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Greenbelt Kombucha Joins the Austin Craft Beverage Scene

Kombucha hunting is an essential party of our travels. We were shopping recently at our favorite HEB grocery store when we came across Greenbelt Kombucha. The beverage from this newcomer to the local scene comes is in a can which is what caught our eye.

However, the entrepreneurs behind the product are not new to the local food and beverage scene. As this story in the school newspaper reports, five co-founders, including three University of Texas Business Grads, have been working on a series of fermented food and beverage offerings over the past few years.

Initially, their products were pickled/preserved items for Hat Creek Burgers. That business was spun off into a separate food entity, Barrel Creek Provisions, when we encountered them at the local Fermentation Fair. Their next ventures were into fermented beverages — Strange Land Brewery, Texas Sake Company, and now, Greenbelt Kombucha.

Strange Land initially offered bottle-conditioned beer before evolving into cans to provide more stable shelf life. It appears they are following the same path with their kombucha.

Lessons learned from beer production have been applied to the kombucha production. Evolution from glass bottles to cans makes the product more portable for Austinites. The kombucha is created to be accessible to everyone, with familiar flavors and a lower price point than their competition. They are raw, vegan and utilize four different teas for their four products.  We tried two of the flavors — Hibiscus Berry Black Tea and Blood Orange Yerba Mate. The tastes are mild and refreshing, with minimal fizziness, and are very drinkable. They would be ideal with a meal, as a mixer or sitting at an outdoor concert.

Appealing to the environmentalists in Austin, the entire manufacturing process is utilizing wind powered energy. To us, that just seems to go hand in hand with the good stuff that kombucha does to the body.

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Kombucha: The Centuries Old Overnight Sensation

In the world of fashion, it is common to see an old trend become new again, like mini skirts or bell-bottom jeans. When it comes to food, new trends often reflect something from the past as well. We are seeing this now with the trend of fermented foods, like kombucha, pickles and kvass.

In recent memory, the pickled items were reflective of an Eastern European heritage. Kombucha’s lineage, on the other hand, includes stops in Russia, Manchuria and Japan. And, it’s in Japan where kombucha is getting a new life after a successful run in the ‘70s.

A recent story in the Honolulu Star Advertiser talks about the success of Oizumi Kojo, Japan’s only brewer of raw kombucha. And while kombucha is most often brewed using a fungus made from mushrooms, Japan’s version uses a base made from seaweed. The Japan fermented beverage comes in 30 flavors and is available at a notable Tokyo restaurant as well as via delivery to bars and eateries that serve beverages on tap.

Continuing with the adage “everything old is new again,” Kvass is making a comeback–or perhaps it just laid low in its Eastern European roots until recently. Kvass is fermented beet juice that is making its way into mainstream supermarket shelves after spending a few years testing the waters at health food stores and the occasional “gourmet” market.

Natural Producers Insider, a trade B2B magazine, offers a white paper for those interested in fermented beet juice and its alkaline brethren which speaks to the future of this refreshing, healthy drink. Whether you are a consumer looking to expand your horizons or someone interested from a commercial perspective, the report provides interesting reading.

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A Look At New Kombucha Brewing Supplies

Kombucha is on its way to coming out of the shadows and into the mainstream. From the increased offerings in supermarkets to varieties available on tap in restaurants and bars, as well as becoming an ingredient in some cool, crafted cocktails — the recognition, if not consumption of the healthy beverage, is becoming a consumer beverage of choice.

A natural outgrowth of that is people wanting to brew their own. When we started several years ago, there were minimal options for home brewing, including supplies, instructions, and equipment. It was really a DIY operation. As kombucha brewing has evolved, there are now many kits and accessories on the market to aid novice home brewers.

In addition to the many entrepreneurs selling starter kits (which include a scoby starter and tea bags), products such as a conical brewing system are geared to ensuring greater success for the more experienced home brewer. For those wanting a high-tech approach to their kombucha fermentation, companies such as Panasonic are working on contraptions such as The Ferment. The Ferment, featured at SXSW 2017, is an automated, Wi-Fi enabled brewing system. While built to ferment all matter of foods, the product provides an easy approach to brewing time-and-temp-controlled fermented beverages.

The folks behind the Pico Brew home beer-making system introduced a kombucha-brewing machine which operated in a similar fashion to its cerveza device but allowed fermentation geared toward probiotic beverages. Beyond its Kickstarter efforts for such a product, the company now sells Pico-Paks which allow consumers to make kombucha on a wide variety of the company’s machine.

As kombucha goes further into the global mainstream, with kombucha taprooms and mega retailers adding more choices to the shelves, we likely will see an increasing number of devices that aid in coming up with the perfect home brew.  The future is bright, not to mention fermented.

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New Nordic Cuisine Inspires Kombucha Brewers

Copenhagen has emerged as a destination on the vegan food scene internationally. Given the creativity of all the food options, it is no surprise that they have also taken the next step in brewing kombucha.

Chef Rene Redzepi shares his recipes for kombucha brewed with apple juice. By using a fruit base, it results in a beverage more like wine, another fermented fruit beverage. It opens up a world of possibilities with fruit juice and expands the ability of kombucha serve as a mixer.

Hybrid beverages, such as an alcoholic kombucha, result in more shelf (or cooler) space for the beverage. Kyla Hard Kombucha is one example of this, currently available in the US in two flavors. The market response will definitely drive the ongoing creation of new, hybrid kombuchas and related beverages.

Here’s How To Make Kombucha According To Noma’s René Redzepi

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Kombucha at Cafe Barbucha, Berlin

Well, it took more than a year for this video to go from taping to putting it up online.

The reason? We just completed a terrific one-day course on beginning editing (at Austin’s Precision Camera) which allowed us to cut seven minutes of footage into its best two-plus minutes.

The video was shot at Berlin’s Café Barbucha and features its owner/master brewer/wizard of all thing fermented, Ted Zagrabinski. Ted has some interesting things to say about his journey to becoming one of Germany’s (if not all of Europe’s) leading kombucha brewers.

With some basic editing skills in hand, future videos will not take a year to put up.

 

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News Roundup for June 19, 2018

Been a while since we have been on the daily beat, but here goes with a quick update:
I never remember the difference between horizontal and vertical integration, but Happy Kombucha, based in the U.K. obviously does. This company understands that the market is flooded with kombucha brewers, so they are making its mark as a supplier of all things fermented. This means that Happy will be providing supplies and equipment to home brewers and fermenters, in addition to supplying commercial brewers. From the tools to make fermented vegetables to kefir, if it is related to this healthy brand of eating, they have it.

A spokesperson for Happy Kombucha told Digital Journal they are now offering their wares at sale prices to stimulate interest in this popular trend: “Here at happy Kombucha we love to hold sales where possible, and this sale has definitely been incredibly popular. The fermenters available on our website are all incredibly high quality allowing for people to make their very own perfect fermented foods and are long lasting too. Anyone requiring more information or interested in purchasing fermenting equipment and the lowest possible prices should visit our website today.”

Happy Kombucha also sells the popular UK kombucha brand Love Kombucha. A five-pack of mixed flavors go for 12.25 GBP ($16.14).


I have no intention of ever moving to Buffalo, but it sure is tempting when a developer called The Barrell Factory—a new loft community in the city’s Old First ward–is touting the eateries and bars in the new development and one of the pillars happens to be Snowy Owl Kombucha.

Snowy Owl won “best tasting station” in 2017 Best of WNY competition. (That’s Western New York, FYI). Current flavors include Tart Cherry Coconut and Strawberry Lemonade.


The U.S. is not alone in its inability to develop proper uniform regulations for acceptable alcohol levels in kombucha. The issue is not setting guidelines, but more the inability for effective enforcement and monitoring. One brewer in Australia (who goes to great lengths to keep his alcohol levels low) maintains the government needs to do random checks on kombucha for sale in retail.
Jeff Low, a brewer in New South Wales told ABC News in Australia that Food Standards Australia and New Zealand need to be more proactive in its monitoring. “[They need] testing for alcohol, testing for probiotic, making sure it’s still alive, that it is a living product and it’s not pasteurized.”

Here are a few Tweets worth a second look:

Invoking the heavens:

From a London brewer sampling its wares at Taste of London

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Is Kombucha Healthy–The Debate Rages On

A piece in Pop Sugar debates the health merits of kombucha. Yes, there are millions of probiotics that add to the beneficial ones already found in the digestive tract. The fact of the matter is, that if it helps your body and digestive system stay healthy and balanced, and you enjoy drinking it, then you should enjoy it. Contrarians believe there is no scientific proof that long-term drinking of kombucha aids overall health conditions.

The same health debate exists for coffee — good for you or cancer-causing. For tea, fans weigh the value of green vs. black and hot vs. cold. Is there a magic formula for any of these beverages?

As more producers with health-inspired offerings, enter the market and are creative with their flavor blending –(for example, Health-Ade jalapeno-kiwi-cucumber or Caboost Kombucha’s hibiscus sangria) more consumers will be tempted to try it. Social media buzz and clever marketing campaigns will also begin to take hold and reach millennial consumers. And, as brewers also experiment with packaging, cans (such as Brew Dr.), bottle, flip top, the market will organically evolve and become a competitor to other lifestyle-branded drinks.

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The Art of Pairing Kombucha with Food

Let’s start out with me clarifying that I am a kombucha sipper, not a guzzler. That said, it is interesting to see what food goes with various kombucha flavors if kombucha is your beverage of choice for the meal. For breakfast, for example, paired with our vegan breakfast tacos, I have been playing it safe, sticking to a lemon-ginger or cherry-hibiscus. If I were to expand the range of options, which way I go? Something more tangy and eye-opening, like Cayenne or Beet-Celeriac?

If we apply the traditional rules for pairing wine with food, we would have some rules to follow.
According to Karen McNeil, author of The Wine Bible, here are some pointers:

The food and wine (in this case kombucha) comes from the same place: so a taco with mango salsa could go with a tropical hibiscus kombucha
Pair delicate with delicate taste; robust with robust taste: you could do a light fizzy green tea kombucha with an fried rice entree or a cayenne-ginger with spicy schezwan noodles
Decide if you are going to mirror the taste of the food with the beverage or set up a contrast with the flavors as a juxtaposition

My takeaway from all this is that your pairing doesn’t have to be technically perfect, but ideally provide a perfect seesaw — where the drink makes you want a taste of the food and vice versa. What do kombucha brewers have to say about pairing their brews with food?

Brew Dr. Kombucha gives some specific pairings for backyard bbqs, specifying flavors for grilled meats, veggies and other grilled delights.

Pairing Kombucha With Your Backyard Barbecue

In addition, the owners of Happy Leaf Kombucha suggest avoiding pairing kombucha with coffee and high-acid foods, sticking with similar flavors. They suggest a fermented platter of vegetables brings out the flavor of the brew.
https://www.thekitchn.com/4-ways-to-use-kombucha-beyond-just-drinking-it-maker-tour-part-five-218419

Valley Isle Kombucha, produced in Maui, echoes the like flavors together and adds that kombucha pairs beautifully with cheese (logical since both are fermented!). They add that sweet and sour also contrast nicely if selecting a kombucha to pair with a sweeter dessert.

Pairing Kombucha with Food

The result of all this is to experiment with what you like and find your own favorites.

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News Roundup for April 12, 2018

Newton’s Law of kombucha states that, for every five people that love this probiotic beverage, there are one or two who hate it. Hate it with a passion. Seems that those who truly dislike kombucha love to shout their displeasure from the mountaintops.

Sarah Weinberg, an author for Delish, lists five reasons to avoid kombucha. Let’s either debunk or verify each claim:

1. The sugar content is scary. Weinberg says that a bottle can contain up to 20 grams of sugar. True enough, but most have 10 grams or under. Personally, I’d never touch one that has so much sugar. BTW, some sugar content is per serving and some are by a bottle, so check before imbibing. All this is not to say that some of the sugar levels on the label are incorrect; that is another story for another day.

2. It’s possible to overdose. I guess that’s true, but it’s also possible to overdose on soda pop and a few zillion other things.

3. There is a bit of alcohol in each bottle. That is a specious argument and one that is made irrelevant by various state laws that require ID to buy any kombucha containing a high level of alcohol. In fact, some Dijon mustards and cooking sprays also have alcohol.

4. The yeast content can mess with your body. Weinberg says that the yeast levels can mess you up if you have candida or a yeast infection. Seems to me that anyone with such an ailment would ask his or her doctor what food and beverages to avoid. And also drink the beverage in small doses to make sure it helps, not hurts.

Wait. That’s only four. The headline says five yet the story lists four. Maybe too much kombucha impacts headline writers and editors.


Time to grab one of those Southwest Airlines low fares and head to Baltimore. BevNet reports that Mobtown Fermentation is releasing a new flavor that sounds amazing—Tart Cherry and Ginger Juice. We’ve tried tart cherry from some other kombucha brewers, and the taste has been wonderful.
“I’m excited to be adding a spring flavor to our line,” Sid Sharma, Owner of Wild Kombucha told BevNet. “Cherry is one of the most popular flavors there are, especially in the warmer seasons, and pairing it with ginger has created a unique kombucha that I think people are really going to enjoy.”
Sounds like a refreshing summer brew.


Et tu Trader Joe’s?
Trader Joe’s has been added to the lawsuit against kombucha bottlers who, plaintiffs argue, mislabel the sugar and alcohol content in their brews.
The suit is being brought by Kombucha Dog, a Los Angeles-based brewer. Kombucha Dog’s kombucha has a level of alcohol which makes it an alcoholic beverage and subject to taxes and shelf placement for such beverages. The claim is that other brewers, including Trader Joes, mislabels theirs to avoid the tax and shelf placement.
Kombucha Dog, according to the article in the San Francisco Chronicle, has 1.4% alcohol which is more than twice the .5% which is the cutoff between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

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News Roundup for April 5, 2018

To juice or not to juice, that is the question. And we’re not talking about pro athletes taking steroids to enhance their performance. Adding juice to kombucha at some stage of the brewing process is an issue debated among brewers that separates the purists from the more adventurous.

Case in point is Emmett and Renee Love of Love’s Kombucha in Moscow, Idaho. Going from home brewers to sampling and selling their brew at a local farmers market. For this pair, adding juice or other flavorings to their kombucha is a no-no.

“What sets us apart is that we don’t add any juices or flavorings after it’s brewed,” Renee Love said in an interview with the Lewiston Tribune. “It’s a super simple brew…. It’s just a fun, special drink.”

With Love’s Kombucha, the brewers believe added flavor comes from the various teas they use in the initial part of the brew. The Love’s kombucha is not available in any stores but can be found on tap at Huckleberry’s Natural Market, Moscow Food Co-op and Tapped; and in Pullman at Daily Grind Espresso and Dissmores IGA.


And for some great Tweets:

Tim Spector, forced to take antibiotics, hopes kombucha will even things out

From Kinoko Kombucha, a new brewer



And from Nutra Kombucha