Seattle's local kombucha: full-strength and delicious
I just want to note quickly, and with a bit of amusement, that our entry into the world of beer has not gone unnoticed. We’re listed in the Washington Beer Blog: Everything Beer in the Evergreen State. Here’s the link
As I was reading this evening an advertisement for a probiotic supplement, I was reminded of the strong focus on the health aspects of kombucha we had when we first started making and using kombucha, in 1993. We did considerable research and worked hard to weigh the various things we read. I re-read for the first time in many years the original paper on kombucha (that Warren Stetzel and I wrote) and am gratified and proud. It puts many things well and emphasizes the things I still emphasize. There are very few things I would change.
It confirms my strong sense that it is wise for us to move slowly and have high barriers to changing the basic kombucha recipe which has come down to us through the generations. Making and selling an alcohol beverage was never part of our vision, but in the present regulatory environment that seems to be what is necessary in order to make good kombucha.
Kombucha is a healthful and refreshing beverage made by fermenting tea. Until last summer, most of us assumed that ”fermented” meant that kombucha was something more like sauerkraut and miso than wine or beer. Then we all learned that kombucha did indeed contain more alcohol than was permitted by law for a non-alcohol beverage. And because kombucha contains live cultures the alcohol levels could change after bottling, depending on storage conditions and how long it was stored before being consumed.
Kombucha across the country was removed from shelves for several months as manufacturers grappled with the challenge of how to comply with the law. The dust has not entirely settled, but it is becoming clear that at least for now, almost all varieties of kombucha have been reformulated in some way so that they do not contain more than 0.5% alcohol, the legal limit for a non-alcohol beverage.
At CommuniTea Kombucha, we are concerned about taking any approach that may compromise the essential character of kombucha. We asked ourselves: if so many of the fundamental benefits come from the metabolic activity of the bacteria, could we really have good kombucha if we reduce to almost nothing the alcohol, which is their food source?
So, out of respect for the practice of 2,000 years, we have decided not to change our traditional recipe and procedure. The consequence is that we were required to get alcohol licenses from the federal and state governments. We have now accomplished that.
We are very happy with our decision and excited to be back at Farmers Markets. The five month delay was much preferable to reshaping our kombucha in order to meet some arbitrary regulatory standard.
Our delicious, raw, full-strength kombucha contains 2 to 2½% alcohol.
Yes! Our long hiatus is over. On December 21, 2010, we received the final go-ahead from the Liquor Board, the WSLCB. (Our last market was August 1 at Ballard.) And on January 8 and 9, we were delighted to return to Farmers Markets with kombucha again! Customers’ comments were very encouraging. Folks approve of the character of our traditionally made, full-strength kombucha. We are making inquiries now to co-ops, starting with Madison Market and PCC. Both have declined to try selling the kombucha on tap in their delis, due to our new status as an alcohol beverage. We are offering to sell our flip-top re-usable bottles at these stores. We’ll take things one step at a time and keep you posted on our progress.
A Seattle TV station recently ran a news story about CommuniTea Kombucha. Here is a link to the story. The story was aired November 27, 2010, by KCPQ TV, channel 13.
We’re grateful for the coverage and it comes at a good time, since the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter everyday! While I would have made some suggestions if I’d had the opportunity during editing, it’s a good piece.
Seattle Met, in its November issue, printed an article about kombucha which devoted a paragraph to CommuniTea Kombucha. the article is posted online here.
We recently sent in fifteen more forms on 36 pages in pursuit of permission to make and sell kombucha as a microbrewery. This latest submission was to the Washington State Liquor Control Board. We have now received the necessary inspection and the official briefing on the pertinent laws by the Enforcement Agent.
So, soon . . . very soon, we anticipate being able to begin fermenting and “in due time,” CommuniTea Kombucha will be back!
We are very excited about making available traditional, full-strength kombucha again.
We’re grateful for all the support from our ever-so-patient customers.
[This post was written 9/27/10, but not posted until today, 10/19/10]
In a recent post here (8/31), we shared our growing feeling that making traditional Kombucha would not be possible without producing more than 0.5% alcohol.
A few days later, GT’s Kombucha announced they would follow this route. (GT also said they’d be marketing a low-alcohol version.) This was encouraging news to us and to several other producers who have decided that to be true to our mission we would need to wrap our heads around a new idea of what kombucha is. And we’d need to help our customers wrap their heads around it, too. I, for one, had not been looking forward to answering questions like, “Well, if the big guys can do it, (make kombucha with alcohol below 0.5%) why can’t you?”
And now, the TTB has sorted things out and issued their findings in the form of a FAQ. They are available here for your perusal and edification. Here’s our super-simplified take on what they tell us about the shape of our new kombucha world.
•There are three pigeonholes–beer, wine, spirits–and kombucha is beer unless some of the alcohol comes from fermenting fruit. We will submit formulas and procedures and they will decide. Most likely we will become “qualified” by TTB as a brewery.
•We must submit our label to FDA for approval. It will include the alcohol warning language.
•We will pay federal tax as a beer.
•We will be subject to state regulations as well.
Today our application is in the mail: seventeen separate forms on 38 pages. And a check for the bond that insures our taxes will be paid. It’s a big step. Daunting. Exciting. Most importantly, we are a big step closer to selling kombucha again.
I keep putting off writing an interim report. “Why don’t I just wait a bit more,” I tell myself, “I will certainly know more in a little while.” And I also keep hoping I will achieve my goal: making great kombucha without making compromises. It looks to me now, however, as if the legal level to be called a non-alcohol beverage may be a little low for my brew. I will continue testing — the goal is very close and so it is very tempting — but I’m prepared to conclude it is out of my reach.
I find myself wondering, perhaps it is not only out of my reach, maybe it is unrealistic. In what Kombucha Bible is it written, I wonder, “that traditional kombucha was below 0.5% alcohol”? Presently, I could more easily accept a statement such as, “Traditional kombucha had a low alcohol content: perhaps between 0.5% and 1.0%. And traditionally it was consumed in small quantities and so the alcohol was not an issue.”
I have succeeded in knocking 2% off my ethanol score, but that still leaves me at about 0.7%. I’m betting that last little bit will be tough.
So. I am within a hair of sending in my application to become a brewery. So far, though, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has not quite decided which category they want us in (beer or wine) and is not yet accepting applications. And then there will be the labeling issue with FDA. And then getting a license from the state Liquor Control Board. Stay tuned.
I think most people may not be interested in the nitty-gritty of our efforts to work out a more basic understanding of how kombucha works, so I won’t post the raw data here. But if you are interested, you are welcome to follow the testing on a Google Doc. Just send an email for the link.
When we get results, we’ll post them here.