The earliest records found describing Kombucha tea date back to the Chinese Qin Dynasty of 221BC. These ancient accounts bestow impeccable honour to the effects of this tea, declaring it as the ‘tea of immortality’ and the ‘elixir of life’. The spiritual Zen Masters were said to have confirmed Kombucha as a source
of chi – the vital life force deemed essential to the balance of body, mind and soul for radiant well being. Japanese Samurai warriors were noted as having carried Kombucha tea in their flasks to restore their vitality and energy levels throughout battle.
As development expanded trade routes beyond the Far East, Kombucha proliferated via traders and travellers, spreading to India, Russia and Eastern Europe, and arrived in Germany around the 1900's.
Until the rationing of the key ingredients in kombucha (sugar and tea) during World War II, Kombucha tea experienced an immense popularity throughout European civilization. After over a decade of dormancy, Kombucha began to make its come-back, and this time in North America as well as Europe, thanks to the impetus of the exploratory hippie generation of the early 1960's.
Today, Kombucha tea can be spotted in the glossy magazines capturing Hollywood’s fit femme’s totting around their new favourite beverage; Madonna, Susan Sarandon, Meg Ryan, even Alec Baldwin have all stated their enjoyment of this new but old ‘miracle’ drink.
Kŏm'bōō'chä'
Kombucha tea is a lightly sparkling beverage, served chilled, and made from a unique and ancient formula originating over 2000 years ago. Created from a very simple infusion of tea (black, green, or white) with sugar (we use an organic evaporated cane juice) and metabolised by the Kombucha culture for just over 15 days, the process is similar to the fermenting of beer. As the kombucha interacts with the tea base, a chemical reaction ensues and the Kombucha culture digests most of the caffeine and sugar in the tea base, breaking it down and converting it into an efficacious solution of detoxifying acids, living enzymes, minerals and vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and B15.
The kombucha culture is a perpetually reproducing culture (similar to a yogurt or vinegar culures) and is often referred to as the Mother, because of this continuous reproduction. This culture is a symbiotic colony of friendly bacteria and fission yeasts (often referred to as SCOBY) which in appearance resembles large glossy pink pancakes.
This unique culture most likely attained its name through mistaken English speakers who designated it as the Japanese Kombu Tea due to a confusion over its thick, gelatinous appearance and its resemblance to seaweed.
Although kombucha is often referred to as a mushroom, it is not of the fungus genus, and therefore is safe to consume for those unable to ingest mushrooms. In addition, the fission yeasts of the SCOBY are free of the spores which can aggrevate conditions like candida albicans, especially in women and those on antibiotics, and as such kombucha actually helps to alleviate such issues.
Daily Vitality, Radiance & Beauty
Characteristic of Kombucha tea, is its unique aroma and tangy ‘bite’, which is a definite sign of a potent brew. While Kombucha’s aroma can sometimes resemble a cider vinegar, its flavour is gentler and pleasingly palatable, although it is an acquired taste for some. These cider-like characteristics are due to the existence of living and beneficial acids which, when enjoyed, provide an uplifting energy and a noticeable aid in digestive distress. These acids host an array of antioxidants and antibiotic properties which are extremely beneficial for the body’s natural defence system, stimulating vibrant health, well-being and radiance.
Kombucha tea has long been held as a tonic for anti-aging and beauty upkeep among its users, acclaimed for its ability to keep the skin cells renewed and provide the anti-oxidants to restore hair thickness and colour. Chanel and Estee Lauder, among others, have already included the kombucha extract into their lines to strengthen the performance of their skin care products. Kombucha’s cellular renewing properties amplify elastin and collagen, improving skin tone and softening wrinkles.
A case in point is Good Skin Pharmacy’s new botox in a box “Tri-Aktiline “instant deep wrinkle filler” which contains Kombucha as one of its key ingredients. Over a 4 week case study, both male and female users reported extremely notable (68-80%) improvements in filling-in of wrinkles and reduction in the appearance of fine lines. This is not news to the eastern European women who have been passing down the recipe as a beauty tonic to their daughters and granddaughters for generations. But recently it has certainly garnered the affections of Hollywood health conscious, such as Madonna and Cher, who have no doubt added Kombucha to their arsenal of beauty secrets!
From the time of the Chinese emperors until it’s resurgence today, kombucha users have experienced the link between the ease of our digestive systems and the strength of our immunity and overall well being. Whether we are seeking physical vigor, radiant complexion or mental calm, maintaining regular probiotic balance and live enzyme supplementation seems inextricably linked to our success. At the Fairy’s Tonic we blend each batch of our organic and raw Kombucha Tea with precision and care, striving to ensure every bottle we send out to you holds the same quality of potency that the Ancient Zen masters sipped from. It is our wish that each of us live a life of fabulous vitality and beauty, and that our Fairy’s Tonic supports this ultimate balance and vital radiance on every level.
Best Way to Enjoy and Benefit from our Tonic
We often receive emails requesting direction for the optimal way to take Kombucha. We’ve found it to be an incredible aid almost any way it is taken so go ahead and do what feels most appropriate for you. So long as you take an equal or greater amount of water during the day to get all of the toxins flushing out, you should do just fine.
Our Tonic is an incredible adaptogen, which basically means it adapts to what is going on in your body, and then works to balance that out. Just as in life-sometimes we’re up, sometimes we’re down, but with a little conscious manoeuvring we can usually come back to center (and often with a brighter and broader perspective!) Kombucha effectively works the same way, but on a physiological level, adapting our ph balance and immune efforts.
Our Tonic is all about balance; balancing out our lifestyles-wherever we are-and centering us back in our radiant source of power. Sometimes you need a shot, sometimes you’d love half a glass...go with your gut, now that it’s happy you can trust what it says!
Here are a few suggestions, for both sides of the coin:
- Our Fairy’s Tonic is such a perfect treat to accompany a delicious meal, and also aids after an over indulgent one!
- Great before a workout to stimulate high muscle output, we also love it on days we can’t quite get ourselves to the gym and still want to feel alive!
- Fabulous as an alcohol substitute at any outing, we’ve also found Kombucha to be a phenomenal hangover tonic as it floods the system with live enzymes and detoxs the liver!
- Wonderful as a morning boost in place of a coffee to really move things along before break-fast, but also an alkalizing relief if you’re suffering from one too many coffees.
Personally, after years of kombucha sipping, I love to drink my tonic from my favourite vintage wine goblet, it just gives that ‘je ne sais quoi’, to truly honour our tonic as the luxury treat it is!
