Baba's Story
My mom once told me, "Many new things are nothing but well-forgotten old ones.” This is certainly the case for my kombucha adventure. Kombucha was probably one of the first words I learned from my great-grandmother "Baba" as a child growing up in Siberia. As far back as I can remember, Baba always had a thick glass jar tucked away in the top corner of the pantry. I grew up drinking Baba’s kombucha on a regular basis until I arrived in the U.S. in 2000. A few years later, when expecting my first child, I began to have cravings for that taste of home. I realized I needed to get back to my roots and started brewing kombucha. In 2015, I decided to brew my Old World recipe for others to enjoy and that’s when Baba’s Bucha came to life.
My Baba Dora was truly an amazing woman. She was born on November 16, 1908 in Siberia. She lived through the Russian Revolution, survived two wars and raised four children on her own. When she was a young girl, her father affectionately called her "Little Red Squirrel" due to her fiery red hair. This nickname stuck with her throughout her life and was the inspiration for Baba’s Bucha’s logo.
My baba helped raise me until I was five years old. She was there for me when I was learning to walk and talk. She taught me how to play peek-a-boo and make mud pies. But most important, she taught me to love and appreciate food. She was the one who poured me my very first glass of her homemade kombucha -- that delicious, slightly fizzy drink with a strange floating "mushroom" that I learned to love and crave. So this kombucha adventure is a dedication to the memory of my beloved Baba Dora – my Little Red Squirrel.