An Uncompleted Thesis

Fermented Tea, The Kombucha Culture

Microbial fermentation has been used by humans since as far back in time as the Neolithic period, about 10000 years BC. Our ancestors used fermentation to preserve perishable food as well as improve their nutritional qualities. However, our ancestors did not understand why it worked, just that it made their food taste better. With the development of science, scientists have been able to shed light on how microbial fermentation takes place. In recent years, this led to the discovery and use of Microbial Food Cultures in foodstuffs.

Microbial Food Cultures are bacteria, yeast or moulds that are used in food production. These Microbial Food Cultures are the agents that carry out fermentation in food products. An example of a food that is produced by microbial fermentation is fermented tea.

Fermented tea is produced by exposing un-fermented tea to open air fermentation. This process can take several months, or several years. The tea is exposed to microflora in the air, as well as humidity and oxygen. These microbials and elements causes the tea to undergo further oxidation through fermentation.

There is a type of fermented tea that is gaining popularity throughout Asia and some parts of Europe, this is the Kombucha. The process by which this tea is produced is known as the Kombucha culture.

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I decided to switch topics while I got to the middle of this, and so I had to start all over with a new thesis. But I decided to post this on blog for the good of mankind, well, truth is I didn't want it to go to waste.