EPISODE 023- Tracy Desmond - Cruz Kombucha
Tracy Desmond was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois. Tracy has been working in the hospitality and tech industry. But it all started with a visit to a kombucha bar on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The kombucha was light & refreshing. There was also a sense of connection and community that created a very special experience. That feeling stuck with Tracy and she knew she wanted to create something like that back home.
Tracy started to make kombucha in her home kitchen and experimented with various flavor combinations. Tracy eventually moved into a commercial kitchen. This gave her space to develop additional flavors and to brew larger batches to make kombucha available at farmers’ markets, cafes, breweries and other local businesses. And that is how Cruz Kombucha came to be.
Cruz Kombucha a small family business. We enjoy creating interesting and delicious kombucha flavor combinations, sharing information about the benefits of kombucha, and combining that with opportunities for community and connection.
Tracy has paired her background in the hospitality industry and experience building and scaling several large organizations to develop a unique approach to creating and operating a functional health beverage business.
Tracy talks to us about starting her own business, process of making Kombucha, what it is, the health benefits, tools of the trade, different flavor profiles , local businesses and favorite restaurants and that you should try it!
Thank you to the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce for their hospitality & allowing us to record this podcast.
Cruz Kombucha
SHOW NOTES
Mountain View Chamber of Commerce
Pho to Chau Mountain View
Akira Sushi Santa Cruz great vegetarian options
https://www.akirasantacruz.com
La Posta Santa Cruz
https://www.lapostarestaurant.com
Julia's Pacific Grove - Vegetarian, Mushroom Foraging
Zola & Bar Zola
Hali'imaile General Store
Maui Kombucha
Tool :
Wide Micro plane
Questions about Bubbles
If your friends have questions about the bubbles during second fermentation - email at info@cruzkombucha.com. One question I would ask is if they have tight containers for that. When the lid is tight and the C02 doesn't have a way to exit that's what makes it fizzy and the great tiny bubbles. Bottles will start to lose their carbonation/fizz. The kombucha is still good, it just doesn't have the same level of carbonation/fizz.
Kombucha Gear/Equipment
Milwaukee MQ102 Pro pH Meter is what Tracy uses at the commercial kitchen.
Milwaukee MA871 Digital Brix Refractometer and FJDynamics Digital Brix Refractometer.
A good zester if you are using zest in flavors
A mortar & pestles for ginger, turmeric, spices etc.
Beer gun for when I'm filling bottles (not needed for smaller scale home brewing)
Big Book of Kombucha by Hannah Crum if just getting interested in Kombucha
Right now you can find Cruz Kombucha at:
Perfectly Pressed Monterey
Other Brother Brewery Seaside
Craft Roots Morgan Hill
https://www.craftroots-mh.com/#/
Coffee Guys Morgan Hill
Cochi's Kitchen Morgan Hill
Kelly Brewing Company Morgan Hill
Ugly Mug Soquel
Bad Animal Santa Cruz
Gilman Brewing Santa Cruz
https://gilmanbrew.com/location/santa-cruz/
Poke House Santa Cruz
https://www.poke.house/locations
Hop & Vine San Jose
Steel Bonnet Scotts Valley
And we are working on some additional businesses to come online soon - listeners can check out www.cruzkombucha.com or on IG for updates on where to find us.
We'll be at the Santa Cruz Westside Farmers Market again starting in March, and Los Altos Farmers Market starting in May.
We have on-line ordering on our website www.cruzkombucha.com for local delivery (about 15 zip codes right now, expanding over time) - Peninsula to Santa Cruz.
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