Introducing Leslie and Kombuchick, Inc

The weekend of my birthday was spent in the Tidewater area of Virginia where Johnee' and I explored anything vegan and wholesome. We found ourselves at a Sustainable Foods & Growth Fair with only an hour to spare [compliments to Old Dominion University]. After maneuvering past lots of green activists and eco-friendly vendors we were instantly intrigued by a petite beverage stand and it's owner, Leslie Crews. We engaged in meaningful conversation for quite a few minutes (and tried some samples) before Leslie rejoiced, "Ahh! Smart people!!!" The feeling was definitely reciprocated and we were officially in love with Kombuchick. Kombuchick is a Kombucha brewing company based in Norfolk, VA. We loved it so much we purchased our own start-up kit and decided to interview the chick behind the Kombucha.

Leslie Crews fabulously glowing!

HPNL: What is Kombucha?
Leslie: Kombucha is a probiotic, fermented beverage that is derived from sweetened tea.  It has been around since...gosh...220- 221 BC, and originated in a general geographic area between Russia and China.  It's name, interestingly enough, can be attributed to the Japanese language as 'kombu' (seaweed) and 'cha' (tea).  Legend has it the original kombucha cultures came from a seaweed plant; though there is no scientific evidence supporting this claim. 

HPNL:What are it's benefits?
Leslie: Kombucha is touted for a myriad of different benefits...from clearing skin and hair, to boosting metabolism, to helping alleviate some of the pain and joint swelling, to assisting with strenuous activity recovery, to even helping diabetics wean off of sugary, poisonous aspartame-laden beverages.  What kombucha does, is to help our bodies become more alkaline by working to balance our pH.  Kombucha contains gluconic and acetic acids, making it one step above vinegar in its ability to help with a variety of conditions.  For example: gout, a condition of imbalanced levels of uric acid, can be mitigated to a certain extent by regularly drinking kombucha.  Kombucha is also a great post- workout beverage to help restore balance to our systems, with a fraction of the calories of coconut water.

HPNL: What started YOUR personal kombucha journey?
Leslie: When I graduated from college, I was suffering from the residual effects of poor dietary and lifestyle habits (staying awake for nights on end, partying, eating junk food and nutritionally-void, cafeteria- style food court meals).  I was not treating my body with love and self- respect.  When I went for a yearly exam, there were some potentially precancerous low-grade squamous cell displasia (I don't even know if I spelled all of that correctly) issues of particular concern by my gynecologist.  I went home and researched the connections to nutrition and health, and determined a diet rich in high- enzyme, natural, and unadultered fruits, vegetables, sprouts of all types, nuts and seeds would best help to combat my current disposition.  Ultimately, I went raw for a year and a half and focused on healing from within: a holistic invigoration of mind, body, and spirit.

During that time, a friend from California told me about kombucha.  I had never heard of it, so I did my research, and after asking around found one person who knew what it was and where I could locally source this elusive beverage.  I began regularly consuming kombucha.  I fell in love with its affects on my body and my spirit.   I loved it so much, I began making more than I could consume.  When I decided to launch my excess cultures on ETSY for the general public, it was all downhill from there, as they say.

So a year later, I went to a second gynecologist to get a second test conducted, without informing her of my prior results and medical history.  I was relieved to find out there was NO cell displasia concern, and I had a clean bill of (vaginal) health!  I don't know nor can I say it was the raw foods, the kombucha, or anything, really; I just know I was very happy with the results of my life after the arduous journey.  So much so, that I have decided to resume that vital lifestyle.


HPNL: How did Kombuchick, Inc begin?
Leslie: When I started making my own kombucha at home, I started producing more cultures than could be given to friends, family, colleagues, or on Craigslist; so I decided to go into business.  I am very excited to note that Kombuchick Inc is one of three woman- owned kombucha companies in the NATION, quite possibly the only ceritified minority- owned company, and is currently the ONLY licensed kombucha manufacturing company.

HPNL: Where can we find your brew?
Leslie: Our brews can be purchased locally throughout the Hampton Roads area.  We sell our teas at Path, a vegan restaurant in Norfolk, VA, at Fair Grounds Coffeehouse in Norfolk, VA, and also at the Five Points Community Farm Market on Church St (also in Norfolk, VA).  We will soon be selling our brews at 757 Creative Space, a local business collective environment open for after- hours business and gatherings. 

We will even be launching our products at a few locations in Virginia Beach and in Norfolk.  We intend our products are being launched throughout the Commonwealth, the DC Metro area, and in the Mid Atlantic Region by 2013.  We intend we are the Mid Atlantic Region's largest kombucha production company by 2015.  The power of intention is limitless...we thus choose to use it for manifesting good.

HPNL: What is your personal diet like?

Our home-made Kombucha still fermenting.

Leslie: I am currently observing an unlabeled, uncategorized freestyle diet of very strict terms.  (Okay, hear me out, haha.)  From sunup to sundown, I eat raw foods... fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, juiced wheatgrass.... you name it.  If it grew from a tree, from a seed, from the earth, from a field, or I sprouted it with the love of my own hands... I eat it. I love getting creative within these constraints; as my Raw Food Fetish Facebook album can vouch.  During the winter months, to keep me feeling 'satisfied and warm from within', I indulge in preparing my own saurkraut, cultured vegetables, locally-made kimchi, and dehydrated fruits and dishes.  After sundown, I will eat a sensible cooked meal; typically homemade lentil burgers fortified with spirulina and a little apple cider vinegar if I feel like a seafood- type fish-and-chips-esque venture; a heavy salad with beans, more sprouts, whatever dressing I choose, and a raw cobbler (only because they are the BEST), or soup...I love soup.  If you were to really think about what I eat, it's not so weird at all, is it?  Its food intended to be consumed by the creatures of the earth; it's not been drizzled in syrups, coated in fat, sprinkled with sugar, or doused in condiments.  The ingredients are pure (how I PERSONALLY define 'all-natural': it came purely from nature in an unadultered form: an apple is all-natural.  A soda is NOT all natural, no matter how you dress it.)


HPNL: Any Wellness advice for the readers?
Leslie:  Yes! Don't diet! don't think of limiting yourself! Diet contains the word DIE for a reason..haha.  Think about all of the limitless possibilities of foods you can ADD to your diet! Add more raw living foods! Living food is food that, when harvested, still had vital lifeforce running through it when you eat it! Pick it and eat it...doesn't get any fresher!
I say this because, when you focus on all the great healthy and holistic elements you can add to your diet, you find little room for the junk you were consuming.  I don't just mean with food...add in exercise; even if its just a daily walk around the block.  Add in good habits; meditation; reiki, yoga, visting old friends...anything; something to increase the wellbeing of hralth and spirit.  That's what has worked for me.

HPNL: What else can we expect to see from you Leslie? Will Kombuchick expand or is anything else in the works?
Leslie: Yes! I hope to expand the presence of Kombuchick throughout the immediate region; but want to protect the local sense of place associated with my company.  The energy of the nearby oceans and high- vibrations of the character of my area..Hampton Roads...is instrumental in nurturing the spirit of the company that is Kombuchick.  I never want to get too big and grandiose as to where I am never at some point able to brew, bottle, or interact with my customers.  That being said, I feel I have something positive to contribute to society, and to make the world a great place.  I hope to spread this message to every corner of the Earth I can attain.  I want to leave such a healing footprint that-- when my flesh dies and my heart stops beating- my pulse will continue to resonate vitality throughout human (and animal) kind.  Namaste.

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Namaste, sis! Don't you love her?!

So, as stated at the beginning of the post, we purchased our own homebrew kombucha kit from [www.kombuchick.com] with organic Rooibos (African Red Bush) tea and organic cane sugar to begin our organic kombucha journey. In about a week we will get to indulge and will be back with a proper review and update. Oh, and as for Leslie, I'm sure this isn't the last time you'll hear from her. Stay tuned! ;)

Humbly, Peax and Love