at Whole Foods in Westwood.

Since then, we’ve had the pleasure to try literally hundreds of different brands of Kombucha from all over the world! Each brew is unique, in most cases a reflection of the home brewer that decided to cross over to the commercial side.

In the same way, your brew will taste unique to your process. But if you’ve ever thought about trying to copycat GT Kombucha flavors at home, here’s a few tips.

Who is GT?

In case you’re not familiar, GT’s Kombucha is the market leader for commercial Kombucha. In fact, GT Dave started the whole category. For a long time, there were only a few brands around.

Even today, with so many new brands appearing all the time, GT’s and Synergy Kombucha (see more about that below) dominate the marketplace. Fans are very loyal to their favorite GT’s flavors. And for good reason, he makes delicious Kombucha!

Which GT’s Kombucha Brand Are You Trying to Copycat?

There are 2 “brands” by GT – the regular GT’s Kombucha and GT’s Synergy. As it says on their website:… Continue Reading

Kombucha Kitchen: Kombucha Sourdough Bread and Pancakes Recipes

Kombucha sourdough is deliciously tangy, easy to make, and a great way to use extra yeast from your brew! Rather than throw them away, collect the brown strings of Kombucha yeast and we’ll show you how to make sourdough from Kombucha.

Yeast are a crucial component of Kombucha. They are the “Y” in Kombucha SCOBY! There could be no bubbles without the yeast. Plus they provide nutrition to us in the form of B vitamins.

But if left unmanaged, the yeast will overproduce and dominate. This throws the brew out of balance, which can lead to bad flavors or even mold.

As we do our regular maintenance on our SCOBY Hotel, or trim up the SCOBYs in our Continuous Brew, or even just filter out the extra yeast at the end of a Batch or CB round, saving it in a separate vessel and using Kombucha for sourdough bread is a great way to use up what would otherwise be waste.

Kombucha Sourdough: just another way the brew helps the environment!

The History of Sourdough

Historically, bread has been called “the essential food for most people for most of recorded history”. More simply, it’s known as the “staff of life.”

Although we still don’t know the exact origin of bread, recent evidence traced the oldest known flatstone baking to Jordan 14,500 years ago, more than 4,000 before agriculture.… Continue Reading

Kombucha & Water Kefir Root Beer Recipes

The creamy, refreshing flavor of root beer is delicious with all your home fermented beverages. While many recipes call for a long list of obscure homemade root beer ingredients, we find that using just a handful is enough to make a delicious water kefir root beer or Kombucha root beer.

The same dry root beer flavorings can be premade into a powder, or even used to create a root beer syrup.

Start with the suggested amounts below, then add more or less of each root beer ingredient to fit your own taste preference.

When added to Kombucha, the root beer flavorings offset the sour bite, with vanilla oils helping to mute the tang.

CLICK HERE for the 1 Gallon Batch Brew Kombucha Recipe

CLICK HERE to Compare Batch Brew Kombucha with Continuous Brew Kombucha

Water kefir root beer mimics a sweeter soda taste, but with the fermented flavor just below. Both will generally build nice bubbles, but the water kefir can be downright explosive, so burp regularly!

CLICK HERE for the Water Kefir Recipe and Brewing Tips

Root Beer History

Despite it’s whimsical place in American culture, traditionally root beer was an ancient remedy of Native Americans, going back many hundreds of years to pre-colonial days. They used the beverage to treat a variety of ailments including colds, coughs, and ringworm, to strengthen the blood, and also as an aphrodisiac!… Continue Reading

Hard Kombucha – Kombucha Beer St. Patrick’s Day Special!

When it comes to flexibility, Kombucha is pretty amazing. We enjoy it with breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with snacks or on its own, before working out or after, with savory or sweet flavors, mixed into a cocktail; there’s literally no end to the combinations and possibilities! Now Hard Kombucha, that is Kombucha with higher alcohol levels that can produce a buzz, is becoming more and more popular.

And why not! Combining the flavor of Kombucha with beers or wines, as well as adding the anti-hangover effect right to your drink, makes Hard Kombucha a fun and functional choice for all kinds of drinkers. Whether it’s St. Paddy’s Day or any time of year, trying these Hard Kombucha beers and blends should be on your list!

St. Patrick’s Day Facts

Where did St. Patrick’s Day come from? It was originally established as a guilt-free feasting (and drinking) binge day during Lent.

Why do we wear green on St. Paddy’s? The official color of Ireland used to be blue, until the soldiers of the Irish Rebellion donned green uniforms to battle the red-coated Brits.

And the Pinching? Those not wearing green on St. Paddy’s are vulnerable to the leprechaun, and getting pinched is your reminder!

And the Beer? Although the original feast encouraged indulgence, heavy drinking was frowned upon. Beer companies’ marketing departments and “unfortunate stereotypes” have driven the link since the 80’s.

Hard Kombucha?

All Kombucha has trace amounts of alcohol. This is a normal part of the fermentation process. But usually, the yeast and bacteria present keep the levels low. With Hard Kombucha, we add different yeasts that will drive those alcohol levels up.… Continue Reading