From: Janers KOMBUCHA Manchurian Tea Kombucha has many many names, was first recorded in China in 221 BC, as having been brought to Japan by a Korean doctor in about 414 BC to treat an ailing emperor, from here Kombucha spread to India and Russia with travellers and traders, and is now known all over the world. Kombucha is a lichen, which are the oldest plant organisms known to man. Lichens are a combination of algae and fungus, the algae supplies the fungus with organic nutrients and the fungus serves as a water reservoir containing vital minerals, the lichen acids they contain revitalise and detoxify living matter. To make your brew of tea you need: Kombucha culture 1 cup of fermented tea 50 - 100 gm white sugar 1 -2 teabags 1L water - preferably filtered METHOD Boil the water for a few moments Add sugar and tea bags Remove tea bags after 15 mins Cool to between 22 - 30 C Pour sugared tea into glass container Add culture and fermented tea Cover securely with clean dry open weave cloth. Leave to ferment for 8 - 14 days maintaining temp at 22 - 30 C Bottle the tea and refrigerate. Points to remember: Use clean hands and equipment for handling culture at all times Use enamel, ceramic or glass containers You can divide the culture by cutting with clean scissors Keep your brew away from cigarette smoke Keep any surface cultures wet, if they dry out they tend to go mouldy Use a combination of different teas of your choice The culture will sometimes sink to the bottom of the new brew but a new culture will start to form on the top of the tea, when this new culture is fully formed and solid your brew will be ready to drink. If you leave your brew longer it will gradually become more and more sour, this sour tea is suitable for slimmers and diabetics. Once the culture has fermented to your taste, you can start new brews using both your old and your new cultures. Larger amounts may be made in food grade plastic containers such as those used in beer fermenting, though results in this size are sometimes more difficult to achieve. Start drinking the tea in small amounts, ie 50ml x 3 per day, and build up gradually from there. Cancer patients have been recommended to take up to 2L per day. The tea has a wonderful reputation for having cured or helped some of the world's most potent diseases, both old and young alike may take it with good effect, so enjoy your brew and live to a ripe and healthy old age! Use the amounts of ingredients given here in proportion to whatever amounts you wish to make.