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Fermentation Movement Grows Out of Kombucha

When we started this website two years ago, our intent was to share our love of kombucha and let others know where to find this probiotic beverage in their communities. In the time since, our interest has expanded to other fermented beverages and food.  This trend is reflected around the world now as people are discovering or rediscovering fermented foods. As gut health is found to be connected to various diseases, gut health products are gaining more attention.

My husband and I have Eastern European heritages, hailing from Poland and Russia. A Nordic/Baltic cruise recently allowed us to explore these roots. Kombucha was available in the Nordic countries of Sweden and Denmark, but we didn’t find it in the former Eastern bloc countries.

In Riga, Latvia, our highlight was drinking kvass out of a cup from a kvass wagon. It was so refreshing in the heat. The wagon was at the entrance to the City Market where there are seven buildings of offerings. Most stands in the main halls had multiple vats of pickles in various degrees of doneness. They had sauerkraut, fermented carrots, beets, mushrooms, and string beans, to name a few. We did find one vat of pickles in a smaller market in Klaipeda, Lithuania. My hairdresser grew up in rural Lithuania and her grandmother regularly brewed batches of fermented tea and kefir. We didn’t find any fermented goodies in Estonia or St. Petersburg.

Berlin is another story. Previously we went to visit with master fermenter of all things, Ted  Zagrabinski at Cafe Barbucha. When we were there, he had kombucha as well as experimental/specialty kombucha made of different teas and some fermented fruits and vegetables. For good measure. Now, it’s pretty much anything goes for him!

A recent story in The Telegraph stated that kombucha has unleashed a beverage trend in Britain and beyond that inspires creativity. Gut health is driving the beverage development.

As Cassandra Daily reminds us, millennials want to have their own bespoke beverages. This means determining the amount of sugar, nutritional values, and strength. At some point, this will impact the fermented beverages market as these peeps are the main consumers of kombucha daily.

Kombucha was a logical extension from the founders of a local craft brewery and sake company here in Austin. Local fermentation entrepreneurs expanded into beverages and continue to add products to their product line. Austin Chronicle’s “The Drinks Issue” will fill you in and make you go in search of a can of sparkling Texas Sake.

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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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Kombucha Has Some Proven Health Benefits

Kombucha has always been touted for its health benefits—sometimes based on clinical research, sometimes based on the wisdom of the foodie forward crowd. In reality, recent studies find some unexpected benefit from the probiotic component in this popular fizzy brew.

As we age, it’s a fact our bones lose their calcium composition which can lead to such issues as obstreperous and osteopenia. With either of these maladies, bones become brittle and subject to fractures and other related problems. A study from the University of Gothenberg which was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that the probiotic strain Lactobacillus reuteri is effective at significantly cutting bone loss.

Lactobacillus reuteri is not only found in kombucha but also in such fermented foods as kimchi and miso soup.

Before rushing out to supplement your kombucha supply to keep your bones strong and supple, keep in mind that selecting a bottle (or can) that uses green tea as its base can offer your health benefits beyond a strong gut. Green tea has bioactive compounds that can do everything from reducing cell damage, offer powerful antioxidants, and provide a form of caffeine that stimulates your brain without giving you the jitters associated with coffee.

A British Heart Foundation study has found a “compound found in green tea, currently is being studied for its ability to reduce amyloid plaques in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, also breaks up and dissolves potentially dangerous protein plaques found in the blood vessels.”

A few notable brands that offer flavors made with green tea include Wonder Drink Kombucha, CommuniTea, and if you find yourself in Germany (especially Berlin), Barbucha. Read the label of your favorite brew to see if it uses green tea in one of its offerings

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Our Kombucha Journey Rolls On at Full Speed

Time flies when you are attempting to sample every kombucha flavor in the world. And, also to meet every brewer in the world.

For the past six years, after adding kombucha to our diet to fulfill the need for more alkalinity, the journey that led us to this website (especially in the recent relaunch) has been more than we ever expected. We build our travel around how many brewers can we visit; what supermarkets and local grocers are carrying kombucha (it’s a way of finding cool, new brands) and what new trends are emerging based on kombucha that makes its way to farmers markets and small warehouses tucked away off a bustling freeway.

In 2017, we sampled kombucha, Naturia, in Warsaw at a natural food store a few blocks from our hotel by the central train station. We then brought a starter kit to our Workaway host who lives on a farm south of Gdansk. On that same trip, we then flew to Berlin for the express purpose of meeting master brewer Ted (Tadeusz Zagrabinski) at his restaurant/brewery/mad food scientist workshop, Café Barbucha. Additionally, we came across some local German brands (such as Carpe Diem from the folks behind Red Bull) with the growing number of Berlin supermarkets carrying vegan food and beverages. BTW, we will be posting our video interview with Ted in the next week.

Earlier that year, our voyage of all things probiotic beverage took us to the Southeastern part of the U.S. In Wilmington, N.C., we met the founders of Panacea Brewing and later that same trip we came across Dalia Sofia, a small brewer in South Carolina.

On each of these trips, we visit supermarkets big and small where we come across brands new to us, such as Big Easy Bucha, Bucha, Simple Truth, Lenny Boy, and more. It is through these journeys that we learn first hand the differences in taste and brewing method. We take in the thought behind various approaches—long brewing time, short secondary brews, unusual teas and flavorings, and so on. It has made us even more dedicated to our mission of covering the world of kombucha with spirit and insight. We are also intrigued by innovative sales strategies, from self-serve on tap in grocery stores to unmanned storefronts with kombucha and jun taps (such as SOMA in Portland, OR.)

Stay tuned for more info on past and future journeys. We hope to meet every brewer in the U.S. and abroad.