World Kombucha Day Interviews
I was interviewed by Hannah Crum as part of the World Kombucha day celebrations. We talk about how I first discovered kombucha, the reason I started Booch News, editing SYMBIOSIS Magazine, and my predictions for the future of the industry.
You can view the other interviews by clicking on the first link in the list below.
Laurent Collombe Labarthe, Karma Kombucha, Erquy, France
It’s been too long since I visited a kombucha facility. I’m going to ExpoWest (in March) and would love to visit any facility on California and to not feel alone in my kombucha company in France.
Duff McDonald, author of Tickled.
Kombucha can have infinite flavors. As infinite as you need it to be. I suddenly started seeing possibility through kombucha. Meaning anything can happen. It can be any flavor you want. And that started bleeding into my own life. Anything can happen, everything is awesome!
Sandor Katz, The Art of Fermentation
Jordi Dahmanu, MUN Kombucha (Spanish)
Zane Adams, Jeannine Buscher, Sarah Schomber, of Drink Buchi and parent company FedUp Foods.
Selling kombucha in the south-east was a whole new frontier. We were constantly explaining what it was. We always grew the brand where we were asked and called to be. It was less about creating something you that you can sell, as it was about an extension about how we were trying to create a life together and a life that can be supported by utilizing an apparatus like capitalism. If we had wanted to be a top national brand, we would have had to sell a majority of the company to support that reach. We just weren’t ready to do that, it would have meant giving up the thing that made us want to start to begin with and give up the impact we wanted to have down the road.
Sally Fallon Morell author of Nourishing Traditions & President of the Weston A. Price Foundation, nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research, and activism.
Our biggest problem today is the health of our children, and we are finally seeing the ravages of the Standard American Diet, sodas, ultra-pasteurized milk, fast foods, and industrial seed oils. And if we are going to have a future as a nation and as a world, we have to turn our backs on this. And kombucha has a role to play because we need a soft drink and an alternative to alcohol.
Matt Thomas, Brew Dr, Portland, Oregon
We’ve been at this since 2008, so by now we should be in every grocery store. Go look for Brew Dr in the brown bottle. Everywhere from Whole Foods to Kroger even some Walmart’s. My goal is to have it everywhere liquid is sold.
Zoey Shamai, Tonica Kombucha, Toronto, Canada
The market has changed so much since we started. It’s an incredible thing. Canada is a much smaller market than the US. But now if you walk into any of the major retailers across Canada you’ll see at least four brands, everywhere, in stores you’d never find kombucha before. It’s amazing!
Lucas Montanari, founder of Fermenta Com Ciência & current head of ABKOM (Associação Brasileira de Kombucha) & CONAKOM.
Brazilians love to travel. Lots of people who started kombucha companies here visited California, Australia and elsewhere. They came back and started to make kombucha here. People here like beer and the sports culture is huge. We have plenty of beaches, sand, and sun. Kombucha naturally fits into that.
James Barry, Celebrity chef and founder of Pluck Seasonings, discussing nutrient-deficiency, the how and why of organ meats and why we should we be eating them, and more.
Pluck feeds the umami, that is naturally found in organ meats, which I believe are the most nutrient rich foods on the planet. It’s a super-food seasoning you can put on anything, and starts to introduce a new flavor to people and changes the palate.
Galia Kleiman y Raquel Guajardo, Ferment Oaxaco (Spanish)
Sam & Lori Bolin, Brew Logix & Crossroads Kombucha.
Gen-Z are willing to pay for your craft kombucha. They know what kombucha is and understand the great health value. It’s very normal for them to pay $5 or $6 for a coffee. They don’t object to paying for a premium craft product.
