41st Annual Fungus Fair at Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

This weekend was the 41st Annual Fungus Fair at Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley. This is the largest annual public event of Mycological Society of San Francisco. Initially I signed up to do set up on Friday evening; unfortunately, my bronchitis had worsened after the Hearst Castle Road trip. I ended up arriving the fair at 3 PM today. Although it was 2 hours away from closing, people were still coming in. It's becoming more and more exciting each year at the fair as I got to know more people from the society and urban farming community.

Lisa has spent the entire weekend at her kombucha table in the cultivation area of the fair. People of all ages were fascinated by kombucha and her drinks. She has sold out all of her bottled kombucha at the fair!  The younger girl in the photo above was so excited about the Mother in jar. She called out her sister to check it out with her. They were so adorable as Lisa explained to them what kombucha mother is.

David (left) chats with Master Ken

David, the lab instructor for Master Ken's classes, is an artist of painting and felting. I watched him working with his felting needles for the first time. He makes some adorable fuzzy woolly figurines including, of course, little mushrooms. I asked whether I would be able to use Dusty's hair for felting. He thought that was a good idea, and I should collect some Dusty's "wool". Dusty sheds every year, and his fuzzy super soft hair balls roll all over the sun room. I always feel bad that I couldn't put it into some kind of use.

Far West Fungi was at the fair as always, and Kyle Garrone was in charge of the their table this year explaining to people about different mushrooms and their mushroom kits available for sale. There is an excellent article in this month's issue of California Country magazine about Far West Fungi, including a video showing how their mushrooms are cultivated indoors.

There are different types of mushroom growing kits for different types of mushrooms. West fungi sells kits of mushrooms that grow on trees such as oyster and shiitake. Another vendor was selling mushrooms that grow in compost/dirt, such as button mushrooms and portobello. I have purchased both types many years ago when I first visited fungus fair which initiated my interest in learning more about mushroom cultivation.

Master Ken answering mushroom questions at the display table

Every year on the Friday before the fungus fair, many MSSF members go out to collect wild mushrooms in various locations for Fungus Fair display. All the collected mushrooms are labeled and put to display on tables with mushroom experts standing by to answer questions. Fair goers can also bring in their own wild mushrooms to have them identified. In a separate display, the wild mushrooms are arranged to mimic what they would looks like in their natural setting with pine tree or oak logs.

Around 4 P.M., the rain started to pour down. It looked like a heavy rain storm, and that's great for my mushroom blocks on Sand Village Farm. All the volunteers and vendors started to pack up lecture materials, displays, and merchandise. The Fair received some media coverage and raised some money for the Society to have more future events. If you didn't make it to the Fair this year, hopefully we will see you there next year.

Lisa Leonard's Award Winning Kombucha Tea

I just learned about Kombucha back in January this year. "Kombucha" was mentioned a lot in Master Ken's class. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it looked a bit scary to be honest. That thing they call "mother" or "Kombucha mother" in a glass jar is quite alien looking. Some people call it "mushroom." I can tell you that it is NOT a mushroom. It's actually a "Scoby" - Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. Does that sound any better? Not really.

When Lisa, who was in my class, heard that I never had Kombucha tea, she told me that she's been brewing and drinking Kombucha regularly. She said she'd be happy to bring some for me to try. She told me that I could also get them in grocery stores. A few days later, I saw an article about Lindsey Lohan's favorite Kombucha drink, Synergy. My curiosity level was getting higher by the day. Finally, I picked up a bottle of guava flavored Synergy Kombucha for $4 while in San Francisco. It tasted nothing like Guava. It was just pure almost unbearable sourness (and I can take a lot of sour!). I gave up on drinking it after 4 sips.

Lisa (center) hosts a kombucha tasting at Summer Garden Fair at Golden Gate Park, 2010.

Lisa and several others brought their Kombucha tea to our Fermentation Club that meets once a month. I was skeptical. I tried Phil's Kombucha, and it was very sour. I tried Jenny's Kombucha, and it was not as sour. It was almost good. I tried Lisa's Kombucha, and I wanted more! It had the perfect balance of sour, sweet, and tangy. It turned out that Phil's Kombucha was brewed too long; hence, it basically turned into vinegar. Jenny's tea was brewed a bit longer than it needed to. Lisa, who's been experimenting longer than others, figured out the small window when the tea is just perfect. She would then pour the tea out from the "Mother" jar so it would not keep fermenting; furthermore, she mixes different herbs and spices, fruit juice, vegetable juice, etc., to create unique flavors.

So why drink Kombucha? Many people in my Fermentation Club strongly believe in the health benefits of Kombucha. Common claims are that Kombucha aids cancer recovery, increases energy, sharpens eyesight, aids joint recovery, improves skin elasticity, and aids digestion. After tasted Lisa's Kombucha, I have been drinking it just because it tastes good. I have never been too crazy for carbonated soda water. Why drink soda? It's bubbly and high in sugar. I don't think anyone can claim any health benefit of soda water. When I drink Lisa's Kombucha, I feel a bit more energetic. And how can you resist these flavors - Ginger Aid, Strawberry Bliss, Sangria Fiesta, Orange Julius, Key Lime Pie, Old Fashioned Root Beer, Grape Soda, Berry Blast, etc., etc.

Lisa's been very generous with free tasting of her tea. Her husband, Joe, is just as enthusiastic as she. He makes sure that you get to try every flavor. Master Ken and others have been giving her a lot of feedback on the taste and ideas on what herbs she might be able to try. When Joe announced to everyone that Lisa's Ginger Aid Kombucha won first place at Eat Real contest this year, I couldn't be happier for her! I knew then that I wasn't being biased about how good it is. Lisa of course is too modest to toot her own horn, so I will do that for her.

If you are in the Bay Area and curious about Lisa's Kombucha, send her an email at LisaLeonard1@ymail.com to get on her email list for updates. Give something new a try, you may be in for a surprisingly pleasant experience.