I have recently been experimenting with making probiotic drinks to improve my gut health, and as a side effect, my overall health will improve.
"The key to a healthy body is a healthy gut."
Out of all the drinks, I have made there are three so far I consider my favorite, and there is ferment tea, ferment herbal tea, and Kombucha.
The fun part of these drinks is they taste like soda, for those of you that love these beverages. And depend on how long you ferment some, they have a hint of an alcohol taste to them, for those who enjoy a glass of wine now and again. The best part though is the fact they are all healthy, and you can drink them as much as you like.
I use the basic method I have research about for all of these drinks, but make them mine own from choosing the type of products and adding or removing ingredients.
Let begin with the easiest drinks I've made, which I called - "Fermented Blueberry Green Tea."
Ingredients:
4 High-Quality Green Tea Bag (Yogi Tea, Pure Green)
1/4 Cup of Organic Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice (Wholesome Sweeteners, Inc., Organic Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice)
1/4 Cup of Organic Blueberry (If frozen, put it out to thaw, as the first, while tea steep)
32 oz. Purify Water
1/4 of a Probiotic Capsule (MegaFood, MegaFlora for Women)
Most of these ingredients can be found at iHerb
Equipment:
One pot or tea kettle
One plastic or wooden spoon (You can not use metal at the last step when stirring all the ingredients together because the probiotic will react to it.)
One 32 oz mason jar or a glass jar (No plastic or metal) One
One mason jar lid or just the ring with paper towel
Direction:
First, make sure all your equipment have been sterilizing properly with hot soapy water follow by hot water and white vinegar, follow by hot water.
After all have been clean and dry off (absolutely no water after drying to avoid mold) , add 8 oz. or 1 cup of the 32 oz. of water into your pot or tea kettle and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat.
Add your 1/4 cup of sugar into the hot water and stir with your spoon until sugar has dissolved completely. Add the four green tea bag to the mix, cover(to avoid anything falling in) and let sit for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, squeeze the excess liquid from the bag without breaking the bags. Throw away the bag and pour the tea into you Mason jar. Make sure no leaves from the bags fall into the jar. Add the rest of the water. Let sit for a few minutes to come to room temperature.
Use a thermometer or drop a few drops of the liquid over you hand over the sink to check temperature. Once the tea reaches room temperature, lightly smash the 1/4 cup of blueberries and add to the jar with the liquid that came out of it.
Take out one probiotic capsule and drop 1/4 of it in the jar. If you accidentally add a litter more, it will not harm the tea.
Stir all the ingredients with a spoon for about a minute. Now either lightly seal the jar with a mason lid or take a paper towel and place on top of the jar and seal down with only the mason jar ring.
Put the jar somewhere dark away from direct light at room temperature for 3-5 days. Pour a small amount out on the third day and taste and if still too sweet for you let it sit out longer.
Once you agree with the taste, seal the jar tight and place in your refrigerator for at least 24 hours before drinking it. The blueberry can be eaten or throw away it all up to you; I always eat mine.
Notes:
You can cut off on time by placing the remaining water in your freezer after removing the one cup of water. Then after the 30 minutes, you can pour cold water over the tea, which will bring the temperature down faster.
If you are not a fan of blueberry, you can try other fruits. The key is the fructose that is found in fresh fruit, so almost any will do. Do not use pineapple or banana the sugar is too high in those for this type of ferment.
You also do not have to buy the brands the I brought, just make sure the brands you use is good quality.
Do not worry about the sugar because the probiotic will have eaten most of it out of the drinks.
Make sure to let me know what you think of this drink after you taste it.
