On the last day of a two-week road trip from my home in the San Francisco Bay Area to Portland and back, I was fortunate to arrive in Fort Bragg when the Wednesday Farmers’ Market was on. I came across Michelle’s booth, where she was selling her fermented products.

Michelle Costa ferments kombucha, jun, kimchee, kvass, six varieties of sauerkraut, hot sauce, and other pickles in the small town of Willits, Mendocino County, California. She sells her Mendo Ferments products in markets and stores around the region. The company was founded 11 years ago.

Her journey began in 1983 when her high school boyfriend’s sister brought a “mushroom” back from Alaska. They brewed the tea in a ceramic pot and enjoyed the tea for its refreshing flavor without a second ferment. She carried her mushroom to Hawaii, where it thrived in the warm weather. Eventually she stopped brewing, not knowing how popular kombucha would become. She reconnected with fermented beverages in Oregon in 2001. She tasted Jun, made with honey and brewed with beneficial herbs and uplifting spices, and immediately fell in love with it. By 2013, she had made the transition from home to commercial brewer.

She rents space at the Little Lake Grange shared commercial kitchen in Willits.

In addition to the Hibiscus Jun, Root Brew, Beet Ginger, and Purple Butterfly kombucha on offer this month, seasonal flavors include Chaga Chocolate Rose and Candy Cap (mushroom) Jun. She uses a variety of green and black teas as a base.

As well as Fort Bragg she sells at the Ukiah and Willits markets and is stocked at several local stores. The Shanachie Pub in Willits has her kombucha on tap.

The podcast was recorded at a busy time in the market, where customers sought out her fermented goodies.

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