'Booch News

I first interviewed Lucas in 2021, when he shared his opinion on why kombucha has become so popular in Brazil and the rapid growth of the industry from 2019 to 2021.

He is the founder of Fermenta Com Ciência (Fermenting with Science), where he teaches courses, gives lectures, and provides consulting services. He is also the organizer of Conakom (Conferência Nacional de ...

Thiago Cunha founded LABKOM in 2020, together with Ruan Gregório, after a technical support initiative during the COVID period helped regional beverage producers navigate process and regulatory challenges. Cunha is a chemical engineer, holds a master’s degree in biotechnology and a specialization in microbiology, and is currently a PhD candidate in chemistry at the Federal University of Minas Ger...

Four years ago I visited The Elixir Spot vegan cafe and kombucha brewery near the Pier in Puerto Vallarta. Then in 2024 I added an update reporting they had expanded to a second location in the 5th of December neighborhood.

This year I discovered that the 5th of December location had closed and, just three months ago, The Wellness Patio opened at 165 Francisca Rodrígue...

World Ferment Day took place on February 1st this year. Billed as a global celebration that turns theory into practice, people were invited to taste a ferment, make a ferment, share a ferment or host a ferment event. Organizer Jo Webster was supported by The Fermentation School, Wildbrine, and The Fermentation School en español.

Goodfellows Restaurant in Jo’s home...

Last year, I met Gina Méndez, the founder of Kova Kombucha in Puerto Vallarta. At that time, I reported that she had been in business for a year, was operating out of her home, and producing 250-300 bottles per month. She planned to move to a larger space.

Twelve months later, I visited Gina at her larger space. She now produces twice the quantity in Puerto Vallarta and...

Shajia Meraj’s thesis at Karachi University, Pakistan, was a groundbreaking exploration of kombucha “leather” (dried cellulose SCOBYs) in the context of sustainable textile design. Rather than viewing this material merely as an industrial substitute for animal leather, Meraj’s research, conducted over 11 months in 2025, treats it as a living, time-based medium that responds to i...

This is the last in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News each week, starting with a Preview on October 3rd. Episode 11 appeared last week.

Overview

By 2100, the Earth hums with quiet vitality. Cities are green, breathable, and alive—literally. After the Climate Reckoning of the 2050s and the Fermentation Re...

I recently talked with Marianne O’Donnell, the founder of Kombucha Na Dálaigh, based in Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. I began by wishing her a Happy Christmas in her native tongue, which is the limit of my Irish language skills. This was an appropriate greeting since Kombucha Na Dálaigh is located in a Gaeltacht region of the Republic, where Irish is the everyday language and a cornerston...

This is one in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 10 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Overview

In this episode, we examine the years after kombucha and fermented foods emerged into the mainstream, exploring how ordinary people experienced the transition to a ferm...

WonderBrew Kombucha made history by clinching six prestigious titles at the World Kombucha Awards 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. The brand was founded in 2018 by Joseph Poh Wen Xian and Loke Boon Eng.

Origins

In 2018 Joseph began a journey to transform his gut health. He would walk the aisles of the supermarket, searching for the latest h...

This is one in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 9 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Overview

Pharmaceutical companies partnered with kombucha producers to deliver medications via fermentation. Living probiotics became supportive therapy systems, enhancing the ef...

Dr. Cătălin Tîlvescu is a general surgeon and the coordinator of the Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Nova Vita Hospital in Romania. In 2020, he founded Kombucius in his hometown of Târgu Mureș, Transylvania.

Market opportunity

The decision to launch was heavily influenced by a clear market opportunity in Romania. A certain level...

Jake Myers, the director of the new comedy-horror movie, Kombucha, visited San Francisco this weekend. He had flown in from Chicago (where the film was shot) to host a screening at the Balboa Theater’s ‘Another Hole in the Head‘ horror-fest.

He sat down with Booch News to discuss his film and explain why he chose to make a horror movie about everyone&r...

This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 8 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Overview

Fermentation cooperatives represent one effective social organizing principle among many. In the future, kombucha cafes could replace bars and coffee shops...

This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 7 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Overview

Peer-to-peer flavor-sharing platforms enabled home brewers to distribute taste profiles as digital files. Blockchain-verified SCOBY genetics allowed anyon...

I sat down with William Esslinger of Confluence Kombucha in St. Louis, Missouri. We’d just left the three-day KBI conference in Barcelona and were having lunch at Munich Airport before catching our respective connecting flights. It was William’s first time in Germany, if you count being in an airport transit lounge as being in a country. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversat...

This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 6 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Introduction

Legacy beverage corporations attempting hostile takeovers of kombucha startups failed to understand the living systems involved. Their sterile producti...

I visited Bioma Kombucha on the final day of my trip to Barcelona for the World Kombucha Awards and KBI European Summit.

Christopher Davite is the founder of Bioma Kombucha in Barcelona. His personal health struggles, including ADHD, depression, and digestive issues, along with an unexpected allergic reaction to pollen after moving to Vancouver, led him to discover the ...

This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 5 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday.

Introduction

In the mid-21st century, rising seas and extreme weather rendered traditional agriculture impossible, but kombucha cultures thrived in controlled envi...