House Kombucha - Yelp Field Trip

As the sun was saying cheerio to the skies in Oakland, California.  A gaggle of eager Yelpers gathered outside a small factory on a dead end street in the industrial quarter of the city.

We were greeted by a blond dude in designer shades.  Ruggy.     Then came a bright welcome from Rana, the owner of House Kombucha and Aaron her right hand man.  Finally Walt, the BrewMaster.  He was as effervescent about his craft as the bubbles being kicked off by trillions of bacteria, feasting on their favourite treat....sugar.

Yelp.com San Francisco had just launched their new Yelp's Field Trips, and I'd signed up to get a chance to peek inside the House Kombucha kitchen.  For those not acquainted with Kombucha, it is a fermented tea that has copious amounts of reported health benefits (apparently very alkalising and a good digestion aid to name just two) and is fizzy, slightly tart and delicious.  Many flavours are lined up in bright rows on supermarket shelves and health food stores in the USA.  I am hooked on the stuff.

The team were so welcoming!  They showed us around and handed out samples of their 7 flavours.  Their passion for the 'bucha was as clear as their sterilised bottles.
They showed us the kombucha mold, or scoby/mother/bucha baby as it is known.  Some of the more seasoned ones where huge...and it has to be said a bit ugly!

Rana and the Brew master

Rows of kombucha being born!

Rana Chang, upon graduating in Law and deciding it was a career not for her.  She was hooked on Kombucha and times where hard.  The industrious Rana started tinkering with making the beverage she had memories of her mother making. The stores had rows of Kombucha in the chiller, but the high cost made it an expensive tipple. Rana started out with no ideas for big business but to satisfy her need for the fizzy drink.  But news of her Kombucha making grew as steadily as her 'bucha babies' and House Kombucha was born. She started out at a farmers market. Now HK has it's own brewing factory and a team of 5. Harking back to a bygone age, House Kombucha re-use all of their bottles and give a monetary incentive on every single empty bottle returned to the store. House Kombucha is unique as it is the lowest in calories on the market (10 calories per 8oz), they add no additional sugar or flavours to their finished brews, it's probiotic and you can get it 'to go', on tap or delivered to you in your CSA Box.

I learned so much in such a short time.  What a fun trip!  I got back on my bicycle to peddle to the Bart, my carriage back to San Francisco, with a zippy buzz and a heart full of Kombucha love.

Thank you Yelp.  Thank you Rana, Ruggy, Aaron, and Walt the BrewMaster.

Last word from House Kombucha - 'Make House Kombucha a healthy and delicious part of your day'!