Ancient Kombucha Sugar

[CrunchyFarmGirl]

Hi all,
I'm having a hard time finding any information of what was originally used to make kombucha. What I'm finding is a consensus that white sugar is the best to use and that repeated use of other more natural sugars may be possible but will quickly weaken the scoby and you'll need to start fresh again with a new mother scoby.
Does anyone have info. on what was used in ancient times? I know darn well they didn't have refined white sugar, so how did they continue passing this on and not letting it die if the natural sugars weaken and kill off the mother scoby?

I'm moving to the country to homestead and would like to provide as much of our needs as possible from our land, but white sugar won't be one of those things!

[tboroson]

I don't know for sure, but my guess is that they were using beet sugar that was filtered and purified, just not quite as highly refined as white sugar. There's plenty of references going back many hundreds of years to "take fine white sugar and beat to a powdre" and things like that, so they had "white" sugar, just maybe not as white as we know it. Think something like Florida Crystals (which is what I use for my kombucha, and I've never had a batch of that fail.)

The only batch I've ever had fail on me was when I used Rapadura. I've been thinking of experimenting with honey, but a small batch so if it fails I won't have to feel guilty about wasting $5 of good honey!

[PeggyinNC]

I have used muscovado sugar from Wilderness Family Naturals. I think it is made in Thailand or the Phillipines. Lots of cultures have really raw sugar, that still has the enzymes and everything else intact, just evaporated cane juice. I think that muscovado is much yummier and more natural than rapadura, though I use both for different things. The muscovado makes a darker brew, with a molasses-y flavor, but it is quite good. The scoby seemed to love the extra nutrients. But I admit I do usually just use white sugar for my kombucha, because then I can save my more expensive good sugar. The white stuff is just so much cheaper, and it makes a lighter brew. But I never feel good about it, so I understand you wanting to use something else. One of the big websites on kombucha says you can use honey, but I guess it must be tricky or something. I've never tried, but think I will someday. Good luck and let us know if you find some wonderful natural way to give your scobys their sweet nutrients...!

[CrunchyFarmGirl]

Thanks for the input. I might look into how to make beet sugar myself, if it's possible. Until then I'm going with the evaporated cane juice, which I really like. I'd like to try the honey sometime too. I've read that it can be done sometimes, but it takes FOREVER and will usually fail because the honey is a naturial bacteria inhibitor. I just read in Full Moon Feast that honey was found in ancient caves that was still perfectly preserved! I guess it's the only natural food that never perishes. I love honey! And on an OT note I have been having terrible seasonal allergies this week and read that honey with the bee pollen in it acts as a natural immunizer to the pollen in the air. I started doing that at the same time as Oil Pulling, so I don't know which is doing the trick but my allergies are gone after just a few days!

[Jojo F.]

I asked about this a while ago and never really got any answers. But it was just purely out of curiosity instead of necessity.

In Wild Fermentation Katz talks about honey too in ancient times and there are cave drawings of natives collecting it. Honey is amazing:

With the allergies I believe it is best to use local, raw honey. That way you are getting local pollen and not pollen that you are never exposed to.

[CrunchyFarmGirl]

[QUOTE=Jojo F.;11497857)

With the allergies I believe it is best to use local, raw honey. That way you are getting local pollen and not pollen that you are never exposed to.[/QUOTE]

Maybe that's why it worked so well. It was from a nearby farm