Though kombucha, a non-alcoholic fermented beverage, has gone fairly mainstream in the last few years, the pronunciation still trips up some. Try saying it this way: Kom-BOO-cha.
It’s not only a tad difficult to say. The taste can also require a slight learning curve, as it trends toward the vinegary, sour side. Kombucha enthusiasts and brewers advise the uninitiated to try it on tap first, similar to trying beer from a keg instead of a bottle or can. The taste difference is often marked, and the funky beverage tends to be much more appealing to first-timers when freshly poured.
Luckily, Greenville’s on-tap offerings have grown to include dozens of locations and flavors. But first, what is it and why drink it at all?
Kombucha is an ancient, fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black tea drink—often flavored with fruit juice or herbs—that only in the last twenty years or so made its way into the Western diet. The ancient Chinese called it the “immortal health elixir,” and it has been around for more than 2,000 years.
After two years of slathering antibacterial solution on every surface, it might seem strange to consider purposefully ingesting bacteria. But the human gut is full of the good kind of bacteria kombucha and other fermented foods are purported to support. The good bacteria, or probiotics, in kombucha are created by the fermentation process, which begins with a yeast starter called a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).
Julia Fuller, a traditional herbalist at Pure on Main, keeps a chilled keg of kombucha on her front porch that she visits often, especially when heading inside after watering her extensive garden. About fifteen years ago, she stopped drinking alcohol or sodas, and kombucha became the replacement.
“I’m an expert at drinking kombucha,” she says. “I read a long time ago that probiotics are very good for you, and kombucha produces good bacteria for your body. We’re not eating probiotic food anymore because we have refrigerators.”
Fermentation used to be the primary mode for preserving produce safely, which meant diets included many more probiotic-rich foods than they typically do now.
“The old way was fermenting things and eating them,” Fuller says. “Because we don’t do things the old way, we’re missing the probiotics.”
Why is that important? “Your primary immune system is in your gut,” she says.
Fuller acknowledges some people don’t like the taste and would rather take a probiotic capsule, as medical doctors often recommend after a patient has completed a round of antibiotics. Kombucha is another source with billions of probiotics in each pour that can be integrated into a daily diet, or simply enjoyed whenever a fizzy drink is desired.
Kombucha on Tap
Many local breweries and taprooms have at least one variety of kombucha on tap as an alternative to alcohol and often will allow growler refills to take home.
Check out Pangaea Brewing, 13 Stripes Brewery, Shoeless Brewing Company, and The Community Tap. Specialty shops like the Kava Konnection, Kuka Juice, and Grateful Brew also have a rotating tap of kombucha.
Brewing at Home
Here are some tips from Ben Baum, owner of The Rejuvenation Company, the only commercial kombucha brewer in Greenville and one of only three in the state.
Baum started out by experimenting at home with kombucha before buying the twenty-year-old company and moving it from the West Coast to Greenville, so he’s seen all sides of the process.
“The biggest mistake people make is they don’t use enough starter culture,” he says. “You need sweet tea, a SCOBY, and liquid starter culture. If you don’t use enough you can’t get the process going.”
Finding liquid starter culture can be tricky. “You gotta know somebody,” he says, explaining it’s like getting a sourdough starter for bread from your neighbor. “Our culture, we’ve been using for twenty years,” Baum says. “We don’t share it.”
Or, if you don’t know somebody, Grapes and Grains on Mauldin Road sells home brew supplies and can get you started.
As for flavoring, Baum says to use your imagination. You don’t want to use too much additional flavor to lose the kombucha flavor, but just enough to taste the flavoring, he says. He recommends using fresh juices or extracts.
Baum gives a couple of additional pointers: “Every batch can be different. There’s so many different variables. You might brew it one time and it’ll taste completely different the next time. You can use the same exact ingredients but if the temperature is different, it’ll taste different.”
As for timing, the longer the length of brewing time, the stronger the kombucha, but there is such a thing as too long, as your palate will tell you. If it’s too short, however, it won’t get effervescent, Baum says.
And if you need a reason to trust his advice: “I make kombucha for people who don’t like kombucha. It’s very mild. I try to make it really drinkable.”
Photography by Klara Avsenik
