You must have seen “kombucha”, or rather, “mushroom tea”. Usually this drink is kept in a three-liter jar on the window. In a jar, a thick disk floats on the surface of a brownish transparent liquid: on top – white, dense and shiny, below – grayish and loose. If you have never tasted “mushroom tea”, then be sure to try it. This is a pleasant and refreshing drink. The custom of breeding “kombucha” first arose among the inhabitants of the Far East. The mass fascination with “kombucha” attracted the attention of scientists, who established that “kombucha” really has something to do with mushrooms. Its massive body is a colony of yeast fungi and acetic acid bacteria. Yeast fungi, occupying the lower part of the “mushroom” thallus, process the sugar contained in the solution into alcohol and carbon dioxide, thereby preparing a nutrient medium for acetic acid bacteria, which are glued together by a special substance and form the upper, dense part of the “mushroom”. The composition of acetic acid bacteria is not the same, and therefore the substances produced by them are also heterogeneous. Some of them convert the resulting ethyl alcohol into acetic acid. Others, absorbing sugar, release gluconic acid. That is why for the preparation of “mushroom tea” it is recommended to take boiled water containing much less calcium salts (they settle in the form of scale) than raw water. The fact is that, when combined with calcium, gluconic acid, which is considered a very useful component of the drink, forms calcium gluconate insoluble in water and precipitates to the bottom of the vessel.

There are medical observations indicating that the regular use of “mushroom tea” in half a glass three times a day before meals for 2 to 3 weeks improves the well-being of those suffering from sclerotic forms of hypertension and leads to a decrease in blood pressure. As you can see, “mushroom tea” is even more useful than ordinary tea.

What conditions are required for growing “kombucha” and obtaining the highest quality drink? We have already noted the importance of boiled water. It should also be noted that in order to create optimal conditions, a certain concentration of sugar in the drink is recommended – 10%, ambient temperature 25 – 30 °, infusion time – 1-2 weeks. An obligatory component of the liquid in which the fungus develops is an infusion of tea or some other plant material, which serves as a source of nitrogenous substances for the microorganisms of the Kombucha colony.