The Case for Kombucha
From the mind of Food and Beverage Director, Joseph Catterson.
Not sure if everyone is aware of it, but we have a very nifty draft system installed on our bar at BIÂN. As I dig in deeper here and consider things that might be fun to put on tap, we should start with a look at what is already on offer. I know there are fans of our cold brew coffee; our friend Justin supplies us with an excellent Kyoto Style cold brew that I hope everyone will have had a chance to get to know. We shall talk more about it another time.
We currently have two taps allocated to kombucha, which I was sorry to note hasn’t been selling very well. So my first question was: does everyone know we have it? And a brief, informal poll suggested that, well…er…probably not. So here we go!
First off, I should admit that I’m not really a kombucha guy, it’s never really grabbed me. But I’m old enough to have seen the stuff grow in several different waves of awareness and popularity, and now in present day, it is a big enough thing that the behemoth PepsiCo has added a line of kombucha to its global portfolio. But for our purposes we’re talking about a relatively new and small (but growing) local producer called RMBR (formerly Komunity Kombucha). They state that their “mission is to normalize the consumption of healthy non-alcoholic beverages in social settings”. They present their product in a line-up of sparkling adaptogenic teas (all based on Japanese Sencha, sweetened with cane sugar, and fermented with a kombucha culture) variously flavored with bold botanical blends.
I challenged our Co-Founder & Chief Wellness Officer, Mar Soraparu, to sell me on kombucha. She said, “think of it as a mocktail with benefits – supporting digestion, lifting energy, and giving you that light, feel-good pick-me-up. Slightly sparkling and naturally refreshing, kombucha is the perfect afternoon reset. I like to sip on it after a mid-day meal as a replacement for coffee. I always feel satisfied and energized after!”
I checked in with Dr. Ben Schuff, our Director of Naturopathy and Nutrition. He offered, “Kombucha delivers probiotics and tea polyphenols/antioxidants in a refreshing, sparkling format that may support gut balance and resilience. Most of the sugar is consumed by the fermenting bacteria, but a small amount remains, so it’s lighter than soda, yet something to be mindful of if you’re watching sugar.”
To Dr. Ben’s point, RMBR’s back label clocks the residual sugar at a third of what you’d find in a coke and points to traces of caffeine (it is green tea, after all) and trace amounts of alcohol (under 0.5%, a natural by-product of the fermentation).
We’ve got two of RMBR’s flavors on tap right now. The Hibiscus Punch is (as are all in their line) organic, raw, unpasteurized kombucha, flavored in this case with hibiscus flower and ginger. They profile this one as a digestive aid. The Rosé Berry, aimed at promoting calm, is made with schisandra berry, elderberry, rose petals, and lemongrass. They are both, in fact, very refreshing, well-balanced, and tasty. I did prefer one over the other, but I’m not saying which. You’ll have to stop by and try them for yourselves.