Why The Kombucha Second Fermentation Is Important

Kombucha tea has many benefits to health. The first fermentation process leads to production of sweet to sour tea depending on the length of time of the fermentation process. Do you know that the second fermentation process gives this more nutrients? Kombucha second fermentation is thus an important step which you should never overlook if you want to reap all the benefits of this tea.

Kombucha tea’s health benefits are derived from bacteria and yeast which make up the Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). After the initial fermentation, huge volumes of bacteria and yeast still remain in the SCOBY. Millions of other free floating bacteria and yeast remain in the liquid tea. If you buy unpasteurized Kombucha tea from your local store you may find some tiny SCOBY in the bottle. The SCOBY will be the bacteria and yeast coming together in colony.  

During the initial fermentation process, yeast present in the SCOBY use nutrients in the sweet tea mixture for their growth and multiplication. Ethanol and other byproducts are produced during this process. The bacteria in the SCOBY take this ethanol and use it for their nourishment, and in that process they break it down to organic acids. The period of time within which these bacteria work determines the levels of organic acids produced. 

More organic acids will help turn the Kombucha tea from sweet to sour taste. Some of the important organic acids produced include malic acid, lactic acid and gluconic acid. All these are beneficial to your health. Malic acid is an important body detoxifier. Lactic acid is helpful in regulating digestion in the body while gluconic acid helps the body fight candidiasis and other yeast infections. 

Acetic acid (vinegar) is also produced in the process. Allowing the bacteria longer time to work leads to production of more amounts of acid, leading to sourer tea. Kombucha second fermentation offers the advantage of slowing down process of acetic acid production, meaning that Kombucha tea’s nutrient value continues increasing but without the drink getting sour very quickly as happens in the first fermentation process. With longer periods of fermentation, there is accumulation of antimicrobial compounds, and this makes the teal from second fermentation an antioxidant which is more effective. 

This second fermentation process leads to reduction of sugar content, and this makes Kombucha tea an even healthier drink. This low sugar content of Kombucha tea makes it a good rink for the diabetic persons. For this reason, the second fermentation process is therefore a good method for the production of sugar free Kombucha. 

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