Is There Kombucha Yet?

[Ries]

Dilettante that I am, I only live in Argentina 3 months out of the year. Which means I havent been searching the markets since February.
So, my question is, is there any premade Kombucha tea or drinks available yet?

Argentina is sometimes slow to catch on to the latest fads- but Kombucha is a good 300 to 500 years old by now, so you think it would have gotten there by now.

Commercially, in the US, we have had Kombucha available in most grocery stores for 5 to 10 years now.

Up here in El Norte, I often make my own, since I like it gingery, lemony, and tangy. But I can always buy it at most stores as well.

I have never seen it in BsAs.

But my guess is that, any day now, somebody is going to start making it, at least on an artisan level, and selling it at places like El Galpon.

I am considering bringing a mother, frozen and triple zip lock bagged, in my checked luggage, but its kind of a weird thing to carry with you- looks like a brain parasite from a scifi movie.
But its not really a big deal to make my own, although it takes up valuable fridge space and will take a couple of weeks to be drinkable.

 

[homeinbuenosaires]

It has been available in Chinatown for a decade (? at least) now, though what I've seen for the past year or two there doesn't have much 'mother' left in it (I checked every single bottle a couple of times). There was also a thread on here a couple of years back where people were meeting up to give others part of their own 'mother' for homebrews...

I'd be down for that and might even do a sourdough starter in order to have something to exchange with someone if anyone is making kombucha and reading this. I also make yogurt/ greek yogurt/ yogocheese with probiotics painstakingly sourced here (but brought in 'cadena de frio' from the US) and could trade a pot for others to use as a starter in exchange for some kombucha mother.

 

[Marive]

Hi! I've also been looking for kombucha for a while, and the only place I've found it is at a healthy food store called Felices Las Vacas, the address is Las Heras 2211 (one block away from Pueyrredon Ave). I was there about two months ago and bought a 1 quart bottle of kombucha tea for about 40 pesos I think, and it had plenty of mother at the bottom. You can find them in facebook, they usually post about the products they receive daily and you can check if they have kombucha before heading to the store.

I would also be interested if anyone has some kombucha starter to share, and I can provide some water kefir grains in return.

homeinbuenosaires, do you remember where at Barrio Chino you found it? I go there regularly and I've never seen it...

 

[madintl]

Hi there

Just checking into see if anyone has an update on the availability of Kombucha in BA? Or if anyone has a scobie they would be willing to sell or give away. I wasn't brave enough to bring one into the country.