Kombucha
I have a long history of becoming completely obsessed with beverages. I think it started when I was kid and became obsessed with New York Seltzer (sadly, no longer around). I’ve been obsessed with certain kinds of juices, smoothies, coffee drinks, teas (Bigelow Vanilla Caramel)… And now I’m obsessing over kombucha.
Essentially, kombucha is a fermented tea. There are all kinds of health claims made by fans of the stuff, but most importantly (to me) is that it contains ‘good’ bacteria - which supports a healthy digestive system. Anyone who knows me knows that I have suffered from terrible gastrointentestinal problems for over 10 years, and I do everything I can to keep my digestive system functioning as normally as possible. I already take probiotics and eat yogurt, but I need all the ‘friendly bacteria’ I can get.
The first time I tasted kombucha, I thought it tasted really… odd. And then it kind of grew on me. I found it refreshing. I felt good after drinking it. And I swear, I’ve had fewer digestive issues since I started drinking the stuff. I don’t know if it’s just a placebo effect, but I don’t care.
You can brew it yourself at home, but my tiny kitchen size won’t really allow me to do this (not to mention my husband will flip out if I take up one more weird hobby, in addition to the hobbies I am always threatening to take up, like alpaca farming and beekeeping). So for now I’ll continue to drink the bottled stuff, which is easily found in health food stores near where I live.
Breaking Bee News: Virus May Be Cause of Colony Collapse Disorder
According to the Associated Press, a virus may be the cause of honeybee deaths across the U.S. attributed to colony collapse disorder. According to the article, “The scientists report using a novel genetic technique and old-fashioned statistics to identify Israeli acute paralysis virus as the latest potential culprit in the widespread deaths of worker bees, a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.”
“At least we have a lead now we can begin to follow. We can use it as a marker and we can use it to investigate whether it does in fact cause disease,” said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University epidemiologist and co-author of the study.
Book Review - Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey- The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World
I just finished reading the book Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey - The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World by Holley Bishop. This fascinating book covered mankind’s relationship to honey and bees from ancient to modern times. Not only was the use and manufacture of honey covered in great detail, but other important bee-related substances, such as wax and pollen, had their own chapters as well. Holley Bishop recounts her own foray into beekeeping and also provides colorful stories from an experienced commercial beekeeper in Florida, Donald Smiley. I could not put this book down, and in fact, drove friends and family crazy with all the new facts I learned about bees and honey. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Chicago Honey Co-op
I just bought a jar of honey from the Chicago Honey Co-op through their Etsy Store. According to their Etsy profile, “Chicago Honey Co-op is an urban beekeeping cooperative with 100 hives and 34 members. We provide job training opportunities for hard to employ people in Chicago and sell our honey and products at Farmers Markets here.” How cool is that?! I encourage everyone to check out their website and store and buy some honey, beeswax candles, lip balm, body scrub, or body bar.
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