Tea: The Best Choice for Kombucha Fermentation

What kind of tea you can use for fermentation

A lovingly crafted kombucha and high-quality tea are inseparable. We'll give you a few simple rules to avoid making the wrong tea choice. Afterwards, you'll find an interesting interview about tea with the tea experts from Sensaterra.

Why do you need tea for kombucha?

The kombucha scoby consists of various yeasts and bacteria, and various small microorganisms. It needs nutrients such as caffeine, nitrogen, and theanine to grow and thrive. These are found in the tea varieties of Camellia Sinensis described above. The tea provides the SCOBY with various plant-based components like polyphenols and, together with sugar and water, forms the basis of fermentation.

The right tea choice for Kombucha:

1. As a kombucha beginner, use black tea or a mixture of green and black tea for fermentation.

2. Do not use tea with a high content of essential oils or artificial flavors (e.g., sage or lemon balm tea).

3. Preferably use loose leaf tea and not tea from bags.

4. Do not use fruit tea or other exotic, fruity teas on their own – only mix them in!

Which water to use for brewing tea for kombucha fermentation?

The composition of the water used can also affect taste and fermentation. Drinking water can generally be suitable for kombucha fermentation. Whether additional filtering is useful depends on the tap water and its composition. Therefore, always use filtered water.

Interview with the tea experts from Sensaterra – The magazine for all current topics on tea and coffee

What makes a really good tea?

The beautiful thing is that everyone can perceive something different as "good". That's why it's difficult to make an accurate statement here. I would first recommend not to consume tea with artificial flavorings or added sugars. The ingenious thing about tea is that you can enjoy the fermented substances and aromas from the plant in the most diverse combinations. If you let yourself be open to what nature has to offer, you will be surprised. What can definitely make a huge difference in terms of taste is the preparation method of the respective tea. It is very important to pay attention to the water temperature and brewing time. The hotter the water and the longer the brewing time, the more likely it is to extract unwanted bitter substances from the tea leaves, and this then distorts the true and delicious aromas that would otherwise be tasted.

What is the difference between black and green tea?

The difference between black and green tea lies in the post-harvest processing. In fact, it is very similar for both teas, except that black tea leaves then ferment, and green tea leaves do not. That's why black tea is dark. Generally speaking, both green and black tea can be obtained from one and the same bush. But as with everything, there is so much creative leeway in the processing that it is possible to obtain a variety of special flavors.

What are the health benefits of regular tea consumption?

This depends heavily on which tea is consumed. But one thing is for sure: tea consists exclusively of water, and our body needs a lot of it. (Everything in moderation, overdoing it is never good). Certain fruit teas, for example, also contain vitamins that can be good for us. Many herbs in tea stimulate our metabolism or relax us.

Is the theine in tea more tolerable than the caffeine in coffee?

Theine is very similar to caffeine. However, it is not as "aggressive". Caffeine has the property of making a person fully awake again for a short moment. Theine, on the other hand, wakes the body up slowly. But it also keeps you awake for much longer. My professor at university always recommended that I drink tea rather than coffee during exam periods, because the long-term effect of staying awake with theine is better than with caffeine.

You have several articles on Kombucha on your blog. What makes a good Kombucha for you?

Since we are not specialists in Kombucha, the credibility of our partner is a big factor for us. We are firmly convinced that in conversation with our partners, it quickly becomes clear whether we are dealing with industrial products or high-quality products that have not been pasteurized.

Who is behind Sensaterra and what is your mission?

Sensaterra is backed by a diverse, small, young team. Our CEOs Maxence Béguin and Camille Rodriguez are both French. However, the entire team also consists of Germans and Italians, as we want to launch our e-commerce simultaneously in these three countries. Our mission is to bring an e-commerce platform to the market that exclusively offers high-quality hot beverages. This means: We want to direct attention back to small local businesses, retailers, and roasters and at the same time give them a modern voice through our webpage. We do not want to support industrial products and want to remain authentic in conveying information to customers. In this way, more people will surely soon appreciate how much work can go into a hot cup of tea, chocolate, coffee, etc.

Where do you source your tea? Do you pay attention to fair trade?

We do not have our own production and therefore no own products. All the teas we offer on our platform belong to small suppliers from France, Italy or Germany. Everyone has their personal specialties and natural production methods. It is also important to us that our partners share the same values as we do. We attach great importance to transparency, fair trade and sustainability.

Thanks to Eleana from Sensaterra for the interview!

More exciting articles by Eleana on topics related to tea and coffee can be found here.