Exploring kombucha in Australia by Alex Joseph
Kombucha is one of those interests you can explore by experimenting at home or by going out and trying different brands. These days due to lockdowns in response to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus many kombucha companies sell online too.
Back in September 2019, when we were free to travel cross-state, my wife Sarah and I embarked on a tour across Australia. Our kitted-out Kia Preggio van took us across six jurisdictions over four months.
In that time I got to try a lot of kombucha. Australia is home to at least 70 registered kombucha companies, but that does not include some of the health shops that make and sell their own. Kombucha, also known as booch, is very accessible; even supermarkets sell it.
Brief History of Kombucha
Kombucha is an ancient drink made of tea, sugar and a weird fungus-looking thing. That thing is called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) not scooby. When fermented together for a period of time a tasty and tangy, and sometimes fizzy, drink is produced.
Kombucha’s history spans back to 220 BC, around the time of the Qin dynasty in ancient China. It is possible that when kombucha making techniques spread from China to Japan, and then to Eastern Europe, some people shared it to the Pacific regions at the same time. Kombucha is a part of China’s cultures 5,000 year history. It represents the birth of fermented drinks and it connects the dots in the development of drinking and processing tea in China.
From the Outback to the Coast
The kombucha tasting journey started in Victoria, where we went along the Great Ocean road, to South Australia. From there we went to the heart of the country at Uluru, then across to Far North Queensland and down the East coast.
There are two places one must visit in Northern Territory, obviously Uluru (also known as Ayers rock), and Afghan Traders in Alice Springs.
This amazing little store had kombucha on tap and another fridge filled with kombucha and other health drinks. They had this lemon and lavender flavour which was just so refreshing. After being in the baking hot outback, top notch kombucha is what you need. Lavender is not an easy flavour to incorporate as it can be overpowering or underwhelming, I’ve tried making it myself and failed.
La Few kombucha bar in Cairns is by far one of my favourite bars in Australia. I loved their plant-based menu and their booch selection on tap. They had their original blend, then some unique flavours such as; lime and ginger; dragon fruit; pineapple, lemon and ginger; and my favourite, turmeric and chamomile. They let you sample them all! If you over do it on booch (as if that ever happens) then they have a great range of teas too. I highly recommend visiting this place, even if you are not really into kombucha.
We met a lot of good people on our travels. At a farmers market in Noosa, we met Lenni & Shaw, a really nice couple who own Nourishing Wholefoods. They specialise in, not just kombucha, but also kefir and other fermented goodies such as kimchi and sauerkraut.
Their first flavour to catch my eye was umeboshi kombucha. I wondered if there was a Japanese theme going on. Their pineapple, passionfruit, lime and mint kefir was the best in my opinion. I didn’t realise how popular passionfruit was in Australia; back in the UK I remember it being pretty pricey and scarce.
Meeting Jessie from LORE Australia.
When you meet certain people, you get more than you bargained for. Jessie, the owner and operator of LORE Australia, welcomed us like old friends.
He gave us tips of where to camp and the local sights of Bellingen, New South Wales. He even gave us his insight on Guradji bush tea.
During the tea talk he told us about his first nation roots and explained the philosophy of his business which is based on the three principles of traditional lore: Country, community, and spirit. Jessie’s booch flavours are the only ones I’ve come across which use all native ingredients.
If you really want to experience native kombucha, I’d say check out his website-
In the background of the image above you can see our little van outside of Lovemore Fermentary in Lismore, NSW. If it wasn’t for the fact that our van had a solar powered fridge, we probably wouldn’t have been able to keep our booch cold.
Kombucha should be stored in the fridge and it will keep fermenting, unless of course its pasturised and there is no live culture in it.
When you buy kombucha from Lovemore Fermentary, you also get a piece of fruit floating around in the bottom of the bottle. Their miminalist and raw approach was a nice change away from all the fancy packaging.The cafe kind of reminded me of Bristol in a sense that it had an industrial feel about it.
Most of Australia’s kombucha businesses are based in NSW, so competition is tough. Kombucha Zest from Central coast claim they have made the “best tasting kombucha… Ever!” I can see why they would say that because they have a clever brand. All their flavours are based on well known cocktails, there is dark and stormy, mojito, and pina colada and more. I’d have to try all of them to pick a favourite. I think they did a good job with the pina colada as coconut can be difficult to incorporate into kombucha.
All in all I didn’t really count how many different types of kombucha we tried on the trip, but I’m sure it was well over 30 different types.
I hope from reading this its inspired you to try out more kombucha. Head to your local health store or cafe. If they haven’t got it, remind them that they are missing out on a drink that has been around for over two thousand years.
Follow me on Instagram for more tea and kombucha adventures.
@alex.c.joseph
