/tags/bioavailability/Recent content in Bioavailability on FermentHiveHugoen-usMon, 13 Apr 2026 20:15:00 +0100/ingredients-deep-dive/botanical-fermentation-guide/Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:15:00 +0100/ingredients-deep-dive/botanical-fermentation-guide/<p>Around 600 BC, Zoroastrian priests in Persia were following a precise botanical fermentation protocol described in the Avesta texts: specific ratios of ephedra, pomegranate, and other plants, fermented in vessels of particular shapes, ready when the drink &ldquo;no longer tasted bitter.&rdquo; The haoma ceremony wasn&rsquo;t mysticism with a side of fermented beverage — it was a documented protocol. The Avesta describes the preparation in enough detail that scholars have been debating the exact botanical composition for 200 years. The fermentation chemistry, by contrast, is straightforward. Someone in ancient Persia had figured out that specific plants, combined and fermented in specific ratios, produced a predictable result. The first recorded botanical fermentation protocol.</p>