BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TONIC

There is an area in Russia called Kargasok where people live to be about 130 years old. These active centenarians attribute their longevity to the yeast enzyme tea which has been part of their diet for hundreds of years. The people are examples of vibrant health and show little visible aging. Their complexions are almost without wrinkles.

They all drink at least 8 ounces of the Kombucha tea every day.

The Kombucha tea is believed to originally be from China according to records that date back as far as 221 B.C. It was named “The Remedy for Immortality.

In 414 A.D. Dr. Kombu from Korea brought the remedy to Japan to treat the Japanese emperor Inkyo.

Use of the kombucha tea later spread to Russia, India and Europe. I have also heard of its use in Canadian Indian folk medicine.

In the early 1950s, Soviet scientists and cancer researchers tried to determine the cause of the huge increase in cancer following World War II. They sent teams of scientific investigators to two districts in the region of Perm on the Kama River of the Ural Mountains. They were curious to find out why these two areas had hardly any incidence of cancer.

At first they couldn’t find any noticeable difference in the people’s lifestyles. In fact they live in areas highly contaminated by lead, mercury and asbestos mines.

It was quite a mystery until they discovered that almost all the households had fermenting crocks that contained a beverage called “tea kvass.”

Everybody drank this “tea wine” as a refreshing beverage.

Another interesting report states that Ronald Reagan was informed of the benefits of the mushroom tea and made it a part of his cancer treatment. After starting with chemotherapy, responding badly to it and then having new metastasis appear again, he was informed by some well-known physicians in the United States of a reference to a cancer cure in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book “Cancer Ward.”

This famous Russian author who defected to the United States was cured of cancer in a Soviet labor camp. The aids of President Reagan followed the references in the book and obtained some of the ”Tea Culture” which was responsible for his rapid recovery from cancer. Reagan is said to drink one liter of the tonic every day.

His cancer doesn’t seem to have returned.

In 1987, Dr. Veronika Carstens, wife of the former president of Germany, wrote a thesis called “Help from Nature – My Remedies Against Cancer.” In her writings she recommends the use of the “Kombucha Mushroom Tea” to cure cancer.

The first book of information on the tea culture was written in 1954 by F. Bar Bancik. It was written in Russian and the title translates to “The Tea-Mushroom and its Therapeutic Properties.”

He reports on laboratory tests which confirmed that the healthful bacteria of the tea mushroom fights against and eliminates disease causing microbes and harmful yeast and bacterial infections.

Two other books have been published in Austria; “Kombucha, Healthy Beverage and Natural Remedy from the Far East,” by Gunther W. Frank, is a result of his thorough research of all the information that has been handed down over the centuries.

In the book, “Tea Fungus Kombucha, The Natural Remedy and its Significance in Cancer and Other Metabolic Diseases” by Rosina Fasching, she tells about the clinical work of her noted uncle Rudolf Skelenar M.D. who helped many chronically ill patients using the Kombucha beverage as the primary therapy.

Although the mushroom tea is classified as a “Panacea” it may not cure everything. It is a supreme immune-boosting drink.

People will respond differently to the tonic, according to their personal body chemistry.

Kombucha Tea Mushroom

THE MUSHROOM ITSELF

It is very sensitive and yet durable. The Kombucha Fungus is built in a membrane form and is a symbiosis of yeast cells and different types of good bacteria: 1) Bacterium Kylenum 2) Bacterium Gluconicum 3) Acetobacterium ketogenum 4) Pichia Fermentana.

It rows in a solution of Black and/or Green tea. (Lipton, Tetley or generic tea as long as there is no staples) and cane or raw sugar (NEVER USE HONEY). It has no spores and multiplies by a process that formulates Glucuronicum Acid, lactic acid, acetitc acid and several vitamins. It transforms the tea into useful enzymes. After at least 7 days, the fermented tea which contains 0.05% alcohol, 1% what is is used, some say it tastes like apple cider vinegar or apple cider. NEVER EAT THE MUSHROOM. The Baby is on the top of the original, and it looks like a pancake but is grayish in color. The darker and rougher side is always down. P.S. don’t panic if you go a few more days than 7, I’ve gone as long as 20 days but the tea is much stronger and the baby doesn’t always want to separate. The mushroom must breathe so just cover with cloth (cheesecloth or white cotton flannel).

THE RULES FOR MUSHROOM CARE, HANDLING AND REPRODUCING: WITH DO’S AND DON’TS.

Never: (No No’s):

Use any metal (except cooking tea in stainless steel or glass).

Take off all jewelry. ABSOLUTELY NO RINGS AND NOT EVEN METAL AROUND THE RIM OR HANDLE OF CONTAINERS.

Do not DISTURB or MOVE Mushroom/container while processing. (It stops processing).

See the list (next page of herbs not to use.)

HANDLING AND DOING: (NOT as difficult as it seems).

Start with 3 quarts distilled water. I cup sugar and 5 tea bags per batch.

Place all the above ingredients into a large stainless steel pan and bring just to a boil. Remove from flame. Let steep for 20 minutes. Remove tea bags and let cool to room temperature.

Take the mushroom that has been washed ever so gently in distilled water, place gently into new tea and add approximately 1 cup of old tea (as starter) into the new tea. Place container with mushroom in it in a quiet, dark, room temperature place. Do not worry if mushroom sinks to bottom. Will rise later in a few days).

The old tea is stored in refrigerator in glass preferably but the jug form the distilled water is o.k.

REMEMBER:

It will last a life time if handled with care.

Once a mushroom is contaminated, it will always be so.

Never just throw away, if too many hang on tree for birds and animals to eat, but NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

Part of mushroom can be applied topically for wound healing.

Sip the TEA SLOWLY. Don’t gulp.

If used to reduce weight, sip 2-4 ozs. Before eating. For good digestion, sip after eating. There are exceptions to the rule.

If there are holes in Mother or Baby, don’t worry, there is no problem. It will not affect anything.