By MaryAnne Musilo

A Laikipia grower, who discovered kombucha when looking for ways of adding value to his hibiscus, has now launched starter packs for Sh1,000 for farmers to add value to multiple crops by making the fermented tea.

Kombucha, which is made with a live culture of bacteria and yeast known as a SCOBY, added to teas, herb teas and fruits, has been taking off rapidly in Kenya as a health drink, with local brands, such as Mohawk Kombucha, going from a few bottles to 1,500 bottles a week selling to supermarkets, gyms and wellness cafés.

Early medical research has shown that kombucha may help lower blood sugar and cholesterol.. In one trial with people with type 2 diabetes, fasting blood sugar fell from 164 to 116 milligrams per decilitre after four weeks of drinking kombucha. It has also been found to improve heart health, digestion, and immunity.

It was the growth in this market and its health benefits that first prompted Thiong’o Gachie, a regenerative agriculture consultant and trainer in Laikipia, to start making kombucha with the SCOBY yeast needed to ferment it.

“I got my first SCOBY in 2011 from an Italian friend, which later dried up due to negligence. I used it to make kombucha using the tea leaves we have in the market. After farming hibiscus and getting to know its benefit, I wanted to try out hibiscus kombucha,” he said.

“I’m interested in value addition, food preservation and probiotics and this interest made another friend reach out and shared her SCOBY.”

“I make either black tea, or hibiscus mixed with mint and lemon grass, I then add a sweetener, let it cool down and then I pour the tea into scoby. If you add the tea while hot into the scoby, you kill the bacterial yeast. I then cover it with a cloth to avoid insects from contaminating it because it has a sweet aroma which insects like flies loves. I leave for at most three days, sieve it, not stirring it, and I drink the tea,” he said.

“I avoid covering it with a tight lid because it produces gas. I also like to ferment mine for fewer days because I like it sweet. If left longer it becomes acidic and bitter to drink.”

He advised against using metal containers because the acidic drink will corrode them. After pouring off the ready kombucha, new, cooled tea is added to the jar with the SCOBY, which keeps growing.

“The SCOBY is a living thing. So it is a continuous process. It feeds on sugar and continues to grow. Those who don’t like sugar can use molasses or jaggery, which is a healthy alternative,” said Thiong’o.

Kombucha can be made with many plants beyond tea, adding different health properties, with Thiong’o adding that flavours like Moringa, Oregano, Ashwagandha and different types of herbs, “add a lot of health benefits”.

“Kombucha is known to help in the gut problem, it promotes good digestion. It also had vitamins, antioxidants which can help fight cancer. If you use it with hibiscus, it helps regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. If used with ginger, it helps in cleaning your system,” he said.

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But the difficult thing for farmers is getting the SCOBY to make kombucha, which prompted him to start selling it in litre tins for Sh1,000.

“The hastle is getting it, which according to me is a good investment, because you buy once and it just keeps on growing if maintained well,” he said.

“People buy one litre of kombucha at Sh500, which makes getting the SCOBY and making the tea to sell a better thing to do, according to me.”

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