Boochman Kombucha

915 University Avenue, Berkeley, California 94710, United States

Micro kombucha brewery and tap room in Berkeley, California. Handmade in small batches only. Tastefully flavored with organic ingredients. No juice, no extract, no artificial flavourings. They're proud to brew unique, delicious, finest kombucha.

Boochman Kombucha was established in 2018. Four friends, made up of two sets of siblings, started the business. Joining Padilla (34) is her brother Jose Padilla (31) and her brothers Mustafa (31) and Numan Karabiyik (29). Numan is the kombucha brewer, named after the company, whose silhouette stands on their logo in front of the Campanile—their it's "boochman."

Their secret lies in their style of brewing. They use 5 gallon glass jars through their whole fermentation and brewing process. They do this in order to give individual attention to every single batch and to maintain perfection. With that practice, they end up having a Kombucha that is full of life and has endless energy. They proudly serve a very high quality and the most authentic kombucha ever made.

Boochman Kombucha started with a booth in October 2018 at the Old Oakland Farmers' Market on Friday. The business is now selling in nine farmers' markets, including Temescal and Diablo Valley in the East Bay. You can also find it at Ocean View Brew Works in Albany and The Berkeley Station. Boochman makes his drinks out of two police stations, one in Berkeley and the other in Pinole. The founders got the former university space in February last year with plans to open the taproom there, but it took more than a year to open it to the public. According to Padilla, the process was challenging because kombucha is still relatively new to the world of food permitting.

All kombucha has a certain amount of alcohol in it. Alcohol is a by-product of the process of fermentation. While some kombucha may have as much as 3% alcohol, Boochman flavors range from 0.01% to 0.5%.

Boochman Kombucha's low alcohol content is important to all four founders, all of whom are teetotalers. The Karabiyiks do not imbibe for religious reasons (they are Muslim); Denisse Padilla said she gave up alcohol six years ago, and her brother had never taken a drink. Since they all live a dry lifestyle, they were interested in opening a taproom to others like them. All ages are welcome in the taproom of Boochman Kombucha.

At the taproom, Boochman offers six to ten rotating flavors of glass ($4.75) and growler ($12.25). But apart from showing off their kombucha, another reason the founders wanted the bar was that it allowed them to be more sustainable. Along with kombucha, the taproom has a small food menu that allows them to re-use some of the products from their kombucha. So, for example, the clove-tinted currants are removed from the kegs after the brewing process is finished, then dried and made into currant biscotti. And the spent ginger root is incorporated into the milk-free ginger chocolate mousse.

Karabiyik said that although the used fruits and vegetables sometimes have a more muted taste, they coax flavors by drying (as in the case of currants) or adding additional ingredients; they also add probiotic properties to the food as a result of a week-long kombucha bath. But more importantly, the use of what would normally be composted allows the company to get closer to its zero-waste goal.