HOLO
How we brew our Kombucha

How we brew our Kombucha

HOLO Kombucha is certified organic, raw, non-gmo, packed with goodness, vegan and delicious. Produced in small batches, HOLO is hand crafted and packaged in our brewery. We don’t filter or pasteurise our Kombucha – it is real, authentic kombucha brewed the way nature intended.

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented tea and sugar drink that has been brewed since the pyramids in Egypt were built and probably a lot earlier. The fermentation process converts a sweet tea into a tart, effervescent drink. Left long enough, it will eventually turn to vinegar.

How is it brewed?

The main ingredients in kombucha are water, tea, sugar and a SCOBY (see below). We blend a number of teas (both black and green) and add sugar to make a sweet tea. A mother SCOBY – which resembles a jelly mushroom – is added and the fermentation process begins. During this process, which can last from seven to thirty days,  pretty much up all of the sugar is eaten up and the sweet tea is converted into the tart kombucha we love.

Once the kombucha has reached the desired taste, we bottle and leave condition until the drink becomes carbonated naturally.

Do we filter our water?

water-2Yes. The mains water supply in Cork is filled with rubbish pumped in by the councils to ‘cleanse’ the water, not least chlorine and fluoride – a byproduct of aluminum, cement and phosphate mining and processing. We strip water back to its bare roots, using the tea to natually remineralise the water.

Is HOLO GMO free?

gmo-free-holorganicsYou betcha. We do not use GM ingredients in any of our products.

Is Kombucha miraculous?

There is a lot written about kombucha and its ‘miraculous’ healing powers. We don’t claim any miracle healing power and urge you not to pray over your kombucha expecting to win the lotto (or at least pray for love and health!). Very little scientific research has been completed on kombucha, presumably because drug companies haven’t figured out a way to make money from it.

What is known is that kombucha is highly rich in enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, bacterial and amino acids (and lots of yuminess!). It has been claimed over many thousands of years to cure and heal many ailments (memo to lawyers – we’re not claiming our kombucha heals anything. We’ll let people read the literature and decide for themselves).

Many of the enzymes, vitamins and minerals found in Kombucha are used by our gut to digest and process food, heal cells and fight infections.

Is HOLO organic?

iofgalo1-thumbYes, proudly organic!  We are certified by the Irish Organic Association.

Is our Kombucha gluten free / vegan friendly / dairy free?

Yes, yes, yes!

Is there alcohol in Kombucha?

Yes. But any normal person would have to drink gallons to get anywhere near drunk. Alcohol is a natural product of fermentation Our kombucha is under 1% alcohol. Alcohol is found in fermented foods the world over.

There are bits floating in my Kombucha.

Hooray! You’ve chosen a drink that is live, raw and unfiltered.  Our kombucha is raw and unfiltered and so will continue to ferment at room temperature. Keep the kombucha chilled and only remove from fridge when ready to consume.

If desired, you can filter the kombucha by running it through a cheese cloth or do as we do – drink whole.

holo-kombucha

Do we pasteurise our Kombucha?

No, never. We don’t believe in pasteurising our kombucha and thereby killing much of the enzymes and living biotics that make it so good. We leave our kombucha as untouched as possible!

What is a Mother or Scoby?

When we talk of The Mother around here, we’re not on about Mom (Hi Mom!). We’re talking about a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast). In Kombucha, this mish-mash of Bacteria and Yeast create a unique jelly like mushroom that usually floats on the top of kombucha. It’s pretty cool and each one differs. It continues to grow and produce smaller SCOBY’s, hence the name Mother.

Which leads us nicely to the question. Yes, we have a Mother SCOBY. And no, she is not like a queen bee, bigger than all the rest and protected to the death. Our mother is small, about four inches in diameter and lives in a cold room. She has produced all our scobies that we then cultured and grew to much larger adults. And we regularly give her fresh tea and sugar to keep her nice to us all.

Can I grow a scoby from a bottle of HOLO?

Yes! Because our kombucha is unfiltered and unpasteurised, it is brimming with life. To culture (grow) a scoby;

  1. Make a small starter of tea and sugar. Use 85g of sugar per liter and 6g tea per liter
  2.  Add starter tea (10% of the total amount) from a bottle of HOLO Kombucha. Swirl up the bottle to get the yeast and any scobies floating. Make sure your kombucha is not above 25 degrees when adding this starter tea or you risk killing the scoby.
  3. Cover your kombucha with some muslin and eleastic to prevent any flies or insects getting in. Put in a warm place (c. 20 degrees celcius) and leave to ferment for at least 7 days. As this is your first batch, it’s probably best to leave for 10-15 days. When a scoby has formed, you should strengthen it by repeating the steps above.
  4. Enjoy delicious kombucha!