The next time you are passing through Asheville, North Carolina, we highly recommend looking up the best local brewery… for kombucha! Buchi Kombucha is a bit of a local legend in the region, having grown rapidly since the first batch was made in 2008.
Brewed Kombucha for Health and Enjoyment
Kombucha is a delicious fermented beverage that can be flavored in different ways depending on the brewer’s preference. It’s not a beer or classifiable as alcoholic because of the process, which makes it an excellent option for hot summer day picnics and kids!
We absolutely love the harmonious story of how this small local business began:
Buchi is a community centered, women owned family business continuing the ancient folk tradition of brewing kombucha, a living, probiotic rich, all-natural beverage. We started brewing kombucha so our families would have a healthy alternative to high fructose corn syrup beverages and caffeine laden energy drinks.
Our story begins in the heart of the world’s oldest mountain chain, where we found each other in the most serendipitous way. After years of home brewing kombucha individually, we met through our children’s home school co-op and we soon discovered we each separately brewed an almost identical tasting kombucha. We teamed up and after a year of experimentation and research, with kids at play and baby on back…Buchi was born!
Living for Locally Made
Before you run off to your local food cooperative to find your own Buchi, we want to share with you how this great little company followed it’s values with a simple promotional purchase.
Imagine the scene: a beverage company sets up a table at a university’s welcome week. Students come by, curious about what looks like a beer bottle collection.
Instead, a healthier and smarter drink awaits… but the unique brewing and bottling process requires non-twist off tops. Does curiousity from the thirsty students wane?
No- Buchi is prepared! They contacted Ethix Merch a few weeks before to order USA made bottle openers on keyrings. Simple, small, and useful, the aluminum keyring custom made bottle openers are popular with the students. (And the most intelligent ones use them for the next several years to open their kombucha drinks during study crunch time!)
Learn to Brew Your Own Kombucha
If your local shops don’t carry Buchi Kombucha yet, you can find other artisan brands, or experiement with brewing your own. We found this handy website with receipe instructions from Hannah Crum, The Kombucha Mamma, to be a good starting place:
The Kombucha Mamma’s Kombucha Tea Recipe – 1-Gallon
Scale up or down depending on the size of your vessel
Supplies
- 1 cup sugar
- 4-6 bags tea – for loose leaf, 1 bag of tea = 1 tsp
- Kombucha Starter Culture – SCOBY
- 1 cup starter liquid
- purified/bottled water
- tea kettle
- brewing vessel
- cloth cover
- rubber band
Steps
- Boil 4 cups of water.
- Add hot water & tea bags to pot or brewing vessel.
- Steep 5-7 minutes, then remove tea bags.
- Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
- Fill vessel most of the way with purified water, leaving just 1-2 inches from the top for breathing room with purified cold water.
- Add SCOBY and starter liquid.
- Cover with cloth cover and secure with the rubber band.
- Say a prayer, send good vibes, commune with your culture (optional but recommended).
- Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight (unless vessel is opaque).
- Do not disturb for 7 days.
- After 7 days, or when you are ready to taste your KT, gently insert a straw beneath the SCOBY and take a sip. If too tart, then reduce your brewing cycle next time. If too sweet, allow to brew for a few more days. Continue to taste every day or so until you reach your optimum flavor preference. Your own Kombucha Tea Recipe may vary.
- Decant & flavor (optional).
- Drink as desired! Start off with 4-8oz on an empty stomach in the morning, then with meals to help with digestion or as your body tells you it would like some more! Drink plenty of water as it is a natural detoxifyer and you want to flush the newly released toxins out.
