iN VIDEO: Kombucha brewing business bubbling up in Kamloops
Love it or hate, the fermented beverage called kombucha can be found on the shelves of grocery stores and health food stores everywhere.
The probiotic, non-alcoholic drink is touted as healthy for the gut, and is low in calories and sugars.
“It is a non-alcoholic alternative, a flavourful, sparkling beverage," KMK Living Inc. owner and brewer Kevin McHallam said.
McHallam traditionally brewed wine and beer at home until his health took a turn and he adopted a healthier lifestyle. Brewing kombucha was a part of that shift.
Just last year, he began to expand his kombucha home brewing operation. He's now a licenced business operator brewing out of a commercial kitchen, selling his sparkling products in numerous retail outlets around Kamloops with the help of his family.
“I was having medical issues and my son told me to drink kombucha for my digestive problems,” he said. “I started brewing it and my son told me it was good, so I started looking at how to take it further.”
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McHallam thought about selling his product at local farmers markets, but realized he couldn’t legally sell his home brew.
“I thought what an expensive venture it would be to find a location and invest into a commercial grade kitchen on a hope and a dream,” he said. “I have no marketing backup, it wouldn’t make sense to take that risk.”
While working his regular job as an ambulance dispatcher, McHallam couldn’t stop thinking about operating a kombucha business, so he decided to look for more options. He started researching food inspection requirements and looked around for a shared kitchen space, until he found the Kamloops Food Policy Council.
The council responded by helping McHallam navigate the requirements by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Interior Health and set him up at their commercial GardenGate kitchen. KMK Living Inc. was incorporated in late 2021.
“Having the GardenGate facility allowed me to bring my products to market, get it legalized and make a plan for the winter,” McHallam said. “Last spring we got the product into local farmers markets. I was doing local deliveries like a milkman, replacing crates of new bottles for contactless delivery.”
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Once the product got into the market, he said sales quickly picked up speed. Another kombucha producer in town approached him and asked to be bought out.
“We thought about it for a while and then went ahead with it,” McHallam said. KMK Living Inc. bought out Wild Mountain Jun in May.
Kombucha is a sweet, fizzy drink made from bacteria, yeast, sugar, and tea. It is usually a yellow-orange colour and has a slightly sour taste.
To make kombucha, a person can ferment sweetened green or black tea with a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). During the fermentation process, the yeast in the SCOBY breaks down the sugar in the tea and releases friendly probiotic bacteria. Kombucha becomes carbonated after fermentation, which is why the drink is fizzy.
“The tea is inoculated with a culture of bacteria and yeast,” he said. “We do a long ferment to keep the alcohols and sugars at a very low level. We add fruits and herbs to it and let it sit.”
McHallam also makes Jun Tea, an elevated kombucha that is made with tea and locally sourced raw honey.
“It is lighter and crisper, the champaign of kombucha,” he said. “It is easier drinking and not as vinegary. It has its own appeal.”
The third thing he brews is water-kefir, which is made with organic cane sugar, organic coconut sugar, apples and local grapes, giving it a non-alcoholic resemblance to cider.
His most popular flavours of kombucha are Blueberry/Basil and Pear/Ginger. The fermented sparkling beverages are raw, unpasteurized, and brewed using only natural ingredients, flavours, and colours.
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McHallam sources local ingredients whenever it is possible, and if forced to buy commercially, will purchase organic products. Sustainability, minimal environmental impact and supporting local growers is important to him.
KMK Living Inc. beverages can be found in Kamloops at Nutters Everyday Naturals, Red Collar Brewing, The Vic, Red Beard Cafe and Twin Rivers Market. At Sun Peaks, Ohana Deli Market carries his products.
The KMK Living Inc. facility is located at 954D Laval Crescent.
Go here for more information on KMK Living Inc.
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