THE HISTORY 

Fermentation has been around for centuries, originally a biological method of food preservation long before refrigeration and preservatives. Fermentation is the slow and controlled decomposition of organic substances by microorganisms and enzymes. Typically the microorganisms used in fermentation are bacteria and yeast. With kimchi and kombucha these microorganisms are still alive when we consume them. Kimchi is made through this fermentation process that enhances its nutritional and taste profile over time. 

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that has similarly been consumed for centuries. It is a fermented and sweetened tea, made with a variety of different flavoured teas. The process of preparing the drink through the fermentation process typically involves placing a culture of bacteria and yeast into a sweetened tea mixture and leaving it to ferment at room temperature for about 1-3 weeks. In this time it naturally carbonates and then it is placed into a refrigerated environment to slow down the carbonation and fermentation processes. 



KIMCHI 

Kimchi’s origins are heavily ingrained in Korean cuisine. Kimchi is a fermented vegetable served with almost every traditional meal in South-Korea. The most well-known kind is made from napa cabbage, but there are many other vegetables that can be used to make kimchi. Koreans began making kimchi for agricultural reasons, as the winters were extremely cold and food couldn’t grow in those months. It was important to preserve food over the winter and the best way to do that was fermentation. 
KOMBUCHA 


Kombucha similarly has a long and rich history. It originated in Northeast China around 220 B.C, and was used for its supposed healing properties. Its popularity spread to other parts of Asia where it continued to gain in popularity for its reported health benefits. Now the drink is all over and has experienced a recent surge in popularity worldwide. 

Though kombucha is meant purely for drinking, kimchi can be used in a variety of recipes, or enjoyed on its own. Our artisan Kimchi is made in London by Jihyun Kim and her team, who call her Kimmy. Kimmy was born in Seoul, South Korea where she was surrounded by all different kinds of fermented foods. She recognised a surge in Western interest in the flavour and gut health properties of kimchi and fermented products. Kimmy saw that there was a limited and disappointing availability of Kimchi in the UK and sought to change this when she started Kimchi & Radish. If you want some seriously good Kimchi, any one of these kimchis is the place to look. 

Our kombucha comes from a similarly impressive artisan producer called Boo Chi. Boo Chi uses traditional far eastern methods to make their kombucha, priding themselves on making a truly organic product. Boo Chi founder and owner Eaoifa Forward stepped away from her acting career in 2017 to travel to Sri Lanka where she was first introduced to kombucha. Her kombucha is the real deal, perfect on its own, or mixed with alcohol to avoid hangovers. 



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