Bubbling for booch
A scientist is hunting for microbes unique to New Zealand, believing he can find them in the health drink du jour – kombucha.
Dr Bevan Weir, from Landcare Research, has put out a call for homebrew kombucha samples as part of his research into the drink.
He did not know of any other research into the drink happening on such a large scale, he said.
Kombucha, a drink made by fermenting sweet liquid with a culture of bacteria and yeast known as a scoby, has exploded in popularity.
Countdown has reported sales quadrupling in a year, with many people seeing it as a health drink with probiotic qualities.
Weir said Landcare was responsible for the national fungarium and culture collection, which between them housed thousands of strains of yeast, bacteria and other microbes only found in New Zealand
He was always on the hunt for new varieties to add and thought kombucha would be a prime hunting ground.
Personal interest was part of the reason for the research.
He home brews beer and fruit wines, while his wife is in charge of making kombucha.
But there was also a scientific strand, especially when comparing kombucha with beer and wine.
Although people making the latter two would usually select a specific strain of yeast, kombucha scoby tended to be made up of various different kinds.
Scoby also contained bacteria, which turned the alcohol produced by yeast into the acid that gave kombucha its tartness, he said.
People interested in donating kombucha samples should contact Landcare Research at landcareresearch.co.nz/about/contact-us/.