Profile: Mūn Kombucha, Mataró, Spain
Origins Jordi Dalmau improved his health with kombucha and founded Mūn Kombucha . He is a multi-year World Kombucha Awards winner and sits on the KBI Board of Directors . Kombucha proved to be a solution to the health problems he had experienced since he was a child, which were due to Gilbert’s syndrome , which he was diagnosed with when he was only 13 years old. An engineer by profession, Jordi struggled with daily headaches, muscle pain, and fatigue caused by his difficulty eliminating toxins through the liver. The search for better health had been tireless. After various dietary modifications, he was advised to start eating fermented foods. In addition to the sauerkraut and kefir he already made, he decided to try kombucha. However, in 2013, no one in Spain knew where to find it, so Jordi decided to start making it at home. He quickly discovered that the organic acids in this ancient drink aided in liver detoxification. His first homebrew tasted like vinegar! But, little by little, he modified the recipe and began offering it to friends who, with some reluctance, tried it. They couldn’t say if they liked it or not. But, soon after, they asked him if he could give them another bottle. And so one day, when he realized all his friends had tried it and returned for refills, Jordi and his wife Mercè decided to launch Mūn (named after the moon) in 2015. Jordi feels he has discovered his tabiat — his innate disposition or calling. Theirs was the first manufacturing plant for organic, glass-packaged kombucha in all of Spain. They set themselves the goal of making an ultra-healthy, absolutely natural drink with certified organic ingredients and as little sugar as possible, without losing any of the flavor. They wanted to make the kombucha they would have liked to find in the store. The Mission Their mission is to provide wellness and health through our kombucha. Mūn Ferments is committed to producing healthy, safe and beneficial products for health using only ingredients of organic origin. For its production, we use electrical energy from renewable resources. Likewise, we work with the objective of reducing the volume of waste as much as possible and with a policy of zero CO2 emissions as an objective. Process Mūn Ferments was the first Spanish kombucha made with 100% natural, certified organic ingredients. It contains the lowest amount of sugar of all kombucha currently on the market (0.1–1.8 g/100 ml). Up to 18 times less than others. It is based on Lung Ching green tea, also known as Longjing or Dragon Well. This is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Their kombucha is fermented for a month. Due to the exceptionally low sugar content in the final product. Mūn Kombucha is shelf-stable, unfiltered, and unpasteurized, and does not require refrigeration. Indeed, during a tour of their shipping department, I saw their kombucha stored at room temperature. This results in energy and environmental savings in manufacturing and distribution. Specifically, the CO2 emissions from kombucha that needs a cold chain are up to 180 times higher than those from Mūn’s. Customer sophistication I call my customers connoisseurs, people who know the health benefits, but who can taste something that isn’t sweet-sweet. Because a lot of people, I think, sell kombucha as a soda replacement. If you only like soda, you won’t like our kombucha. And this is bad for sales because a huge amount of potential customers, when they try it, they don’t like it. At the beginning, it was very difficult to grow. Because not many people were prepared for the taste. But now, more people have tried other brands. And it’s like chocolate. People start with 50% milk or dark chocolate. But when they become more sophisticated they are ready for the 90-95% cacao varieties. When they’re ready, they’re ready for it. I can’t eat 50% chocolate. It’s too sweet. All I taste is the sugar. I can’t find the cacao. And I’m not