Upon further thought, it was not terribly surprising that something so distinctly L.A. could actually be made in L.A. But that made me think about a whole list of other things that are popular Los Angeles - things you might see a celebrity walking around holding or wearing, and I realized that nearly everything is made somewhere else and imported unless it's made on site and eaten/drank at the particular restaurant where it was made. The brand of Kombucha that is based out of Beverly Hills is called "GT's Kombucha," and upon further investigation I found that they have a user-friendly website that explains their story. One of the creators of the brand started drinking Kombucha in 1993, and when she was diagnosed with cancer two years later she was given one year to live. But a week later when she was tested again, her doctors were shocked to find that her cancerous cells had not metastasized, which she attributes to Kombucha. She drank the drink throughout her chemo and radiation process, and it kept her energized throughout, and today she is cancer-free and still drinking Kombucha.
Their website also ties their home base of Los Angeles to other parts of the world, with a "Did you Know?" box, saying that "Kombucha may be known by many other names in different parts of the world, including Manchurian tea, Manchu Fungus, Tea Kyass, Mo-Gu Fungus japonicus, Kwassan, and many others." I think it's cool that a place like Los Angeles can appreciate the traditions of Eastern medicine and health regimes, and I would have never known if I had not flipped over my Kombucha bottle!
-- Jordan Younger
I've just started drinking Kombucha! I didn't know it started in Los Angeles. My sister introduced it to me, and she lives in San Francisco, and I thought it might've been a trend started up there. It's definitely a distinctive drink that took me a few sips to get used to, but now I really like it!! Thanks for the background information!
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