Amor Y Komadres: The Best Latinx-Led Kombucha Brands
Kombucha has always been a delicious treat for me, and sometimes I even get the itch to make my own. I may or may not have a covered jug inside my closet right now. It’s incredibly refreshing, provides a fantastic alternative to sugary sodas – and helps when we’re taking a break from le booze.
Kombucha is a fizzy fermented beverage that’s made of of cultures of bacteria and yeast – or a SCOBY. The “mother” – or the original culture – is added to tea, and that is fermented for 7 days while the cultures eat sugar that is also added during the process. The tea is then sealed and stored until it’s ready. The mother is the reason why it’s said that this drink is – alive!
It’s said that kombucha has antimicrobial, anti-cancerous properties, but there aren’t too many studies on human subjects. In the end, it basically has loads of “good bacteria” that helps your gut, makes you feel really good after drinking it and it is known to ease your stomach troubles. It’s also a great substitute for soda and other sugary drinks.
To find a good kombucha, always pick a glass bottle instead of plastic, select brands that use dark bottles – because there’s potential damage from light, and make sure there aren’t any artificial flavors or strange ingredients thrown in.
It also does have a little bit of alcohol. But not much, something around 1-3%.
As in all industries, Latinos are killing it in the bouch ecosystem! Here are some of our favorite Latinx kombucha finds:
Amor Kombucha
From the mind of Martin Sanchez, based in Stockton, Amor Kombucha was created to “pay homage to the Latin culture that raised us – to the abuelitas cooking with no recipe, to the moms loving unconditionally, to the fathers sacrificing daily.” With flavors like lavender, rose and hibiscus, pineapple, ginger and tumeric, and chaga and pu-erh tean, this kombucha can do no wrong.
Komadre Kombucha
You could not have dreamt up of a better name than this delicious bouch. Julie Davidson is a 20-year entrepreneur in the SF area and Puget Sound region of Caribbean and Central American heritage. It was a originally a home kitchen project, where she was searching for alternatives to sugar and alcohol. She started her own mother and the rest is history. Now they even have a “taproom” in Tacoma, WA.
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De La Calle
Tepache is a Mexican fermented drink that is made out of pineapple and water. It’s similar to kombucha but it is more mild and has less of a kick in terms of the flavor. Kombucha originated in China, whereas tepache was born in pre-colonization-era Mexico The brand De La Calle – created by entrepreneurs Rafael Martin del Campo & Alex Matthews -offers this as an alternative to kombucha. You can purchase it on their website or find it in Imperfect Foods, Bristol Farms or your local healthy grocery store (think Whole Foods or Follow Your Heart if you’re an LA Native).
