1. We ferment all of our Kombucha in small, individual batches, using 10 L glass jars.
2. Good water quality is essential in making Kombucha. The Chinese have a saying that "water is the mother of tea", and tea makes Kombucha.
So, we take the water quality very seriously.
That is why we use carbon filtration system that is also equipped with a special part that re-vitalizes the water, changing its structure to the one that is very similar to a living, spring water.
3. Besides the good quality water, we use carefully selected high quality loose teas.
Those teas are the actual "flavor" of our Kombucha. Our teas range from White, through Green, Oolong, Black and Pu-erh. Our selection also includes teas like Jasmine, Osmanthus or Morgenduft.
Our Classic is a mixture of 4 different teas and our Hibiscus is based on our Classic mixed with Hibiscus flowers.
So, our Kombucha is truly tea-based, as we do not add any fruits or juices to our Kombucha.
In our humble opinion, they are not needed to achieve a great tasting Kombucha.
4. We use the unrefined brown cane sugar in our Kombucha.
It gives our Kombucha extra layers of flavor which our customers describe sometimes, as those of an apple cider or even honey. This particular sugar also makes our Kombucha a bit darker in color, as it still contains some of the molasses. As we are against using any processed foods, sugar is no exception.
5. Although the teas are really important for us, we also have a special line of Kombucha that is made with botanicals, which are traditionally consumed in the form of a tea.
Here you will find Kombucha made out of Chaga, Hemp, Lapacho and more.
To find out more about this line, please check the other blog entries.
6. We DO NOT FILTER or ALTER our Kombucha in any way.
This way it stays just as the Mother Nature designed it (or how our Scobies made it, to be more precise).
And yes, we DO use real Scobies and NOT the "Kombucha concentrate".
7. We use glass not only for brewing, but also for bottling.
We also store all the necessary ingredients for our Kombucha in glass containers (so NO stainless steel or plastic containers during our production).
We are also against the use of aluminum cans, as they are lined up with plastic resins, with a lot of them containing the controversial BPA, and other hormone disruptors..
8. Our Kombucha is naturally carbonated (so no CO2 added), and the level of carbonation will differ from bottle to bottle. This way various Kombuchas will have more of the natural carbonation, like our Jun and some other will have less, like our Chaga Kombucha.
The carbonation in our Kombucha is achieved through so called "second fermentation", right inside the bottles.
During this process we do not add anything (like extra sugar) to our Kombucha, to increase the level of carbonation.
9. Since we do not filter out the yeasts from our Kombucha and we let it naturally carbonate in bottles, the alcohol level might be a bit higher than in other commercial Kombuchas.
In Germany drinks that are still considered to be non-alcoholic, can contain up to 1.2% ABV.
Kombucha always contains some amount of alcohol, which is a by-product of fermentation.
Alcohol can be found in other naturally fermented drinks like water kefir, milk kefir and other food items, like soy sauce.
Some of our Kombuchas can contain up to 1% of alcohol. So, if you are trying to avoid any alcohol, please have that in mind.
10. We do a lot of recycling.
We re-use bottles, cardboard boxes and anything that can be re-used.
The same goes for the leftover tea leaves from our Kombucha production. Those end up in our flower and herb garden, as naturally composted fertilizer.
11. As our Kombucha is NOT FILTERED, it is quite possible that occasionally some yeasts, or a small SCOBY can develop in one of the bottles.
This is quite normal and it is only a sign that our Kombucha is RAW (unpasteurized).
Yeasts are harmless, but they can be strained, if someone wishes to. The same goes for the occasional SCOBY.
Another good sign of an unfiltered Kombucha, is the sediment on the bottom of the bottles.
That can be gently mixed back in by turning the closed bottle upside down. But please, do it gently, as this stimulates the natural carbonation, which can become excessive.
A small Scoby formation at the top of one of our Kombuchas.
And the yeast sediment on the bottom.