Quenching a thirst

“We live in a place that you would go on a retreat to,” he said. “And that’s sort of what we want to bring to the table.”

Though Nelson started the beverage business some two years ago, he has been brewing the sweet and tart drink for some 10 years, both at home and at a commercial kitchen in Pacifica. He said he began his career pursuing acting, and later worked in data processing for several years before attending culinary school. With a passion for creating flavors for others to try, Nelson said he decided to start the business at the encouragement of family and friends.

Some two months ago, he began producing kombucha at a space in an industrial building at 850 Airport St. in Moss Beach, which has allowed him to sell the drinks priced at $4 to $5 a bottle in 120 stores across the Bay Area. From everything to business and finance to creating bottling equipment, friends have helped him in several different aspects of his business.

“That’s been the story of this business,” he said. “It’s been a community effort.”

Among the four flavors of kombucha Nelson is producing are hibiscus-lime, Meyer lemon-ginger-cayenne, turmeric-black pepper and celery-lavender. He said the combinations of fruit, spices and vegetables largely come from his imagination as well as other flavor profiles that inspire him like agua fresca, a popular type of Mexican drink.

Though he acknowledged the process for producing mass quantities of kombucha is largely the same as the process home brewers undertake, Nelson said he had to get somewhat creative in finding the equipment needed to produce the 500 to 800 cases of kombucha the company makes a month. Nelson said the process starts with making a fresh tea with sugar and adding a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, which those in the industry call SCOBY. He said he lets the mixture ferment for some two weeks in large, former dairy tanks and adds natural flavoring to the drink before it is bottled.

Nelson said he enjoyed bringing his kombucha to the Half Moon Bay farmers’ market last year and sharing the beverages with others. Though the hibiscus-lime and Meyer lemon-ginger-cayenne flavors are generally the company’s top sellers, he said he is often able to coax customers into trying flavors they weren’t sure they would like and converting them into fans of flavors such as the celery-lavender kombucha.

“Getting direct feedback from people at the farmers’ market was great and very encouraging,” he said.

Though he drinks kombucha because he enjoys the taste of it, Nelson said many drink it for its health benefits, which he noted are rooted in its effects on the body’s digestive system. He said many diets deplete the digestive system of the bacteria that helps digest food and absorb nutrients, and kombucha can help replenish those bacteria levels.

Nelson noted the drink stands apart from other refreshments because each drink has a kind of personality. He compared kombucha to alternatives like juice, soda or sparkling water, noting those drinks have a more one-dimensional flavor while kombucha has depth.

“This has depth like a beer or a wine,” he said. “That dimension really holds up and then you add the flavor … it’s just another dimension.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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