It’s not hard to find kombucha tea in bottles and kegs around Bend, but Bucha Buena’s newest fermented tea will help you get a buzz alongside beer and wine drinkers.

The Bend company’s alcoholic kombucha made its debut Thursday at the Fermentation Celebration, and Brooke Moore, the company’s founder, said its alcoholic drink offerings will continue to expand in the future.

“We’ve just started. Hopefully, we’ll have a lot more,” Moore said Friday.

Moore started brewing kombucha professionally in 2014, though she began by making nonalcoholic kombucha in her home for herself and her kids. When she began to focus on kombucha as a business, she brought on Brit Nelson, who has been a brewer at Deschutes Brewery and Boneyard Beer, among others. Nelson said the company now brews around 1,000 gallons in a typical month. Moore added that Bucha Buena offers five flavors consistently, along with several single-batch flavors. Bucha Buena does not bottle its kombucha, but the beverages can be found on tap in around 30 restaurants, bars and growler-fill stations in Bend and Redmond.

“We want to keep growing, but we also want to stay true to what we believe in,” Moore said. “And that’s making a super high-quality product that we have a lot of control over.”

Nelson said the pair has wanted to brew kombucha with a higher alcohol content since the beginning, though permitting and licensing slowed the process. Because it’s fermented, all kombucha has some alcohol, but if the content is 0.5 percent alcohol or less by volume, it’s deemed “nonalcoholic” by the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.

By comparison, Bucha Buena’s batch of alcoholic cherry-flavored kombucha comes in at around 4 percent, comparable to a session beer, according to Nelson.

“We’d like to do more, but it’s a work in progress,” Nelson said of the beverage’s alcohol content.

The two brew in a 700-square-foot facility behind Moore’s northwest Bend home. Moore said a standard, nonalcoholic batch of kombucha takes around two weeks to complete. Batches with higher alcohol content, which require additional time for fermentation, can take more than 30 days.

Even Bucha Buena’s nonalcoholic kombucha has some appeal to drinkers, as the company advertises it as a potential cocktail mixer. Moore said Bucha Buena’s kombucha has 4 grams of sugar per serving and pairs better with alcohol than mixers with higher sugar content.

“It’s just a great mixer, especially if you don’t like really sweet cocktails,” Moore said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com

Q: Where do you see the business two to three years down the road?

A: Brooke Moore: I think we would like to be in more other places in Central Oregon, for sure. And maybe even the Eugene, Portland area. We’d like to spread out a little.

Q: What would you tell people who are skeptical about kombucha?

A: Moore: I would say to just keep trying it, whether it’s ours or some other brand. Eventually you’ll find one you’ll like. Don’t just take one sip and give up, because it gets better.