Kombucha, a fermented tea that has long been popular among the health-conscious and hippie crowds particularly on the West Coast is becoming more mainstream.

WSJ: High Tea Has a New Meaning

Eric Childs had been drinking kombucha for years - a fermented tea - and was looking for a commercial opportunity a few years ago.

BBC: Brooklyn: New York City's hip start-up hub

We drank endless bowls of strong black chai tea while huddling around the stove, and soon the chai was replaced with kymyz, a slightly alcoholic fermented horse milk.

BBC: The way of the shepherd: Horse trekking through Kyrgyzstan