Soda, Kombucha and Coffee get the Unscripted Fermentation treatment

When I first interviewed Trent Brown about his business, Unscripted Fermentation, it was a side hustle to his public service day job. He was making a few hot sauces and condiments, occasionally collaborating with Barrio, and selling his wares on a small table at the markets.

Fast forward 12 months and Trent has quit his public service job for good to focus on the business, which has grown beyond sauces and condiments to include sodas, kombuchas, cold brew coffees and more!

“I think I probably work longer hours now, but it’s nice to be in charge of my own time,” Trent told Region.

“I actually really love doing the farmers markets. That’s probably my favourite. Just getting to chat with customers and give them a taste of everything.”

In fact, it was Trent’s love of farmers markets that gave him the opportunity to grow the business.

He’d been doing some casual hours for Bellerophon coffee at the Capital Region Farmers Market (CRFM). When the owners decided to close, they offered to sell their equipment to Trent, so suddenly he was able to make, serve and sell cold brew coffee. Then, Loquacious Kombucha, his neighbours at the Haig Park Village Market, also decided to sell.

“I got all their equipment and their recipes, too,” Trent explained.

“But I’ve already started to tweak those a little!”

It was a natural expansion for a business focused on fermentation. Kombucha is a lightly fizzy fermented tea drink, which is usually flavoured with fruit. Customers can try raspberry and lemon myrtle or passionfruit and lavender flavours.

“The base kombucha is a two-week brew with a mix of white and green tea. But the fruit is only fermented for a short time so it tastes really fresh.”

In typical Unscripted style, Trent is experimenting with more unusual flavours like blood orange and rosemary flavour, and even sourdough bread! I asked how he comes up with flavour combinations.

“I usually start with an ingredient and then think ‘what unusual flavours would I like to taste with peaches?'”

The answer? Black pepper and vanilla. Yes, please!

He also makes concentrated cordial syrups for flavoured sodas and has been experimenting with a Japanese style of fermented rice drink called amazake. The 12-hour fermentation process breaks down the starch of the rice to create a creamy drink, which Trent recommends with spiced chai or a sesame-based drink he makes.

His long-time relationship with Barrio has continued through his cold brew coffee products. Barrio roaster Max does a special dark roasted coffee bean blend especially for Unscripted. This blend brings out the chocolate and caramel notes while the process makes for a delicious brew.

“We kind of treat it more like wine in the way we filter it,” Trent explained.

My favourite way to enjoy his iced coffee is with a dash of the festive cherry cordial: Trent calls it a Cherry Cola.

It’s worth stopping by the markets to taste the impressive selection of Unscripted Fermentation products. I am always delighted by the creativity of their unexpected flavour combinations. In a sense, Trent is like a mad genius, playing in his kitchen lab to create even more surprising creations.

The future contains more markets, more experimentation and more collaboration for Trent. He’s even been working with the Bar Rochford staff to make sauces that complement their house cocktails.

You can find Unscripted Fermentation at the Capital Region Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from 7:30 am to 11:30 am at Exhibition Park, Mitchell and Haig Park Village Markets on Sundays from 8 am to 2 pm at Haig Park, Braddon.
Follow Unscripted Fermentation on Instagram to keep up with other market appearances and new products.

Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Riotact.