by Caron Schwartz
No doubt coffee is my first love. But lately I’ve been cheating on my darling Joe.
A funny thing happened on the way to a Schwartz girls’ weekend at Marco Island. As we approached Fort Myers my sisters declared they were starving, so they launched Google and hit upon a place that looked better than average. We pulled off I-75 and waltzed into Artisan Eatery where we had an amazing lunch. The other two washed it down with the family favorite, coffee of course, but a can of Flying Eagle Kombucha in the cooler caught my eye.
I’ll be honest. Whenever a vendor was offering a sample of kombucha in a natural foods store, one sniff was enough to send me packing. But ever since I learned that fermented foods were good for you, I’ve been holding my nose and adding them to my diet.
Flying Eagle Kombucha: love at first sip. Dry, fizzy, and delightfully tart. A few weeks later Boyfriend and I spent an afternoon in Fort Myers where we indulged in a kombucha flight at the Flying Eagle brewery. And I discovered Flying Eagle available at The Blend (Old Northeast) Coffee & Wine.
That’s when I decided to branch out on my own. Without going into details, I will say my homemade pomegranate “booch” exceeded expectations. The second batch, flavored with blackberries, isn’t quite as effervescent but yummy nonetheless. The third has weeks to go before bottling.
I’ve also discovered new favorites closer to home. Beech Kombucha not only has a stand at many local outdoor markets and festivals, it has a brewery and tasting room in the Warehouse District. Another local, St. Pete’s Mother Kombucha, doesn’t have a tasting room, but bottles of this liquid gold are available just about everywhere. And at Localtopia last month, I enjoyed CBDB’s CBD-infused libation. Talk about mixing trendy treats that are good for you. Yum!
Artisan Eatery https://artisaneatery.com/
Flying Eagle Kombucha https://www.flyingeaglekombucha.com/
Blend Coffee & Wine https://www.facebook.com/theblenddtsp/
Beech Kombucha https://www.beechbucha.com/
Mother Kombucha https://motherkombucha.com/
CBDB Kombucha https://www.eatpottedflourfoods.com/