The return of fermented beverages: a journey through tradition and health

Beer is the most widespread fermented beverage in the world and is made from grains, primarily barley. Wine begins its journey with the fermentation of grape juice, while sake is produced from rice (and is the fermented beverage with the highest alcohol content, always around 15%). Cider and perry (or pear cider), made from apple and pear juice respectively, have a sweeter and fruitier taste. Mead, sweet, complex, and of very ancient origin, is obtained from a honey-based syrup.

Among emerging products is kefir, originating from the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is prepared by fermenting sheep, goat, or cow's milk with yeast and then letting it rest for a few hours (or days): the result is a creamy and effervescent beverage, with very low alcohol content (technically considered non-alcoholic), low in lactose but rich in probiotic lactic cultures. There are versions made from soy, rice, sugar, and fruit, even a water kefir (made from kefir grains and sugar).

Kombucha – originating from China – is a beverage that combines tea, sugar, and SCOBY (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) to initiate the fermentation process. It has a tangy and slightly effervescent flavor (often flavored based on preferences), is quite easy to make, and is considered very healthy due to its digestive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It is a live beverage with minimal alcohol content (0.5%) that is rapidly gaining popularity among Western consumers.

Popular in many Eastern European countries, kvass is a low-alcohol beverage, also known as "bread beer." It is made by fermenting a mix of vegetables including barley, wheat, rye, and optionally adding apples, strawberries, birch sap, various berries, and aromatic herbs. Refreshing and thirst-quenching, kvass is also rich in probiotics.

The list of fermented beverages is extensive and full of surprises. In Mexico, the national drink is pulque, made from the fermentation of agave and can reach an alcohol content of up to 18%. It was used by the Aztecs for ceremonies and is now found everywhere, either alone or mixed with beer, juices, or other spirits under the name curado. Much less alcoholic and more homemade are the chichas, made from the fermentation of corn, cassava, or fruit. There are a thousand variants, including the original version: chewed and spat corn into a bowl, so the saliva started the fermentation (now known as taqui). Also from Mexico is tepache (a fermented beverage with spices and pineapple peel), while Africa offers pombe, a kind of banana and honey beer (with an alcohol content of around 5%). Highly popular in India (and widespread in much of Asia and Africa) is toddy, derived from the processing of palm sap. The juice is tapped from the tree and ferments immediately upon exposure to air: it is consumed fresh (sweet and refreshing) or allowed to ferment longer for a more complex and structured beverage with a slightly bitter note.