How to Choose the Best Tea for Kombucha

Tea is THE MOST POPULAR beverage in the world. Humans drink more tea than all other beverages combined including soft drinks, coffee and alcohol. So, it makes perfect sense that one of the chief ingredients of Kombucha is tea. But what is the best tea for Kombucha?

And even before that, what is tea? We hear about green tea, chamomile tea, peppermint tea, genmaicha (AMZ), rooibos, honeybush and Lipton’s tea to name a few. Perhaps any plant that we soak in hot water to create a beverage is tea? It may seem that way, and for day-to-day conversation there’s nothing wrong with that definition.

However, many “teas” do not contain what Kombucha needs to brew successfully, especially over time. Moreover, some plants may harm your culture and retard the formation of healthful elements in your homebrew.

Let’s take a closer look at the best types of tea for long term brewing of Kombucha.

What is tea?

The Latin name for the tea plant is Camellia sinensis. All types of tea – white, black, green, oolong, and post-fermented teas (such as pu-erh) etc. are derived from the same plant. The different types are primarily determined by how they are processed.

Traditionally, Kombucha has been brewed with black tea (known as “red tea” in China, named for the color of the resulting brewed liquid rather than the color of the leaves themselves). Research has shown that green tea produces the healthiest looking culture. The best tea for Kombucha is usually a blend, and the most common recipe for brewing Kombucha includes a combination of green & black tea.

Is Tea Healthy?

Research shows that tea has healing properties which Kombucha’s fermentation process helps to unlock. With Kombucha’s help, the polyphenols & anti-oxidants become more bio-available, which just means they are easier for your body to absorb. Once again, Kombucha works with nature’s own systems to improve their efficiency: Symbiosis!

Some health benefits attributed to tea are:

• improves beneficial intestinal microflora
• provides immunity against intestinal disorders
• prevents tooth decay due to the presence of fluorine
• normalizes blood pressure

No wonder Kombucha has such a host of healing properties. It is made from a beverage that already has amazing health benefits. Then Kombucha makes it easier for the body to absorb those benefits through the magic of fermentation and a little colony of special bacteria and yeast, which end up producing a bunch of vitamins and enzymes that weren’t there before as well. Bonus!

Kombucha cultures love black tea and green tea and grow thick, healthy SCOBYs in either one. That said, black tea contains more fuel for the SCOBY to grow, so the cultures generally grow more quickly and more robustly.

**Bonus Definition – flush – tea is harvested 2 times per year. Each harvest is a flush. The leaves from the first flush in Spring have a different flavor and quality than those of the second flush in Summer. Some types of tea also have an Autumnal flush.

Why tea?

Tea contains several nutrients and compounds that feed the Kombucha culture including nitrogen, caffeine and theanine to name a few. Along with the sugar, tea is the main fuel source for the SCOBY. When you brew Kombucha with herbal infusions (also called tisanes), you may get a delicious, healthy fermented beverage, but over time, due to the lack of necessary nutrients, the culture will usually atrophy and eventually die.

That isn’t to say that brewers with experience shouldn’t try to make herbal “Kombucha.” But in order to protect the health of your culture it is recommended to either add some actual tea to your herbs or alternate batches with the tea plant to reinvigorate the culture. Beginners should stick to tea until you have enough large healthy cultures in your SCOBY Hotel to brew experimental batches.

White Tea

Common types of White Tea: Silver Needle Tea, White Peony Tea (白牡丹茶)

Blends featuring White Tea: Yin Yang, Hannah’s Special Tea Blend

White tea is harvested from the youngest, most delicate buds & leaves which are covered in fine white hairs and located at the top of the tea plant. Once picked, they are allowed to lightly wither in the sun and then are gently dried to prevent further enzymatic oxidation (meaning to turn darker from exposure to the air, kind of like an apple).

This gentle drying process protects the delicate flavor of the tea and ensures that the highest amount of anti-oxidants are present in the beverage. White tea produces a milder tasting Kombucha that is high in catechins.

Green Tea

Common types of Green Tea: Sencha, Bancha, Dragonwell (Longjing)

Blends featuring Green Tea: Green Goddess Blend, Hannah’s Special Tea Blend

Green tea is unfermented and delicately processed using sunlight, heating & rolling, which releases its essence. It is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Here are some of the healing properties attributed to EGCG:

• inhibits the growth of cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
• lowers LDL cholesterol levels
• naturally anti-bacterial
• boosts immunity

A special note about JUN: While the recipe for JUN Tea calls for green tea only, technically JUN could be brewed with any type of tea and would likely remain a healthy, vibrant brew. However, the flavor of JUN brewed with other types of tea is simply not as good. Although many have brewed JUN with other teas, most everyone returns to green tea for the best taste, so that is what we recommend.

Oolong Tea

With hundreds of varieties to choose from, we recommend the lesser known but most delicious Se Chung Special Oolong Tea.

Somewhere between the unfermented green tea and the fully fermented black tea is the “4th type” of tea. Partially fermented, oolongs come in hundreds of varieties based on the location of growing and the unlimited creativity of the producers. Oolong gives the tea grower and manufacturer the most opportunity to put their personality into the leaves. Differing regions will ferment the teas more or less, from only 10% all the way to nearly 100%, based on their long traditions for tea processing. This makes oolong many tea collector’s favorite!

Black Tea

Common types of Black Tea: Assam Flowering Orange Pekoe, Ceylon, Darjeeling

Blends featuring Black Tea: Yin Yang, Hannah’s Special Tea Blend

*Note: “Orange Pekoe” listed on black tea labels does not indicate a flavor, instead this is used to indicate the size of the leaves. The term Orange Pekoe is now in use by some retailers to describe any generic type of medium grade and size black tea.

Black tea has a long history with Kombucha. The literal translation of the Chinese word for Kombucha – 紅茶菌 – is “red tea bacteria” (read more about the many names of Kombucha).

Though it was once thought that black tea didn’t contain nearly the benefits of green tea, it has been discovered that despite a longer oxidization process, it is very healthy.

Black tea is higher in purines which aid blood circulation and encourage warming properties. Some people blend in more black tea when brewing during the Winter to compensate for cooler temperatures. Women especially may experience poor circulation in their extremities and drinking Kombucha made with black tea can improve that condition.

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All of these teas, in their seemingly unlimited varieties, have been shown to make healthy, delicious Kombucha and SCOBYs. Mix them and match them for a flavor combination you enjoy.