Creating your SCOBY hotel

If you’re going on a holiday and have to stop a batch of brew, or you’re keen to experiment on different types of teas and would like to have backup SCOBYs, then creating a hotel is the best solution.

What you’ll need:
– A glass jar
– Starter tea
– Sweet tea
– SCOBY
– Tea towel/ cloth
– Elastic bands

Instructions:
Simply put your SCOBY into the glass jar and fill half with starter tea and half with sweet tea so that the SCOBY has food. Close the jar with the cloth and elastic band, storing it in a cool place with good airflow. You may choose to close the jar with a proper lid after 2 weeks as the SCOBY will go into maintenance mode by now.

Maintenance:
– Check your SCOBY hotel once in a while and remove the brown yeast particles to keep the symbiosis of yeast and bacteria
– Top up the hotel with sweet tea or syrup every month
– The SCOBYs will continue to grow, so take out the thicker layers and thin them out to prevent clumping
– Every 3 months, take out your SCOBYs and transfer them into another clean jar. Check for mould while you take out the SCOBYs.
– Strain the liquid and use it as starter tea in your next batch of kombucha. Top off your hotel with sweet tea in the new jar.

Feature on Kombucha Pairing on Luke Elijah’s Talk Show

Our founder and brewer, Melissa Fann, was invited to do an episode with Luke Elijah on his talkshow where she did a kombucha pairing session with him. Check out the video below where Luke got to taste 6 different flavours and got some tips on how to pair them with different types of foods.

If you’d like to know more about kombucha and would like to attend a pairing session, do subscribe to our newsletter to be updated on our monthly sessions!

The Importance of Gut Health

gut health

Many think of the digestive system is important mainly due to its primary function of digestion and absorption but research is increasingly showing that your gut does beyond that – it protects us against autoimmune and inflammatory disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD) too!

As the image above shows, many symptoms and body conditions can result from a leaky gut but how so?

Firstly, studies have shown that there’s a connection between the gut and the brain and gut health can affect our behaviour and moods as up to 90% of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects our emotions, is produced in the gut.

gut health

Secondly, many people who complain of inconsistent bowel movements also often complain about an increase in food cravings, inflammatory symptoms, mood swings, irregular menstrual cycles and insomnia. This is mainly because there are many organisms in your gut and the gut microbiome thrives on the symbiosis of the different bacterias (probiotics). When there is imbalance of these microorganisms, that’s when autoimmune disorders such as IBD or diabetes can develop.

That’s why having a healthy and flourishing gut is important – it enables your body to function at a more optimal level. Hence, there is more attention given to foods such as probiotics, probiotics and live fermented foods such as kombucha to repopulate the gut with healthy bacteria!


References:
https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/gut-health/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5622722/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566439/
https://draxe.com/4-steps-to-heal-leaky-gut-and-autoimmune-disease/

Photo credit: Dr. Axe and Pixabay

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