In November 2016, I didn’t really know what kombucha was. I’d heard of it, maybe even tasted it in the US one time, I wasn’t sure. I was travelling to Uganda for work and my wife asked me to pick up a “SCOBY" - the "symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast" that appears as a rubbery disk, and ferments and transforms sweet tea into kombucha - from my brothers girlfriend, who’d herself brought one from America and was brewing kombucha at home. I had no idea what I was carrying and really just glad I didn’t have to explain myself at the airport.

I returned to Nairobi and had a bit of time on my hands the following week, while my wife was particularly busy. She asked if I’d mind taking care of our new pet SCOBY and brewing the first batch of kombucha. Wanting to appear a supportive husband I obliged. I started googling kombucha to understand the process and the ideal ingredients and conditions to make the best kombucha possible. I fell down a rabbit hole of information, intrigue, and challenge. I experimented with different teas, different sugars, different flavours and different brew times, light, air, and temperature conditions.

Soon, I was a kombucha “purist”. Any tea outside of the camellia sinensis was an abomination. Kombucha coffee? A crime against humanity. But I had to find the best ingredients. It turned out to be almost impossible to find loose-leaf green tea in Kenya. The black and green loose leaf options I found were all ground up to powders, dusty, making for a muddy tea. When I found the Arkman loose leaf Kenyan Oolong tea in Nakumatt I had a feeling this was it. I met the founder, David Yang, a Chinese tea specialist living in Kenya since 1994 and we hit it off. I’ve been sourcing directly from him since then. He sources premium high altitude teas from around Kenya. I wanted to flavour with blueberries but didn’t think local blueberries existed in Kenya. I was overjoyed to find local blueberries from WES Farm on Kalimoni Greens. They’re a bit more tart than the imported ones we’re used to but I find the fermentation process breaks down flavours for kombucha perfectly.

Over the coming months, the kitchen started to overflow with kombucha jars and bottles. I started carrying around bottles of different flavours to parties and market testing on our friends. I tried all kinds of different flavours: mango, chili, guava, pineapple, apple, cinnamon, etc, etc. But in the end I decided what people really here loved most was some combination of berries and ginger. When the Booch first ferment is complete there’s virtually no sugar remaining - it’s all been broken down into the healthy acids (acetic, gluconic, etc) - so the natural sugars from the fresh berries bring back a sweetness to balance the vinegary acids. Ginger, already medicinal on it’s own, is the perfect compliment and brings its own punch. No doubt we’ll continue to evolve and grow, but we’re very happy with the flavour and quality of this kombucha.

After another couple months the kitchen could no longer contain all the kombucha accoutrement. Not to mention, I was spending about 3 hours a night tending to everything after work. So we rented a new space, hired our first employee, Maureen and started to streamline processes while maintaining the quality and potency of small batch, home brew. So now, we’re off. The goal? Sell more Booch in Kenya than Coke sells Coke. Why not? What are we drinking coke for anyway?! One step at a time though, and now we are focusing on just getting off the ground in Nairobi, with a few select outlets - you reading this, the early adopters and thought leaders! - and get enough traction that we can quit the day jobs and raise money to really grow.

To my surprise I discovered that Kenya already experience a kombucha craze in the 80’s - they apparently called it Tea Treasure back then. Other ferments like Maziwa Lala and Muratina have long been popular and part of a preventative health diet all across Kenya. I think kombucha is the right product in the right market at the right time. Let’s see how we go.