Have you tried Chinese kombucha? Take a sip of Boozy Brew, Macau’s home-grown – and not especially alcoholic – brand
- Katy Ou and Lucas Lio started Macau-based kombucha brand Boozy Brew, and now offer more than 20 flavours of the hipster-approved fermented cold tea
- Carefully crafted to suit an Asian palate, popular flavours include jasmine green tea, passion fruit oolong tea and rose lychee black tea – and despite the name, health, not booze, is the main objective
Enjoyed without fanfare for millenia, in different forms all around the world, fermented foods have become a much-heralded dining trend in recent years.
Sales of foods such as kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut and apple cider vinegar have spiked on promises of improved gut health and reduced inflammation, among other benefits.
But one fermented food shone brightest: kombucha – which thanks to a high antioxidant, low sugar content, bubbly mouthfeel, and potential for a wide array of flavours, has become a healthy drink of choice for many.
The pandemic, naturally, further boosted our ferment foment, with people filling their days at home making sourdough bread and pickles.
Ahead of the curve, Macau’s Katy Ou and Lucas Lio started brewing kombucha – technically a fermented, sweetened tea – in their kitchen as a hobby in January 2020. When their efforts earned an enthusiastic response from family and friends, they decided to turn that hobby into a business.
“We wanted to do something good and bring healthy, tasty Macanese-style kombucha to more people,” says Ou. “Boozy Brew is made through an ancient method, in small batches that have been long-aged brewed for 30 days. Each flavour is made and improved through our continuous research and development.”
