Written by Bailey Coffman \/\/ Photo by Briley Kemper<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Located off of Main Street in Searcy, the Natural Food Store houses local and organic produce, allergy-friendly food alternatives and countless nutritional supplements. In addition, the store has offered kombucha on tap from Natural State Bucha Brew since fall 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customers can purchase a membership at the Natural Food Store for the tea, which has new flavors every week. Flavors include Ginger Peach and Ginger Jazz and contain ingredients like rosemary and lavender, blueberry sage, and raspberry hibiscus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sophomore Alayla Darden, sales associate and health adviser at the Natural Food Store, explained the benefits of purchasing a membership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the membership, which is an initial $10, you pay $8.50 for your growler refill of kombucha, and it\u2019s for life,\u201d Darden said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, any Harding student has a 10% discount. The fermented tea is made locally by Judsonia-native Liz Stevenson who works with her daughter, Izzy Stevenson, at the Natural Food Store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKombucha has all kinds of benefits if you consume it on a daily basis,\u201d Izzy Stevenson said. \u201cIt is really helpful for your gut, and it helps people from digestion to acid reflux \u2026 It\u2019s a medicine, but it also tastes good.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liz Stevenson spoke to the medicinal properties the drink carries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt boosts your immune system, and it helps with weight loss,\u201d Liz Stevenson said. \u201cIt helps ward off high blood pressure, heart disease and it is even said to have hundreds of cancer-fighting properties.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Studies show that kombucha has existed for centuries, Liz Stevenson said. If one were to drink about eight ounces per day for seven to 10 days, they would \u201cdefinitely notice a difference,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liz Stevenson was asked to take on the job of wholesaling kombucha when the owner of a recent kombucha dealer decided to close his doors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even feel like I\u2019m at work when I\u2019m brewing Kombucha,\u201d Liz Stevenson said. \u201cI\u2019m 46 years old, and it was a calling that I never knew that I was supposed to do with my life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The process of making kombucha is relatively simple, requiring very few ingredients, but the fermentation process can take weeks at a time, Liz Stevenson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just fruit and tea and time,\u201d Izzy Stevenson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liz Stevenson said she bought the brewery last fall, naming it Natural State Bucha Brew. She went from brewing kombucha for herself at home to owning a brewery that contains 17 50-gallon vats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never dreamed in a thousand years that I would be brewing kombucha at the capacity that I am now, and it\u2019s just going to grow from this point on,\u201d Liz Stevenson said. \u201cPretty soon you\u2019ll be able to find it at several places around Arkansas, Squizito\u2019s in Cabot, The Players Cafe in the Promenade and many more stores across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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