This healthful beverage soared in popularity during Covid. Now, for the first time, it’s being brewed on the island – and sells out every month!
Cyprus definitely has more than its fair share of drink entrepreneurs! There are any number of local gins on the market, all brimming with indigenous herbs and spices, and more than a few unique tea blends found only on the island. And now, to add to the liquid love, we’re getting our very own, locally-brewed kombucha!
A fermented, sweetened tea drink that’s packed with vitamins and amino acids, kombucha rocketed in popularity during Covid thanks to its purported health benefits. As consumers shifted toward proactively addressing their diet and wellbeing, sales hit the $3 billion mark for the first time – and continue to grow. But kombucha isn’t a passing trend. In fact, it’s been around for millennia…
Believed to have been named for Dr Kombu, a Korean physician who brought the beverage to Japan, kombucha originated in Northeast China circa 200 BC. From there, it slowly made its way across Asia, appearing in Europe by the late 19th century (where it became kambucha in Russia, and Kombuchaschwamm in Germany). And by the 1990s, it had reached the US where, thanks to a host of health claims – the drink really took off.
“Of course it takes a little longer for these trends to come to Cyprus,” says Demosthenis Katsouris who, along with younger brother Andreas, is behind the island’s only locally produced commercial brand, Mikro Kombucha. “But since we’re seeing more and more brands importing to Cyprus at great expense – bottled kombucha must be refrigerated for its entire journey to hold fermentation – we thought it might be interesting to make our own local varieties. The beauty of kombucha being,” he adds, “that you can add any flavours you like, and Cyprus has some very singular tastes indeed!”
Read full story:-
https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/12/10/pandemics-favourite-drink-arrives-in-cyprus/
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