Vanessa Tortolano and Alla Shapiro, the owners of NessAlla Kombucha in Madison, WI, exude warmth and confidence, mixed with a great dose of humor. I wonder, however, if all of the swooning by their adoring customers over their delicious kombucha might just make them blush.
Kombucha, or “booch”, as it is fondly called by Vanessa and Alla, is a drink made from fermented ceylon tea. Fermentation happens as a by-product of the symbiotic relationship between bacteria and yeast (scoby) in a bath of tea and sugar, and yields a refreshingly effervescent drink. The scoby is sometimes called a mushroom, but is not a true mushroom. Frankly, it looks less like a mushroom, and more like snot. Honestly.
Vanessa and Alla began their business about six years ago, and it's been growing ever since. You can now find their six delicious flavors of kombucha--Raspberry, Blueberry, Lemongrass Ginger, Seasonal, Peach Blush, Traditional Oolong—in various grocers and farmer's markets around Madison, WI and Chicago.
The first time I drank kombucha, I will admit I was not smitten, but by the second bottle, I noticed that I enjoyed the punchy flavor and refreshing zing. And I felt, well, a bit zingy myself! Amino acids, they told me. A good-for-you buzz? Vanessa assured me that there is less alcohol in kombucha than fresh squeezed orange juice, which makes that zesty feeling even better--and nothing to blush about. What makes you blush?
GIVEAWAY: Vanessa and Alla have generously offered a gallon of their newest booch flavor, PEACH BLUSH KOMBUCHA, to the winner of this contest! Just tell me what makes you blush! Keep it PG please!
I'll start:
At a recent cooking class, I was blending a warm milk and cream cheese mixture in the blender. I must not have completely covered the top of the blender because as soon as I pressed the puree button, the milk/cheese mixture went all over the place, including on the students sitting near the counter. That was shortly after I caught a paper towel on fire. Two blushes in one night.
4 comments:
Vanessa's peach :)
That would have to be the time I reached for a spray can of starch while ironing a shirt and instead pulled out black spray pain. I'm still the butt of jokes for that one. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
Well Jennifer and Mary, It's a hard one, Jennifer, your comment made me blush, but Mary, I can certainly relate to a disaster like the one you had, and how embarrasing that can be. Mary is the winner! can you please send me your address so that you can receive your kombucha?
Kombucha is such the craze now. I, too, was not crazy about it the first time I tried it. But it has definitely grown on me. ;)
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