Meet a Local Kombucha Brewer in Kansas

Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes. But for one Kansas entrepreneur, mother was the necessity of invention.

In this case, the “mother” was a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (the acronym is scobyfor short) used to brew kombucha tea. Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage touted for various health benefits thanks to its probiotics, antioxidants and B vitamins. 

And now Elliot Pees, owner of KANbucha, brews this tart tea in Lawrence.

Ten years ago, Elliot’s sister visited him from Texas and brought some locally made kombucha to share. It was a light-bulb moment for him.

“It was the first time I understood you could make kombucha at home,” he said. “My sister and I got the DIY bug.”

They made a few batches, but Elliot admits their first tries weren’t very good. They kept at it.

“We had a lot of failures and we had some successes,” he said. “We toasted the successes.”

With more successes under his belt, Elliot started to think about making and selling his tea. Work was tough to find at the time and Elliot, who was a music teacher by trade, thought it would be a good opportunity to get business experience and earn extra income.

“I was at a time in my life where I thought I wanted to try starting a business,” he said. “It was a means of bringing something new to the community. I had the time to do it and thought it would be a good business option.”

In 2009, he decided to jump on this food trend and took advantage of a local small business support center.

“A large part of the job is figuring out what you don’t know,” he said. “A lot of it’s been discovery, fueled by local support here in Lawrence, plus the national trend of people being interested in kombucha.”

Elliot found a job teaching as KANbucha started to grow, but in 2014, he left teaching to solely focus on his business. Funnily enough, he still finds himself in the role of educator as a business owner.

“Kombucha was such a new thing even when I started. I’ve done a lot of work to explain to people what it is,” he said.

Kombucha is made from a blend of the mother, tea, sugar and water. A lot of people who try to make kombucha at home oversteep the tea, which results in a bitter drink. Overfermenting the tea results in a sour taste.

“There are a lot of ratios involved. It’s a numbers game,” Elliot said. “You have to be somebody who likes to tinker a bit.”

Brewing a batch can take anywhere from seven to 21 days, depending on the heat and other environmental factors. Microbial activity in the air can also affect production.

“It’s considered a wild ferment. It relies on wild bacteria and yeast that are in the air,” Elliot said. “It’s like terroirin cheese- and winemaking: Different regions have certain resident yeasts and bacteria that shape the flavor.”

So, KANbucha is truly a product of Kansas — microbes and all! 

But not all kombuchas are created equal.

“A lot of kombucha is watered down, over sweetened or doesn’t have the sour bite, which are typical characteristics of homemade kombucha,” Elliot said. “I want mine to be the real deal for my customers. It tastes bold, with a strong, fermented flavor, and it has a body to it.”

Although certain health benefits have yet to be scientifically proven, some of Elliot’s customers report having more energy, being more regular, seeing improvement in their skin and even getting over hangovers more quickly.

Elliot added safety is important in his operation. He’s certified in food safety planning and his kitchen is regularly inspected by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, as well as the Food and Drug Administration.

“I take those licenses pretty seriously,” he said. “When I first started, none of these organizations knew what kombucha was or how to classify it. It’s been interesting to see it develop.”

If you want to try Elliot’s kombucha brews for yourself, you can find KANbucha at various locations in Lawrence, Kansas City and Manhattan. Check out his website or follow him on Instagram @kanbucha  for more information.