Mister Kombucha: made with love and music

At the end of September I got a text from Bas: "I am now watching BinnensteBuiten on NPO2 (Dutch tv-channel). They visited that guy from Mister Kombucha. Really cool! We must also have this kombucha in our range. What a good story! "Well, I am always up for a good story, so I contacted Mister Kombuchathe next day to schedule an interview with Wesley, the founder of Mister Kombucha.

In October, we proudly added Mister Kombucha to our range. Last month I spoke to Wesley about his product, his ideas and what makes his kombucha so special. Bas was right. After the interview I went for a walk and called a friend. I had to tell someone, what a great story!

In search of himself

In 2015, Wesley - he was 29 at the time - made the choice to go on a world trip. At the time, he worked as a personal trainer and PE teacher and gave nutritional advice. Wesley says, "I got stuck because I worked too much and didn't enjoy life enough. It was time to find out what I really wanted. I had a permanent job and played football at a nice level, so I found it difficult to let go. At the same time, I knew it wasn't going to be like that anymore, I'm way too stubborn to work for a boss, and finally decided to quit my job, leave everything behind and go on a world trip. "

Special: Wesley's first experience with kombucha

In Australia, Wesley first encountered kombucha when talking to a guy selling kombucha in a market. "No alcohol is allowed on the market during the day, so kombucha is a great alternative," says Wesley. "I've always been interested in the natural processes that lead to a product, such as fermentation, so I was curious about what this guy had in his oak barrels. This turned out to be kombucha and he told me all about it."

When this guy received an urgent phone call and had to leave immediately, he asked Wesley to babysit his booth until he returned. With his newly acquired knowledge, he sold almost all kombucha. Wesley says: "When he came back he was super happy and surprised that almost all the kombucha had been sold and we talked and laughed for a long time. This is where the idea arose to start making and selling kombucha yourself."

The right person in the right place

When Wesley was on Bali, he took a detox cure where he was accompanied by an Irishman. Wesley told him about his experience with kombucha. 'At this point I knew I wanted to do something with it, but had no idea how,' says Wesley, 'and then it turned out that this Irishman had a friend in Dublin who makes' the best kombucha in the world' and also workshops in this. After his return to the Netherlands, Wesley immediately traveled to Dublin to attend a workshop. Then he started practicing and experimenting with ingredients to arrive at a perfect recipe."

5 minutes in China

Wesley has not only been to Australia and Bali, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines have also been added. "And I was in China for 5 minutes," says Wesley, "that's quite a funny story. I had met some new friends and when we got to the border to China in Vietnam, we decided to take a chance and climb over the gate. This was of course completely forbidden, but aye, tell a child not to press the red button and we all know what happens next..."

Kombucha with herbs instead of tea

Mister kombucha is not traditionally brewed with tea, but with herbs including yerba mate and nettle. When I ask Wesley how he came up with this idea, he replies: "This was because of the man who taught the kombucha workshop in Dublin. This man is so clean inside that he only has to shower once a week and that's because he only eats clean, fermented food. He gave me the idea of ​​using herbs instead of tea because it is also much more interesting nutritionally."

Why nettle and yerba mate instead of green tea

When I ask why he chose nettle and yerba mate to brew kombucha with, Wesley replies, "Just look at nettle. It grows everywhere, regardless of the circumstances. Apparently this herb wants to tell us how strong it is. In addition, nettle contains all kinds of vitamins and minerals that we need for good health. Yerba mate can support a detox, to get more physical energy and mental peace."

Nice music to make the yeast happy

At some point in our conversation, Wesley says that beautiful music is played during the brewing process. I find this interesting, so I ask him about is. Wesley says: "Everything consists of energy and therefore of energy vibrations. High vibrations have a positive effect on us and everything around us. This means that if we can make the yeasts - which are responsible for the final product - happy, the taste is also better. In addition, you also feel how good it is for you when you drink it. That is why we play beautiful music during the brewing process, because it affects the happiness of the yeasts. "I think it is great that Wesley has thought about this consciously and the enthusiasm with which he tells is wonderful. "C'est le ton qui fait la musique!"

What makes Mister Kombucha special compared to other brands?

• There is almost no sugar left, about 3% and that has been completely converted into fructose
• The brewing process is accompanied with beautiful music for high vibrations and a better taste
• Herbs (including nettle and yerba mate) are used instead of tea
• Can be stored uncooled
• Unpasteurized and therefore full of nutritional value
• All ingredients are organic
• Free from E numbers and preservatives
• Full of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and active bacteria
• Made from purified water, unprocessed fair trade cane sugar, live Kombucha culture and freshly squeezed fruit juice

Future plans

Of course I was also curious about the future plans of this passionate entrepreneur. And there are! "In the future I hope to open a kombucha bar with only healthy, vegan food and drinks," says Wesley, "you see this a lot in Australia and other countries, but not yet in the Netherlands. I think it would be great fun to start this. I have also developed kombucha vinegar that I want to market in the future and I ultimately want to do business in a completely CO2-neutral way, including by delivering with electric cars." Enough ideas! At Plent we can hardly wait for that to happen.

New challenge: mindset coaching

In addition to his work for Mister Kombucha, Wesley has found a new challenge: he has recently also started providing mindset coaching. In this way he offers a combination: a healthy product and a healthy mindset.

"Giving someone back his / her inner freedom is more satisfying to me than anything else. I am 100% blessed that this has become my daily activity and my mission is to keep doing it as long as I live! "

Wesley Kassels

Want to know more? Visit Wesley's website: www.wesleykassels.nl

What do we think of Mister Kombucha

Of course we also tried Mister Kombucha ourselves and we can say that it was very well received and that it did not stop at trying! Due to the herbal infusion, the taste of Mister Kombucha is different from other kombuchas, but this makes it - in our opinion - extra tasty and special. As Wesley pointed out, you feel that you are doing something good for your body when you drink it. And I don't mean in a just-drink-it-is-good-for-you-way, but because you can taste that the ingredients used are pure and of high quality. Long story short, a delicious drink that is also good for you!