Folk Tradition

Kombucha's origin has been lost in the mists of time.  The first recorded history of kombucha culture dates to the Chinese Qin Dynasty around 250 BCE.  Following the caravan routes, it spread to Russia, Tibet, India, and Eastern Europe.  The Chinese called the drink "the tea of Immortality." The power of kombucha comes from the Mother SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast).

No one really knows for sure how the craft brewing tradition was passed over time, but there are many folk tales which indicate that brewing was held in the secrecy of women passing it down to their daughters in the wise tradition. One story tells a tale of wise women who brewed tea for their family and village. Day in and day out they tended the hearth, created loving meals, raised the kids and harvested food.

While they loved their husbands, the work was hard and they could never socialize and drink ale like the men. One day, the good men left the village for many moons on a wild hunt. While their husbands where gone, the women drank strong ale and danced by the moonlight in merriment.

In their excitement, they left the tea unattended. It fermented over suns and moons in the warmness of the kitchen. To the women's surprise, the men came back early, tired and thirsty from the hunt. The men grabbed their clay goblets, as they normally did after a long hunt, filled it with the fermented tea and toasted to their success. The women cringed with hope they would not notice the strong smell and sharp taste, but they did. Surprisingly, the men loved the fermented tea and showered them with fur pelts, precious stones and sweet embraces.  This is a tale, much like many other tales and myths in our undiscovered human history so who knows if it's true? We don't, but we do know that it tastes amazing!