To those unfamiliar with kombucha, it’s a fermented tea, usually considered something of a health drink. It combines tea leaves, sugar, water, and live cultures, then left to ferment.
The sugars and caffeine convert into vitamins, amino acids and friendly bacteria: the ammo behind its immunity and digestion boosting arsenal, culminating in tangy and savoury drink.
But Jack MacDonald of Left Field Kombucha says the glory of the drink lies beyond its health benefits. He sees the drink as an alcohol alternative in a league of its own.
‘Kombucha is a new social drink, a non-alcoholic option that offers complexity and depth that other soft drinks do not achieve,’ Jack says.
‘People aren’t just drinking it because it’s good for them, they’re drinking it because it tastes amazing and feels like a proper alternative to alcohol, rather than a compromise.’
He first heard about kombucha from a friend in an Edinburgh pub. Sceptical, he found a bottle of Left Field’s ‘Sencha Green’ in a shop, and was immediately converted by the taste.
‘Hands down the best non-alcoholic thing I’d ever tasted, it was savoury (which for someone with no sweet tooth was perfect), while being complex, zesty and refreshing,’ he said.
Notwithstanding the health benefits, which make for a most welcome free benefit. Jack’s captaincy of the company is built on sturdy foundations.
Its previous owners brought knowledge and a steadfast dedication to cultivating the fermentation nature, or SCOBY, eradicating the vinegary twang that can linger in some kombuchas, and honing Left Field’s terrifically complex flavour.
Kombucha in Scotland is still in its adolescence. When Left Field was founded, it was a fledgling niche of a drink, found chiefly in health food shops.
That being said, Left Field now sell some 21,000 bottles a month.
‘Scotland has a strong independent food and drink scene, and that was a fantastic foundation for our kombucha,’ Jacke said.
‘Although we only sell our kombucha in the UK we do have some extremely loyal fans who bring suitcases back from abroad to fill with Left Field bottles, and we have even been asked to send bulk pallets internationally for individuals who have moved abroad.
‘I guess that speaks for itself,’
There is a real difference between what makes a good kombucha, and a bad one. It should be made with real tea, careful fermentation and time- something not always present on supermarket shelves.
‘A quality kombucha should taste layered, bright and tart (without being vinegary), with a touch of natural sweetness and subtle complexity,’ Jack said.
‘The result should be a drink that feels alive.’ And in a sense it is alive, at least during the fermentation process.
Behind Left Field’s production is a small team of just two Livingston based brewers, Stewart and Jake, who supervise and scrutinise thousands of strains of yeast and bacteria every day.
They work to keep the flavour consistent and perfect each batch, meanwhile researching new flavours and new methods of improving the brewing process.
As a wonderful by-product of their production, spent tea leaves are donated to gardeners who fertilise flowerbeds across the NHS.
Jack makes a great case for the variability of kombucha; its bottles stocked from the shelves of Scottish honesty shops to the wine list of the Ritz in London.
It can serve as your post-workout thirst quencher, or your supplement for a glass of bubbly.
Kombucha has grown massively thanks to its health properties, I’d argue chiefly in the rise of the recent gut health craze we’ve witnessed in recent years.
But with the tee-totallers and sober-curious growing in numbers, it’s risen in the ranks among alcohol alternatives.
‘For people who still want something grown-up and complex, but don’t want to drink alcohol or a calorically dense no/lo beer or cordial, kombucha is the perfect answer.
‘In my opinion, it stands as something that feels less pointless than non-alc beer, less childish than a mocktail, and all in all standing as its own drink category rather than a lesser alternative to the “real deal”.
‘It brings its own personality to the table,’ says Jack, who foresees kombucha becoming a standard option in Scotland.
‘If I had a penny each time I heard frustration that the only soft option at an event was elderflower cordial,’ he says.
Kombucha enjoyers in Scotland are far more varied today than the previous rabble of health-nuts.
‘Kombucha is part of the functional drinks boom,’ Jack says.
‘The total kombucha market in the UK is a rapidly growing sector, as more people seek probiotic-rich, low-sugar, natural beverages.
‘So while there might have been stereotypes of a health conscious “hippie” kombucha drinker, in reality the consumer base is really hard to define.
‘It is definitely health-aware but also socially conscious, and totally diverse in age and lifestyle.’
People are subscribing to regular deliveries; for their daily routines, holidays, staff parties; something caffeine-free in the morning and alcohol free in the evening.
If you aren’t bothered to saunter down to your local Ritz or RealFoods, Left Field is pretty easy to buy online, which is what they recommend (especially if you’re going to get through it quickly).
Left Field bottles a band of flavours that would ring delight in a tea lover’s ear – Sencha Green (the zesty one), Yunnan Black (the earthy one), Oolong (the floral one) and Darjeeling (the fruity one).
Read more Producer’s Corner here.
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