By Jennifer Adler

For centuries, people around the world have brewed a strange concoction of yeasts and bacteria with sweetened tea to make an effervescent drink thought to have medicinal benefits. In China, it was called "Manchurian Mushroom tea," in Russia, it was known as "Tea Kvass," the French called it "Champignon de Longue Vie." In Japan it was known as Kombucha. While many people still prepare their own Kombucha, these days you can find this fermented drink in health food stores and cafes under names like Kombucha Wonder Drink, Kombucha Power and G.T. Kombucha.