page_title: Kombucha
section_title: Composition and properties
hierarchical_section_title: Kombucha / Composition and properties
caption_attribution_description: English: Kombucha Culture 400X sample taken from tea recently purchased "scoby" was floating in.
context_page_description: Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly consumed for its supposed health benefits. Sometimes the beverage is called kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast. Juice, spices, fruit or other flavorings are often added to enhance the taste of the beverage.
  Kombucha is thought to have originated in Manchuria, China where the drink is traditionally consumed, or in Russia and Eastern Europe. Kombucha is now homebrewed globally, and also bottled and sold commercially by various companies.
  Kombucha is produced by fermenting sugared tea using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast commonly called a "mother" or "mushroom". The microbial populations in a SCOBY vary; the yeast component generally includes Saccharomyces cerevisiae, along with other species; the bacterial component almost always includes Gluconacetobacter xylinus to oxidize yeast-produced alcohols to acetic acid. Although the SCOBY is commonly called "tea fungus" or "mushroom", it is actually "a symbiotic growth of acetic acid bacteria and osmophilic yeast species in a zoogleal mat [biofilm]".
caption: Yeast and bacteria in kombucha magnified 400 times
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