The Kombucha Kamp Blog by The Kombucha Mamma

Cocktail Recipe: Blueberry Kombucha Margarita aka “The Blue-Bucha-Rita”

The Kombucha Margarita — The “Blue-Bucha-Rita”

Kombucha’s greatest strength is its versatility: healthy beverage, marinade, salad dressing and even hair tonic to name a few uses. How about “Drink Mixer” too?! Yes, the tangy flavor of Kombucha pairs perfectly with liquor, plus the organic acids support a healthy liver. Just one delicious example: The Blueberry Kombucha Margarita!

But don’t feel limited. Not sure where to start? Choose your favorite liquor or mixed drink; swap out the sour element for Kombucha; add fresh fruit as a garnish or a splash of simple syrup.

My favorite liquor is gin (this is my brand of choice), my favorite booch is Elderflower lemon – combined with a touch of grapefruit juice and simple syrup (or triple sec if no simple syrup is available) and voila: classy Kombucha Kocktails!

Makes Great Mocktails Too!

Even if you don’t drink, Kombucha makes excellent Mocktails as well as a delicious drink for the designated driver. It’s also a wonderful pint to mix in with other pints of beer to help sober up or to slow down the impact of the alcohol. Adding Kombucha to your drinking plans will help you enjoy alcohol more responsibly.

KMAMMA SEZ…
I love Kombucha Kocktails! It’s an excellent way to marry the unique flavor profile of Kombucha with your favorite bitters, alcohol and aromatics. Especially because when I add Kombucha to the mix, I get a little antidote with my poison. The next day, I don’t feel the same negative impact as when consuming alcohol alone. Plus I can enjoy more than one cocktail in an evening if it has Kombucha. Without the booch, I feel woozy and gross. Check out these other Kocktail and Mocktail recipes!

More Kombucha Kocktails, Mocktails & Drinks:
“Twisted Bliss“
“Dark & Devoted”
Cold Shrub Recipes with Kocktails & Mocktails
Sparkling Kombucha Party Punch
Hard Kombucha Round-Up

The margarita is considered the iconic drink of Mexico. While it’s origins may belong to more than one story, the enduring fact is that it marries sweet, sour, bitter and salty into one curvy cocktail glass. It has also evolved into a plethora of tasty, fruity iterations and really hits the spot on a hot summer day when frozen.

Whether you enjoy yours straight up, on the rocks or frozen, adding Kombucha will increase the flavor and reduce the hangover time.

Follow this recipe to take Kombucha south of the border anytime:… Continue Reading

Kombucha & Radiation: Anecdotes, Legends & Science

Disclaimer: These statements regarding Kombucha & Radiation have not been evaluated by the FDA. Kombucha Tea is not intended diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Full disclaimer here.
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When tragedy struck the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan in 2011, people were suddenly forced to confront questions they never thought to ask before. Topics such as daily radiation exposure, its effects on the body, and how to protect oneself in both the short and long term became popular.

Social media declared: everyone needed iodine pills. And nobody was ever eating Pacific Ocean fish again!

The hysteria passed, as it always does. But questions of radiation exposure are not limited to Chernobyl-style disasters.

Everyday concerns such as EMFs, WiFi, 5G and more have health professionals on alert. And exposure is cumulative, so finding a way to reduce the effects or even detox them from the body is critical.

There is a growing chorus in favor of eating fermented and macrobiotic foods and drinking Kombucha to help protect against radiation. But is there any basis that the health benefits of Kombucha extend into this arena?

Yes! At least 7 studies since 2008 seem to indicate that Kombucha may be able help reduce the negative effects of EMF and radiation exposure in humans. Let’s take a look at the science. But first for context, let’s explore some of the anecdotes and legends around this topic.

Anecdotal Stuff

For decades, doctors and alternative health professionals have been recommending Kombucha to their patients. Though most cancer organizations do not endorse the use of Kombucha Tea as a specific treatment option, that misses the point of Kombucha’s benefits.

KT is not a medicine intended to treat any disease. It is simply a healthy tonic that can be consumed daily and helps the body with its natural processes.

German doctor Rudolph Sklenar famously claimed to use Kombucha to treat cancer (among many other diseases in early stages) with fantastic results. Today, alternative treatment courses sometimes involve adding Kombucha to the daily routine.

Relatedly, some people claim Kombucha alleviates or prevents chemotherapy sickness due to reduction in absorbed radiation. This assertion is the most relevant to the current question: Can Kombucha protect the body against harmful radiation?… Continue Reading

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