The Kombucha Room
Today I visited The Kombucha Room, a cafe located in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago that offers 20 varieties of kombucha, on tap.
This intimate space is a laid-back neighborhood gem. If you’ve never tried kombucha, this is a great place to start exploring this probiotic tea drink that can help with healthy digestion.
Wellness & Community Philosophy
Part of the philosophy of The Kombucha Room is to foster a place of health, wellness and community.
They believe in serving as a “multi-functional space for workshops and classes inspired by health, wellness, and community engagement for all local small businesses & local artists.” I was able to see that first hand today.
Earlier in the week I saw The Kombucha Room was offering a community yoga class this morning, and I jumped on the chance to enjoy both free yoga (“community class” in Chicago translates to a free class) and to finally try the cafe I’d read about several times since they opened in late April of this year.
Despite the intimate room, we squeezed in approximately 15 people for a yoga class taught by Kathryn Gongaware of Tula Yoga Studio, which is located right across the street. The class was a moderate-level and Kathryn offered many modifications for those who wanted more of a beginner class or for those who were more advanced. Her playlist was on point and she had all the positive vibes to start off our Sunday morning.
Small Batch Local Kombucha on Tap
After the hour-long class, my friend and I decided to try some kombucha. As far as I know, The Kombucha Room is the only kombucha cafe in the Chicagoland area.
They source from local small batch kombucha brewers and the taps rotate with seasonal offerings. On today’s menu there were delicious kombuchas from the following brewers:
- Arize - Chicago, IL
- ASBK - Munster, IN
- Boochy Mama’s - Toledo, OH
- Frog Juice - Chicago, IL
- Kombuchade - Chicago, IL
- Presto Kombucha - Indianapolis, IN
We decided to split a sampler of four kombuchas, which ran us about $8 each with tax and tip. If you’ve ever had a beer sampler, it was a similar concept, where we were served four five-ounce pours displayed in an adorable Chicago-map themed sampler tray. We tried:
Kava Cherry Bark by Boochy Mama’s
Organic Yunnan black tea, organic sencha green tea, kava root, organic wild cherry barkPeach Habanero by ASBK
Organic peach tea + white peony tea blend & habanero peppersBlackberry Cucumber Basil by Frog Juice
Organic sencha green tea + jasmine green tea blend, (all organic) blackberries, basil, cucumbers & gingerStrawberry Rose Jun by Frog Juice
Organic white peony tea + organic silver needle jasmine white tea, (all organic) Michigan raw honey, Bashkirian raw flower honey, strawberry, pink rose petals & ginger
While all were delightful, our favorites were definitely the Strawberry Rose Jun and the Peach Habanero.
If you have never heard of jun (I hadn’t), it’s a bit more of an expensive offering. According to Frog Juice, it’s considered the “champagne of kombuchas.” According to Wikipedia, jun is: “An effervescent fermented health tonic roughly similar to kombucha but feeding on green tea and raw honey rather than black tea and concentrated sugar.”
Check out The Kombucha Room’s full menu and try to avoid the mouth watering.
Visiting The Kombucha Room
By the time that we left, The Kombucha Room had been transformed from a yoga space to a small intimate cafe with a few tables and small couch. From the free self-service water station offering cold, room temperature or sparkling water to the fresh flowers in vases on the tables, the vibe was minimal and laid-back, yet thoughtful.
The branding of The Kombucha Room is also beautiful. The dark blue gray and gold color scheme and modern logo are well styled and polished.
I would absolutely recommend checking out The Kombucha Room during one of their events. According to their calendar they have several upcoming events that look super interesting, such as a Kombucha Home Brewing class on September 10 as well as your next opportunity for a yoga class on September 24. There is another community yoga class scheduled for October 1 as well.
I personally can’t wait to go back to The Kombucha Room and try out some new varieties. As they would say, “Get your booch on!”
The Kombucha Room is located at 2355 N Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Their hours are Tue-Sat: 12pm-8pm, Sun: 12pm-pm and they are closed Mondays.
Have you been to The Kombucha Room and what did you think? Are you enjoying the kombucha craze? Have you ever made your own kombucha and how were the results? Leave us a comment below.