I’ve had kombucha on the brain for a while now, but things have been so nutty I haven’t been able to keep up with posting lately at all, please forgive me. I have had a rather kombucha-filled Christmas and the New Year looks to be full of kombucha cheer as well with Kombucha Kamp’s annual Kombucha ReVolution and a 30 day Kombucha Challenge to add to the fun (more about that later).

As many of you know, I adopt out free SCOBYs to whoever catches me at the right moment. I’ve met some really cool people this way. People usually have something cool to offer in exchange. A bunch of flowers, fresh picked herbs from a backyard garden, a donation or article for my website, words of cheer and appreciation for the SCOBY and much more…. Once again I currently have a huge backlog of people asking for SCOBYs, which I hope to get to in the New Year! For anyone who is eager to get started, I have met many people who have started off their kombucha culture with a bottle of organic raw kombucha such as Tonica Kombucha, it just takes a little longer if anyone is reading this who can’t wait a minute longer to get their batch started. Probably better to do that in the summer time though–or keep it near a heater.

I got really excited with the last lady who came by to adopt a SCOBY as she works with a dinosaur exhibition here in Vancouver www.dinosaursunearthed.com. They currently have an exhibition at the Pacific Science Center, so we took my nephew and niece to see it for Christmas. We all loved it, the dinosaurs move, in fact you can even make them move yourself. The T-Rex is huge.

Speaking of Christmas, I made a delicious pomegranate, mint and coconut-water kombucha holiday punch and was impressed with how well the flavors worked with each other. I also made a chamomile infused kombucha vinegar hair conditioner as a gift for my sister. I have been using apple cider vinegar as a hair conditioner for over a year now and I recently discovered that kombucha vinegar works just as well, and smells better to boot.

So many things you can do with kombucha! Well I know all of you are curious about the New Years Kombucha Challenge. Many of you may remember this from last year but this year it is even bigger. Hannah Krum from Kombucha Kamp has organized a month long kombucha fest where we encourage each other to stop drinking unhealthy sodas, juices and other sugar free beverages and start drinking life-promoting kombucha. You can sign up to join here: www.30daykombuchachallenge.com over 17 companies have joined in providing over $5000 worth of prizes! It’s fun and it’s good for you, what more could you ask for to kick of 2012 as your healthiest year ever?

I’m teaming up with a Canadian company Tonica Kombucha, which is a local Toronto based company:

Once known for its namesake: “The Fairy”, Tonica Kombucha has come along way since first being bottled as the Fairy’s Tonic out of a mini apartment in Toronto’s downtown Annex district in 2007.

When Zoey, aka Fairy, first met Kombucha, she was instantly enamoured. Not only did this sparkling bevy increase her energy levels (no small feat as a full time yoga teacher) but there was a sudden metabolism lift that couldn’t help but make her light up with delight.

The more Kombucha she drank, the better she felt & the more she glowed, and so the word spread among friends: a liver cleansing, skin nourishing, digestive drink – yes please!

The word of the fairy’s special beverage continued to grapevine… And so the Tonica tale began!

Inspired by life and the expanding adventure therein, Tonica was a natural progression from the Fairy’s Tonic, growing to embody a team inspired by the mission: To bring forth the most delicious form of this age old vitality staple so that everyone could benefit and elevate. www.tonicakombucha.com

There is something very special about kombucha, it will not only provide health and protection for you and your family in our increasingly toxic world but it will bring you into a community of people who are passionate and connected through their gut in a most intimate and symbiotic way to the natural cycles. Over the past year since we last ran this promotion I have seen I don’t know how many more small-scale kombucha companies popping up all over the place. Kombucha can also spark an economic revolution with it’s ability to grow and grow and grow.

Jump on board! Take up the challenge and lets see how many other ways we can discover to incorporate kombucha into our lives…have you heard of kombucha leather?

Welcome 2012, lets keep it raw!