The first time I met Angelica Kelly, creator of of the world’s largest kombucha YouTube channel and author of “The Kombucha Crafter’s Logbook,” was, ironically enough, the first time that I tried kombucha. We were camping in Joshua Tree, California, several summers ago when she passed around bottles of colorful and slightly cloudy liquid, each one delightfully effervescent, delicately vinegared and perfectly fruity. Kelly explained that this fizzy tea-based beverage had been concocted in her very own kitchen, and as it went down easily in the 100-degree heat, I became a kombucha convert.
You may have seen this probiotic-rich beverage in the health food aisle of your grocery store, packaged in apothecary-like bottles at super-high price points, but never really known what was in it.
“Kombucha is fermented sweet tea. It’s basically a type of vinegar ferment that uses beneficial (not harmful!) bacteria and yeast cultures to naturally turn sweet tea into a fizzy, slightly acidic drink,” Kelly told HuffPost.
According to a study conducted by John Hopkins Medicine, this fermentation is what helps create probiotics that aid in digestion, improve gut health, boost immunity and encourage a healthy metabolic system.
Kelly’s passion for at-home kombucha-crafting has long since surpassed hobby-level, but that doesn’t mean there’s any less experimenting in the kitchen. In fact, this very process of trial and exploration is why she encourages people to start making it on their own.
“Like anything homemade, I love that I can control exactly what goes into it and tailor it exactly to my taste preferences, [such as] the sweetness level, the quality of the tea, the fruit flavors, the level of carbonation. It’s also a really simple process once you get the hang of it, and it’s really empowering to be able to make it yourself,” Kelly said.