Scoo Brew Kombucha
Did you know that kombucha has been referred to for thousands of years in Chinese medicine as the elixir of lifelong health? Its health benefits are enormous, which is why Amanda Hargrave started making it six years ago.
Amanda had aggressive breast cancer 13 years ago (and is always aware that her health issue could resurface) which led her into looking at natural ways of keeping healthy and boosting her immune system. That’s when she came across kombucha, a fermented sweet black tea originating in China.
After researching the benefits of the ancient brew, she experimented by making her own recipes using such fresh local produce as raspberries, lemon, ginger, dragonfruit and passionfruit, among other fruits and spices.
“I started making it myself in 2017 and was soon making 50 litres a week for my family and friends,” Amanda says. “I realised there was a market for it, so I thought I’d give it a go. I quit my job and started Scoo Brew Kombucha.”
She opened her own production site in 2018, just six months after starting the business. Today, Scoo Brew makes up to 2000 litres a week and has products available at more than 100 stockists throughout North Queensland.
Scoo Brew, a 100 percent locally owned and operated business that uses only real fruit for flavour, has seven core brews and often introduces different flavours at Rusty’s Markets in Cairns, where you can also buy it on tap every weekend.
All her flavours, including raspberry, lemon and ginger, watermelon and lime, carrot and turmeric, orange and mandarin, passionfruit and dragonfruit, are a hit with all ages (children especially like the colourful dragonfruit and raspberry drinks).
One of the main benefits of kombucha is that it contains probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that live in our gut. These bacteria help to support our immune system and promote digestion. In addition, kombucha is also high in antioxidants, can help increase the production of immune cells in the body, and helps protect against harmful bacteria and viruses.
“It’s low in sugar (containing only a small amount left over from the fermentation process plus natural fruit sugars and not through any sugar substitutes like stevia) and pumped full of probiotics that help keep your gut healthy,” Amanda says. “There is a direct correlation between mental health and gut health and also a correlation between gut health and autoimmune diseases, so it’s all about keeping your gut healthy with probiotics.
“A lot of people have never heard of kombucha and many others have thought all kombucha tastes the same. But, just like not all wine and beer tastes the same, not all kombucha tastes the same. About 95 per cent of people who say they don’t like kombucha and try one of my batches end up loving it.”
A major difference between her kombucha and mass-produced ones is hers have no ‘asleep’ probiotics.
“These probiotics claim to wake up once you consume them, however studies have proven that these are not waking up for 24-48 hours after ingestion, and by this time most have been expelled from your body,” she says. “Scoo Brew contains only naturally occurring probiotics that are created during the fermentation process.
“It’s completely fresh. We liken it to fresh milk as opposed to UHT milk. Our fermentation process is not micro filtered or uses any other process, which all have similar outcomes to pasteurisation, which is killing off the probiotics, the good stuff.”
Amanda uses fresh local fruit to favour her non-pasteurised brews and does not use essences, concentrates, oils, extracts or preservatives, and her brewery uses only BioPak packaging and composts as much as possible.
“We’re lucky that we have an absolute plethora of wonderful produce here in Far North Queensland,” she says. “I source all our ingredients from local suppliers. Not only do we get fresh produce, but we are ensuring the profits benefit our community.”
Scoo Brew Kombucha can be found throughout Cairns, Port Douglas, the Tablelands, Cassowary Coast and at various outlets throughout North Queensland (see its website for a full list). It’s also on tap at Rusty’s Markets and Cairns Local Farmers Market at Stockland, among other places.
Amanda has constant health check-ups to ensure cancer hasn’t returned, and it hasn’t.
“The best thing about kombucha is its probiotics help fight off bad bacteria, which helps to keep us healthy,” she adds.
Scoo Brew Kombucha
0422 225 936
