Margaret Hayman and Amy Costa, CapeCod Kombucha, Wellfleet, MA, USA

Q: When did you first discover Kombucha?

M: I personally discovered kombucha for the first time in a very small grocery store in the small town of Wellfleet, where I live. It was actually the “Wonder Drink” Asian Pear flavor in a can, probably around 2010.  I tried it again and again and it starting growing on me pretty good… started my own batches and the rest is history

A: Molly was the first person to introduce me to Kombucha. I had read about it, seen it in the news, but my first taste was with her. It was a GT’s Gingerade and soon after we were drinking her first home brews from the kit she had received as a Christmas gift from her sister.

Q: Why did you start your own Kombucha Brewery?

A: Molly and I had discussed the idea of starting a business together several times, and tossed around a few different ideas. Once she taught me how to make Kombucha, we had a lot of fun trading flavors that we were experimenting with. Our friends enjoyed it too, so it seemed natural that kombucha was the calling. We seemed pretty good at it, and it was and is a product that we really stand behind.

M: There are a couple of reasons why: 1.There is no other kombucha brewery at all on Cape Cod at this time, (it needed to happen) and because this an awesome place on planet earth that deserves it’s own Kombucha Brewery! 2. I know in my heart – that I am meant for a bigger purpose on this earth – and I believe that Kombucha is a door to that path that I want to travel on. Connecting with people – educating them, sharing, and sampling goods, smiling, laughing, all that good stuff…. this is what gets me excited – butterflies in the stomach excited, about living my life.

Q: What is your favorite flavor?

M: This is a tough one – but my ultimate favorite that we have made this year is a tie between Strawberry-Rhubarb and Wild Blackberry – Rhubarb grows here very well and so do the Blackberries which we picked ourselves.

A: Of all of our flavors it is really hard to choose one. I really loved the Wild Blackberry. I also recently tried a really nice flavor from the Buchi brewery called Sovereign, and that is probably the one I have enjoyed best, besides our own. It’s made with ginger, peach and molasses – yum!

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

M: Mom, Graphic Designer, Pilates Instructor, Disc Jockey & Reiki Master – here on Cape Cod a lot of us wear many, many hats to pay the bills.

A: I am a long time food enthusiast and love to cook and study nutrition. When I used to tend bar, getting creative with new drinks was a lot of fun for me. I feel that same spark when I am developing a new flavor of Kombucha; it satisfies my creative need to make something that tastes good and is also good for you. I work in an office setting during the day, so when I get home I am ready to shift my attention to my other senses – smell, taste, kitchen sounds. The entire process of developing a flavor, and taking it from start to finish with a friend who is as excited about it as I am, is a special experience that I am very thankful for.

Q: What is a saying you live by?

“let it go”