Conrad and Louisa Ferrel discovered kombucha while traveling in Asia. Conrad, a Celiac sufferer, developed a taste for this fermented tea as an alternative to beer, and started brewing it at home to bring to parties.
“The more he drank it, the better he felt,” says Louisa, who took to kombucha for its enzymatic properties herself after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease.
Five years later, the couple left their jobs as chartered accountants and started True Buch.
True Buch is a wholesale draught kombucha company; brewed in Cochrane using only local produce and suppliers, such as tea from The Naked Leaf in Kensington, where the Ferrels make their home.
Community is of high importance for Conrad and Louisa, who donate their time and 10% of their proceeds from True Buch to charities and causes they believe in, such as Ronald McDonald House, Inn from the Cold, and Calgary Humane Society.
Kombucha is organic tea and sugar fermented with Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) over the course of 10 to 14 days. The result is a carbonated drink, rich with amino acids and probiotics – far better than any soda.
Louisa is proud to say that the business is zero-waste. “We don’t use any one-time bottles. We provide the retailers with kegerators, and they’re able to buy our kombucha in draught form. People bring their own bottles, or you could purchase one of our branded bottles, but that’s not necessary.”
True Buch composts all of its organic material as well, which is then given to Grow Calgary to use on their fields.
“It’s a bit of a change of life and pace, but we’re loving it,” Louisa says.
TAKE ACTION:
- For a list of retailers that have True Buch on tap, including REAP businesses Market 17, Wild and Raw Superfood and Juice Bar, Calgary Farmer's Market, Bridgeland Farmer's Market and Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer's Market click here.
- View True Buch Kombucha’s REAP profile.
- To learn more about True Buch and follow Louisa and Conrad’s journey, visit them online or follow them onTwitter,Facebook, or Instagram.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.belocal.org/living-locally/discover-true-buch-kombucha/