Herbs of Life

Can you give us a little bit of history as to the beginnings of Herbs of Life and why you chose this life's path

It all started around February 2012, upon return from Bolder (Colorado) after a second stint of studying at the School of Natural Medicine.  I was greatly inspired by traditional medicine and the plant world, and wanted to create and share herbal formulas and teas and the market place provided just that conduit to get the great medicine of herbs to people.

So I began creating different teas, blends and singles as use for teas and selling at a range of local markets in my area.

From there the business grew and the product range also grew. 

Soon I realised that there was so much more to traditional medicine than the humble herbal tea.  

Food is our first medicine and healer. Subsequently I began to put into practice some of the things I learned about food to create a variety of delicious raw snack foods.

Bucca's Mountain Cottage kombucha plays a huge role in the business.  This all started around late 2008 to very early 2009 when my father and I first started creating our first batch of kombucha elixir.

Back then I was an Engineer and for 8 months in 2008 I was in Wisconsin (USA). During that time I somehow picked up a stomach bug and wasn't well with my digestion.  A friend at the time recommended kombucha "perhaps the probiotics may balance the bacteria".

I wasn't sure what she was talking about at the time for I was completely lost and unconscious to life giving food.  So I tried my first bottle and to my surprise I started feeling better and as I drank a bottle daily I began to regain my stomach strength and digestion, and my general well being was improving greatly.

I needed to get some when I returned to Australia but where???  I couldn't find any! So I began making some: from a lucky small SCOBY (a symbiotic culture of friendly bacteria and yeast).  

First in small batches for myself and family, then experimenting in flavours and tastes, until finally I achieved a consistent brew that was palatable and full flavoured.

Believe it not, every batch is brewed from an offspring from the original SCOBY first purchased: in essence they're all related and carry the same culture or gene pool from the previous.  It's wonderful to think how far this blood line can go.....

Putting the Engineering career on hold and exploring life's journey into traditional medicine from 2011, last three and a half years has taken me through personal healing (both physical and spiritual), learning what true healing is all about and thus fast forward to 2012 and along with the already existing herbal tea range, my father and I began producing a line of kombucha for the public.

Kombucha: an increasingly popular alternative drink for many.  What exactly is Kombucha and why are its properties important to our overall wellbeing

Kombucha is a raw fermented tea beverage, high in digestive enzymes and probiotics. Its main property is for digestion providing the necessary but essential flora our guts require for health and wellbeing.  It also creates a gentle detox for the liver, kidneys and urinary tract, thus providing an overall health elixir both your body and mind can enjoy.

As we (as human beings) are made up of living cells, it is important to take in living cells: "living cells for a living body".  As kombucha is a raw live cultured food, it's packed full of living cells which when digested assimilate into the body very well and feeds our own living cells.

Inevitably this is what ultimate energy and longevity really is: to take in foods that feed and nourish our cells.

As a stallholder at our markets have you noticed any trends in the way that people shop (ie: as their awareness/education of alternative therapies and food grows, they therefore become more selective in what they choose to purchase whether it be organic, natural or fair trade)

People are waking up; they realise that there is a world beyond what were once culturally exposed to.  They demand organic, they want local, to shop direct from the farmer or producer or chef.

To be able to ask questions about the product and in turn create the opportunity for an informative purchase/or conscious purchase.  When you can see the farmer or creator, you are able to trust the product and as a result customers can trust the markets, and in turn the markets create a name for itself as having to be the market for producers and growers: it's a positive reputation based on supporting local and organic.

What has been one of the highlights since you started trading at our markets

The people!  Seeing the diversity at the markets and being up close to customers.

This has allowed Herbs of Life to answer questions and enquiries by customers as well as supporting them with great local food.

What 5 words would you use to encourage those who may still be hesitant in trying your products

Be consciously aware of food!

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On that note we thank Daniel for giving us a little bit of education on the not so mysterious world of Kombucha and how his own discovery is now his way of life.

You can catch his stall at Hornsby on Thursdays, Marrickville on Sundays and occasionally popping up at one of our others!