The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea

The Big Book of Kombucha Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea

Blend your own fermented tea at home! With in excess of 400 plans, including 268 one of a kind flavor blends, you can get precisely the taste you need — for a small amount of the locally acquired cost. This total guide, from the owners of Kombucha Kamp, tells you the best way to do it through and through, with showed bit by bit guidelines and investigating tips. The book likewise remembers data for the numerous medical advantages of fermented tea, entrancing subtleties of the beverage's history, and plans for delightful nourishments and beverages you can make with fermented tea (counting some overpowering mixed drinks!).

About the Author
Hannah Crum is the co-author, with Alex LaGory, of The Big Book of Kombucha. Together they created Kombucha Kamp as a one-stop destination for the highest quality brewing supplies, information, and support. They are co-founders of Kombucha Brewers International in Los Angeles, where they reside. Known as “The Kombucha Mamma,” Crum is a featured speaker on kombucha at consumer and corporate events nationwide.

Alex LaGory is the co-author, with Hannah Crum, of The Big Book of Kombucha. LaGory is a writer and producer who, with Crum, mentors kombucha homebrewers and serves as a commercial brewing consultant. Together they created Kombucha Kamp as a one-stop destination for the highest quality brewing supplies, information, and support. They are co-founders of Kombucha Brewers International in Los Angeles, where they reside.

Sandor Ellix Katz is the author of The Art of Fermentation.

I have been a Kombucha fan for a number of years and began brewing my own earlier this year - using a kit I purchased online. My initial batch was a great success and I am now up to 5 Scobys - hence multiple batches on the go at any one time; and have become more adventurous trying new flavors, combinations and secondary fermentation. I own a couple of different books but so far this has been the hands down favorite. It is a good book in particular for those new to brewing and contains everything from the history of this delicious elixir, to brewing ingredients, tips, flavoring and using your Kombucha in cooking. In the past I have found the many books go too far one way -such as things to use your Kombucha in, or the other way -very basic tips, and do not strike the happy medium that allows the book to be an all around guide. This however meets that requirement. The book begins with a little about the authors and how they began their Kombucha “journey”. I found it well written and a good read - and I could identify with this more (for example trying it at a party and off the shelf at Whole Foods) than the folks that found it in some mysterious part of the world! It sounded a lot like my initiation into the world of Kombucha and the fact that it was relatable made me like the authors a whole lot more! The book then goes into an all around look at fermentation which was appreciated, as this area of food and drink is certainly building more momentum of late as the health benefits are realized. This is followed by an in-depth discussion around kombucha, the Scoby, and ingredients / supplies that are instrumental in the Kombucha making process. This is very detailed and great for those new to brewing. I particularly loved the comprehensive guide to the health properties with personal stories incorporated into this; and they took the time to include health cautions too making it a balanced approach. The Scoby guide is hands down the best I have read / seen. Scobys can be rather ominous in appearance and I cannot tell you the number of times I have peered into my jar trying to determine if it’s healthy or if the weird patch of color /texture is mold (so far it has not happened); but the pictures were exceptional in detail and levels of helpfulness. Thank you authors for this; and including so many detail photographs! The tea guide was also very detailed and useful -talking about types of blends you should and should not use, and acceptable quantities before they become too much for the balanced of the Kombucha, The sugar guide was equally as useful; as was the equipment guide, as I now know I should not have used that cheesecloth as a cover when in a pinch (allows contaminates to get in your brew). This is then followed by the meat of this book – how to brew, best practices and different methods one can use. For me the advanced guide was so helpful -how to flavor, as we are currently experimenting with secondary fermentation using cascade hobs, and carbonation, as striking that right balance has been an admitted challenge; and other books have simply not been detailed enough, leaving me having to turn to good old Google -this book solves that! The remainder of this book is a guide to flavors one could experiment with, drinks one can use this in -such as cocktails and shrubs -both of which are hands down amazing with the addition of Kombucha! And other means of cooking / recipes in which you might be able to incorporate Kombucha. This covers everything from dressings, dips and cake -to outside the kitchen; in face masks and creams! Few books are this comprehensive or diverse! The book ends with more of the Kombucha story; but most usefully a very detailed guide to components of Kombucha, specific health concerns and how the consumption of Kombucha might help; further reading guides and a brew log, which is very useful for new brewers. Having now owned about 5 different books on the topic including those by Eric Childs and Stephen Lee, this is by far my favorite. It is detailed, comprehensive, and covers everything you need to know and then some. I would say this is invaluable for new Kombucha brewers and even useful for those who have been brewing a while and need some new inspiration. I love this book! And full disclosure…yes I am a top reviewer, but no I did not receive it for free -I paid in full for this as it was much wanted, and it was worth every penny!!-yogi girl

Hannah Crum changed my life. I bought my first Kombucha home brew 'starter kit' from her over four years ago and have been happily brewing my own 'booch ever since. This big (383 page), bold and beautiful book is full of a wealth of first-hand information on all aspects of Kombucha that Hannah and her partner Alex LaGory have curated over their years of involvement with the Kombucha sub-culture. From the history and science of Kombucha to straightforward guidelines on the many aspects of brewing, decanting and flavoring this healthful fermented tea, Hannah and Alex cram an awful lot of really useful information into this book. I was especially impressed with the full color photographs of typical brews (taken of clear glass jars to show the yeast strands, fermentation process and various colors of healthy and unhealthy SCOBY's). There's ample information on troubleshooting everything from mold to poorly performing brews, as well as scientific guidelines on brew temperature, acidity, sweetness and suggested tea mixes. The second part of the book offers a huge range of recipes for flavoring, cocktails, smoothies and more, She even suggests intriguing ways to consume old growth SCOBYs (jerky, face masks etc.) -Griffin

Really useful book, I know some have said it's too informative (is there ever such a thing), I like drilling down on the deets and understanding why things are happening. Anyhoo it's a great book and worth every penny, with website backup for support. I use it all the time and upgraded to a 5 ltr brewing vessel to make more booch. On a health note both myself and hubby have felt so much better since drinking booch every day, a few health issues like candida have cleared up and we've stopped craving sweet stuff.-sweet pea