Kombucha master René Archner (of René's Kombucha) is revving up the local beverage industry.
The former chef has teamed up with Auckland roasting company The Coffee Lab to make a coffee-kombucha hybrid.
Coffee Kombucha Photo: Rene’s Kombucha
At the moment, René brews and sells around 500 litres of kombucha a week on the Kaipara Harbour property he shares with his wife, 10 dexter cows, 40 Wiltshire sheep, 9 goats, a bunch of chickens and a dog.
But René says he didn't really choose the kombucha life. Back in 2012, he was teaching a workshop on fermented foods and his students' demand for the cultured tea drink led to a private business.
The next year René's Kombucha started selling nationwide, in flavours like Lemon & Ginger and Red Berry.
It was coffee roaster Anna McGregor - who stocks Rene's kombucha at The Coffee Lab - who encouraged him to have a go at making a fermented drink with her organic cold-brew single-origin coffee.
René hadn't been a fan of any coffee-flavoured kombucha he'd tried previously but eventually came up with a flavour he was happy with.
Each 330ml bottle contains about the same amount of caffeine as a single shot of espresso, René says.
"I find it’s quite smooth. It’s not the peaking effect I get when I drink a cup of coffee. For me, it’s more a nice pick-me-up but not an incredible boost as I would experience with a double-shot flat white."
René's Coffee Kombucha currently available at The Coffee Lab in the Auckland suburb of Wairau Valley, with more stockists to follow.
