Jordan Champagne and husband Todd preach “pickle power” at Happy Girl Kitchen. Their Pacific Grove market and café shelves and refrigerates house-pickled vegetables, preserved fruits and other seasonal expressions. Yes, they handle most heavy lifting in their on-site kitchen. They do source some outside products, including Lev’s Original Kombucha from San Francisco, which pours from two taps.

Lev’s crafts kombucha from green tea, sugar and a probiotic blob called a SCOBY. This Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast kickstarts fermentation and yields a drink that has detoxifying agents. According to some kombucha proponents, this beverage has the power to turn back the hands of time. The tart beverage further benefits from an array of fruits and herbs. At least in Lev’s kitchen, that could mean hibiscus, black currant, mango, mint or ginger.

By having the tangy, bubbly beverage on tap, it’s also possible to charge a lower price. Yes, kombucha is not cheap in bottles, often over $5. However, at Happy Girl Kitchen, I was able to enjoy 16 ounces of hibiscus brew for $2.50. I still had enough money left over to score an equal amount of Blue Bottle New Orleans Iced Coffee, which has its own benefits.