Tea Time!

Big Easy ‘Bucha invites you to drink up.

October 30th, 2014 by: Lianna Patch

Though kombucha tea has been touted as a health-boosting beverage since the early 20th century, and was reportedly invented much earlier, the fizzy, fermented drink has only recently gained traction in mainstream circles. Kombucha is made by fermenting a culture of bacteria and yeasts in tea, leading to a beverage that can range from tangy to sour, sweet to strong. 

“Kombucha is amazingly healthful,” says Alexis Korman, who co-founded New Orleans-based Big Easy ‘Bucha with Austin Sherman six months ago. “It’s a great replacement for sugary sodas because it is naturally sweetened, but not loaded with sugar. In addition, it’s packed with healthy bacteria, probiotics and antioxidants, and is so good for your digestive and immune systems.”

With Big Easy ‘Bucha, Korman and Sherman aim to offer an alternative to sweet tea and oversized sodas. “We’ve both been drinking kombucha for what seems like ages!” Korman says. “We thought New Orleanians deserved to have their own handcrafted, artisanal, locally made kombucha with really original flavors.”

The two tea lovers give their kombucha a boost by serenading it with music — hence one flavor’s “Jazz Juice” moniker. “At the end of the day, kombucha is a raw and living beverage,” Korman says. “Music makes us happy, so we figured playing some NOLA jazz to our tanks would make our kombucha happy too.” 

Korman and Sherman suggest trying kombucha as an alternative to soda in your next cocktail. Big Easy ‘Bucha’s “Cajun Kick” flavor, infused with citrus, ginger and cayenne pepper, is an especially good mixer. “We use it in mixed drinks all the time,” Korman says. “Austin was trying to come up with a more healthy ginger-beer alternative, and this is it.” bigeasybucha.com