Bay Area Kombucha

The first time I had Kombucha I took it down like a little kid takes down cherry flavored Robitussin®. I was not a huge fan, to say the least. However, while exploring the Bay Area earlier this month (with my WLIR squad), I came across a tasty Kombucha that gave you all the benefits of Kombucha, without the normal distinct, strong, vinegary taste that most Kombuchas beverages have.

The company's name is Kombucha Botanica and their product line comes in 3 tasty flavors: Pomegranate, Elderflower, & Ginger Tulsi, (my personal favorite was pomegranate).

Even if you've previously hated Komubuch with a passion, (like our WLIR Editor Dhrumil) I definitely recommend giving Kombucha Botanica's unique blend a try... you just might be surprised!

Note: Although Kombucha Botanica is still a relatively small shop, they can be found in quite a few locations around the Bay Area. Click continue reading to check out a list of their locations.

Alameda

• Alameda Naturals 

Berkeley Locations

• Berkeley  Naturals (Gilman St.)
  
• Berkeley  Bowl 

Carmel Locations

• Cornucopia Health Foods

Cupertino

• Whole Foods

Los Gatos 

• Whole Foods

Marin County Locations

• Good Earth Health Foods

Petaluma 

• Whole Foods

Santa Cruz locations:

• Staff Of Life
• Food Bin
• Aptos Naturals
• New Leaf Markets
• Deluxe Foods
• Shopper’s Corner
• River Café & Cheese Shop
• Dharma’s Restaurant
• Café La Vie

San Francisco

• Far West Fungi - Ferry  Plaza
• Whole Foods - Market St
• Other Avenues Coop
• Rainbow Grocery Coop

San Mateo

• Whole Foods

San Rafael 

• Whole Foods

Palo Alto Locations

• Whole Foods - Palo Alto 
• Country Sun Health Foods- Palo Alto 

It is also avaliable online @ DiamondOrganics.com

Comments

[Adam Goodman]

Hi Vinit and WLIR friends.

This is Adam, owner and brewer of Kombucha Botanica. Thanks so much for the kind review of Kombucha Botanica!

I've got a question for the WLIR community-

How do you view raw Kombucha as a raw food considering that two core ingredients are sugar and black tea? By the way, I use a blend of green and black tea in my recipe.

Vinit, I will be in touch soon with a file regarding a new website.

Thanks again!

-Adam
Founder & Chief Kombuchero
Kombucha Botanica
AltaVida LLC

[Vinit]

Adam,

Oh wow, your kombucha isn't raw? I honestly didn't know that. From drinking GT's, I assummed all kombucha was raw.

The taste of the kombucha is still wonderful, but I'm wondering how it would taste if the sugar was replaced with raw sweetener like agav nector or stevia and the black tea with another raw alternative.

Being a rawfoodist for the past 5 months now and its still a learning process everyday.

[Adam Goodman]

In response to the question of alternative sugars for kombucha brewing and kombucha's "raw" food status:

Granular sugar (preferably organic but white sugar works great!) is optimal for brewing kombucha in order to produce and maintain the most vital kombucha culture for sustainable production from generation to generation.

A home brewer may use alternative sweeteners like agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, etc. but this will ultimately yeild a sub-optimal kombucha product and a weak culture after a few generations. The fermentation process will evenutally not be thorough and the resultant kombucha beverage flat, sweet and disappointing. Not the healthy, enzyme and probiotic rich effervescent drink so many enjoy!

One thing to realize is that kombucha culture is a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria that require sugar for energy. The micro-organisms do not appreciate fiber, minerals, enzymes and a low glycemic index like the human body. The complexity of healthy sweeteners do not deliver a straight shot of sucrose the kombucha culture requires to do its thing.

As for Kombucha being a "Raw" food- ALL KOMBUCHA IS CREATED FROM TEA (BLACK and/or GREEN) and SUGAR. Any commercial kombucha product that does not disclose this FACT is not being up front and honest about the core ingredients of Kombucha. Read labels and do your due diligence! These are not "raw" ingredients.

I view a "raw" kombucha product as one that has not been treated with heat of any kind in order to maintain the integrity of probitics, enzymes and organic acids. The use of the word "raw" refers to the kombucha, which is the core product, not the added herbs and/or juices used to make a flavored kombucha drink. All KOMBUCHA BOTANICA products are raw kombucha blended with five percent 100% organic herbs and/or juices to create various flavors.

One more note on labels, it is legal to label a product "Organic" if at least 95% of the product's ingredients are certified organic, regardless of the quality of the other 5% of the ingredients. So if you drink a strawberry or grape kombucha available at most health food stores across the USA, you can read the ingredients and see that it is blended with conventional strawberry or grape juice... Two of the most pesticide soaked of all conventional fruits!

I hope this information about kombucha and labels helps to make informed decisions for those who wish to eat 100% raw and organic. Or at least gain a little trivia about these topics.

If anyone has questions or comments on these topics let's keep this dialogue rolling.

Healthy regards,

Adam Goodman
Founder & Chief Kombuchero
Kombucha Botanica
AltaVida LLC
PO Box 562
Santa Cruz, CA 95061

[Jenna]

I tried this today, I was so excited to see it at my Whole Foods, and I really liked it! They other kombucha I tried smelled and tasted like rotting, it was so gross! This tastes more like a juice! Very good!