Guest guest Posted September 16, 2002 Report Share Posted September 16, 2002 I looked up " kombucha " in a Japanese dictionary and it said that it was a drink made by adding finely-chopped seaweed to boiling water. Does anyone know why we call fermented black tea " kombucha? " Or, while we're on the topic, why mine takes a month to ferment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2002 Report Share Posted September 17, 2002 My Kombucha looks like a big slimy mushroom, and has nothing to do with seaweed. It is a combination of bacteria and yeast. It is called fermented black tea because you put the Kombucha into black tea and let it sit (ferment) 0 days (depending upon the temperature). I have no idea why yours would take a month to ferment, mine would be so strong I could not drink it! Kat http://www.katking.com ----- Original Message ----- From: " Berg " <bberg@...> < > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 9:59 AM Subject: Kombucha - A misnomer? > I looked up " kombucha " in a Japanese dictionary and it said that it was a > drink made by adding finely-chopped seaweed to boiling water. Does anyone > know why we call fermented black tea " kombucha? " > > Or, while we're on the topic, why mine takes a month to ferment? > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2002 Report Share Posted September 17, 2002 ----- Original Message ----- From: " Katanne " <katanne@...> > My Kombucha looks like a big slimy mushroom, and has nothing to do with > seaweed. It is a combination of bacteria and yeast. > > It is called fermented black tea because you put the Kombucha into black tea > and let it sit (ferment) 0 days (depending upon the temperature). I didn't ask why we call kombucha " fermented black tea " --the obvious answer is that that's what it is. I asked why we call fermented black tea " kombucha " when it apparently has very little in common with the drink which they call " kombucha " in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2002 Report Share Posted September 17, 2002 I found an article--The History and Spread of Kombucha By Roche, Taoist Philosopher--I pasted the first part that talks about the early history and names and pasted it below, the full article can be found at http://w3.trib.com/~kombu/roche.html Here's the first part of the article: As early as 220 BC in China - during the Tsin Dynasty - immortality was sought after through the use of fungi as they were considered to have special magical properties. There was one plant which was prized above all others - the Divine Che - Ganoderma japonicus Lloyd, known to the Chinese as Ling-tche. This particular fungus is still being used today for specific ailments such as gastritis. In 414, the Japanese Emperor Inkyo sought for a physician as far afield as Korea to cure his digestive troubles and he summoned the doctor Kombu who probably brought the Divine Che with him. Japanese warriors considered the properties of the fungus to be so special that they took it into battle in their field flasks! This must be one of the few instances where tea is fermented on the move. Historical archives indicate that their habit was to top up the ferment in their hip flasks with freshly brewed tea. They considered it to be a refreshing and strengthening beverage. Historians consider that the tea fungus was first used for its healing benefits in the Far East - mainly in Japan, China and Korea. As trade routes extended, oriental merchants probably carried the fungus with them first to Russia and then indirectly to Eastern Europe. The habit of drinking fermented tea became quite acceptable throughout Europe until the unavoidable rationing restrictions of World War II prevented many households and retail outlets from making Kombucha due to the widespread shortages of its two essential substrates: tea and sugar. It is known that Kombucha appeared in Germany about the turn of the century via trade routes from Russia. Italian high society had a real passion for this fermented tea during the 1950s, but for some inexplicable reason there soon followed unsubstantiated rumors that the Russian Tea Kwass was likely to induce cancer. A few years later in the 1960s (perhaps as a reaction to this) scientific research in Switzerland found that drinking Kombucha was as beneficial as eating yogurt and its popularity soon increased as it became widely available throughout chemist stores. Alternative Names Other names for the jelly-like fungus are 'Olinka' where it was cultivated by Moravian monks and throughout Bohemia. There is strong evidence that the monasteries kept Olinka a closely guarded secret since they drank fermented tea for a long time before surrounding settlements knew about its health giving properties. Czechoslovakian sources reference the fungus by its more commonly known name, Kombucha, but it is often referred to as Mo-Gu or Fungojapon. In the " Lehrgang fur Drogistenfachschule " (Instructions for Druggists' School) by Hans Irion, the fungus is mentioned by such alternative names as: Fungus japonicus, the tea fungus, Fungojapon Kombucha, Indo-Japanese tea fungus. It is also referenced under other titles as: Tschambucco, Volga spring, Kwassan, Pichia fermentans, Cembuya orientalis, Combuchu, Champignon de longue vie, Tea Kvas or TeaKwass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 Kombu is seaweed, so kombucha might be a special type or something. You kombucha might be too cold? needs to be fairly warm. when i used to grow it, it always took longer in winter than summer, chris >From: " Katanne " <katanne@...> >Reply- >< > >Subject: Re: Kombucha - A misnomer? >Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 19:57:09 -0700 > >My Kombucha looks like a big slimy mushroom, and has nothing to do with >seaweed. It is a combination of bacteria and yeast. > >It is called fermented black tea because you put the Kombucha into black >tea >and let it sit (ferment) 0 days (depending upon the temperature). > >I have no idea why yours would take a month to ferment, mine would be so >strong I could not drink it! > >Kat >http://www.katking.com > >----- Original Message ----- >From: " Berg " <bberg@...> >< > >Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 9:59 AM >Subject: Kombucha - A misnomer? > > > > I looked up " kombucha " in a Japanese dictionary and it said that it was >a > > drink made by adding finely-chopped seaweed to boiling water. Does >anyone > > know why we call fermented black tea " kombucha? " > > > > Or, while we're on the topic, why mine takes a month to ferment? > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 Quoting Bellanger <chrisb05@...>: > > > Kombu is seaweed, so kombucha might be a special type or something. > You kombucha might be too cold? needs to be fairly warm. when i used to > grow > it, it always took longer in winter than summer, chris " Cha " means tea, so kombucha is seaweed tea, just like the dictionary said. It could be that they add sugar to the seaweed tea and ferment it, but I would expect the dictionary to mention something like that. I suppose it could be a temperature issue. I live in Seattle and very rarely use the heater. I should probably move it into the room where I keep my computer. -- Berg bberg@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2002 Report Share Posted September 18, 2002 Forgot to mention in my last post that www.kombucha2000.com offers this theory on where the name comes from: " According to some literature, it was introduced to Japan by the Korean doctor Kombu in 414 A.D. " So if cha is tea in Japanese as another poster said, then Kombu Cha would make sense. Jill Nienhiser Webweaver www.westonaprice.org www.realmilk.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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