TeaChat

I was just looking at some Japanese recipes and stumbled upon kombu cha, not the fermented stuff that some people drink, but dried kelp powder, it's sold similar to matcha and comes as just the powder, or flavored (like plum flavor).

It's sparked my curiosity and I'm wondering what it tastes like, has anyone ever tried it?

If you mean powdered seaweed tea, i have tried it. Not sure if it was exactly kombucha. Taste is some kind of vegetable broth, a bit salty.

my father got me some a few times.
Its soothing and salty.
Its a bit on the exotic side that's for sure.

Also, yes there is Kombu-Cha and then there is also Kombucha,
Kombucha, is made from a type of fungus and is very bitter but, allegedly very good for your health. High acidity on that one.

SlientSipper wrote:my father got me some a few times.
Its soothing and salty.
Its a bit on the exotic side that's for sure.

Also, yes there is Kombu-Cha and then there is also Kombucha,
Kombucha, is made from a type of fungus and is very bitter but, allegedly very good for your health. High acidity on that one.

Though the fermenting agent in Kombucha is often referred to as "mushroom," it is not a fungus. I believe it's mostly yeast and bacteria. I tried making it for a few months and it was kind of fun, but I discontinued the process because the benefits were not so wildly recognizable. It can taste really good if done well, though.

yeast is a fungus

I tried the fermented kombucha once and couldn´t handle more than a sip...it tasted like sweetened vinegar.

The seaweed kombucha on the other hand is quite a bit more appealing, I liked eating dried seaweed when I tried it anyway

Maybe when I order some shincha from Maiko I´ll throw in some of thier konbu tea to try it

entropyembrace wrote:yeast is a fungus

Well, you know I like to look for occasions to declare my ignorance with confidence. Thanks for not trying to step up and OWN me, as is the custom on this forum sometimes.

I stand corrected. Sorry, silentslipper.

Yeast is a fungus. Who knew?

(A lot of people, apparently)

Though, we never say that Bread is baked using "fungus"...

Sooo.... back to the original question.

My experience w/ the dried-kelp variety of kombu cha is similar to what Xell and SilentSipper mentioned -- salty.

A friend picked it up at Narita on his way back from Korea. It was 'real' kombu cha, or at least, by the name on the label. In typical Japanese style, came with its own plastic serving spoon under the lid.

Seemed like it would be more appropriate to cook with...