Aptos market event will show how kombucha is made

Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets posted a free kombucha demonstration for Saturday, July 18, at the Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College, turning a regular market stop into a close-up look at how fermented tea is actually made. The event, Ride the Swell: Discover the Magic of Kombucha, is built around Living Swell Kombucha and puts a live SCOBY, brewing tips and tastings in front of shoppers who may know the drink only from a bottle.

That live demo is the draw. The listing says attendees will learn how kombucha is made from start to finish, meet the culture at the center of the brew, and hear Living Swell’s origin story while sampling seasonal flavors made with local fruits and herbs. For home brewers, that matters because a market table can show starter health, fermentation texture and the look of an active SCOBY in a way an online video cannot. It also gives people a place to ask the practical questions that usually hang over first batches: what a healthy starter looks like, how to spot contamination worries early, and how the sweet tea changes into something tangy and alive.

Living Swell’s own description places that lesson in a Santa Cruz brewing culture built on small-batch production, traditionally made kombucha and a majority of organic fruits and herbs. The company says it works with local Santa Cruz farms and uses no artificial flavors or additives. Santa Cruz Small Business Development Center materials identify the business as female-owned and name the owners as Sophie and Summer, both Santa Cruz locals focused on a low-waste product made with whole, natural ingredients.

The brand has already shown up in the local drink scene. Good Times noted in May 2024 that Living Swell was on tap at Beer 30 and identified the owners as Sophie Slosberg and Summer Torrez. That local footprint fits the Aptos Farmers Market itself, which Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets says runs year-round on Saturdays at Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive in Aptos. The market organization says it was founded in 1976 and is the oldest and largest farmers market organization on the Central Coast.

Aptos shoppers will meet more than one kombucha story at once: the bottled product, the live culture and the farm-first sourcing behind it. The SCOBY on the table is the point, and the market setting makes the process feel less like a mystery and more like something anyone can watch begin.