Kombucha maker Inspired Brews opening in Old City
It will share a corner store with Stripp'd Juice.
Kombucha, the fermented, slightly bubbly natural tea drinks, have caught on the area, largely due to the work of Inspired Brews, the small wholesale business by Center City graphic designer Jessa Stevens and her Dallas-based business partner, Jennifer Snow.
They have outgrown their shared kitchen space in the back of a Center City gym and, in about a month will go the storefront route with a shop and "fermentary" dedicated to the drink. They'll make and sell on premises, in addition to supplying gyms and other health-forward shops.
Inspired Brews will take 263 N. Third St., the southeast corner of Third and Vine Streets in Old City, in what was a luncheonette called the Lite Bite. They're sharing the space with cold-press juice shop Stripp'd Juice, which will open soon.
The shop may eventually sell prepared foods from a refrigerated case, but the idea for now is to stick to kombucha. And just so beer and coffee drinkers will feel right at home, they'll offer kombucha on draft and even kombucha growlers.
Stevens was living in Dallas five years ago when she found kombucha, which some tout for health benefits, at a Whole Foods store. "Initially, I didn't love the way it tastes, but I knew it was good for me," Stevens said. "I mean, I can make the nastiest green juice and get it down." Stevens then met Snow, a lawyer who was brewing her own. As Stevens moved east with her husband, the business was born.
Stevens also teaches kombucha-making classes.
The kombucha process runs about nine days. Bacteria and yeast are added to varuious teas, and natural flavors go in along the way. It's probiotic and high in enzymes and B vitamins. Stevens said she uses local, seasonal ingredients as flavorings.
"We're not this corporate brand selling all over the U.S.," she said. "We're here."