Author: KBI Admin

President’s Tour Kombucha Chat | Circle Bev

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeQVjxFCsx0[/embedyt] In this video, Hannah Ruhamah, the President of Kombucha Brewers International, interviews Brandon from Circle Bev, the oldest Indianapolis-based Kombucha brand. Circle Bev creates Kombucha with a lighter flavor profile, making it more approachable to those new to the category.  Circle Bev also has a line extension of sparkling collagen water, which adds […]

Friday, 10th March 2023

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeQVjxFCsx0[/embedyt]

In this video, Hannah Ruhamah, the President of Kombucha Brewers International, interviews Brandon from Circle Bev, the oldest Indianapolis-based Kombucha brand. Circle Bev creates Kombucha with a lighter flavor profile, making it more approachable to those new to the category. 

Circle Bev also has a line extension of sparkling collagen water, which adds 20 grams of collagen to a sparkling water can. 

Top 3 takeaways:

  1. Circle Bev creates kombucha with a lighter flavor profile, making it more approachable to those new to the category.
  2. The brand also offers a line extension of sparkling collagen water that adds 20 grams of collagen to a sparkling water can.
  3. Find Circle Bev’s products on their website and social media pages or find them in stores throughout Indianapolis.

 

 

Meet Our Members –Fermentation Farm (CA)

Dr. Yasmine Mason, Fermentation Farm, Costa Mesa, CA Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: A friend was making kombucha on her countertop and gave me a SCOBY in 2009 to make my first batch. Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company? A: I founded Fermentation Farm in 2014 with the fundamental […]

Tuesday, 21st February 2023

Dr. Yasmine Mason, Fermentation Farm, Costa Mesa, CA

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: A friend was making kombucha on her countertop and gave me a SCOBY in 2009 to make my first batch.

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: I founded Fermentation Farm in 2014 with the fundamental belief that a “Healthy Gut = Healthy Life.” Along with kombucha, we also make many other fermented beverages including Jun, fermented ginger soda, fermented root beer and water kefir soda.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of kombucha? 

A: GTs Watermelon.

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: I am a chiropractor.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: The way you do anything is the way you do everything. –T. Harv Eker. I love this saying because it helps me do my best in every aspect of my life.

 

Meet Our Members – Pigeon Cove Ferments (MA)

Dylan LAbbe-Lindquist, Pigeon Cove Ferments, Rockport, MA Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: We have been consumers of kombucha for many years. I (Dylan) remember when I was a child visiting my parents’ friends’ houses where they were often brewing their own Kombucha, I remember the smell most of all. Q: Why did […]

Tuesday, 14th February 2023

Dylan LAbbe-Lindquist, Pigeon Cove Ferments, Rockport, MA

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: We have been consumers of kombucha for many years. I (Dylan) remember when I was a child visiting my parents’ friends’ houses where they were often brewing their own Kombucha, I remember the smell most of all.

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: Kristen, my wife and I started our company in 2016 with a focus on locally sourced sauerkrauts. We have also done small batch Hot sauces and salsas. We added Kombucha to our product line in 2018. Our company was a natural progression from fermenting and storing our excess produce from our gardens and evolved into what we are today. We still use ingredients from our home gardens in our sauerkrauts, kombuchas and other fermented goodies.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of kombucha? 

A: The best Kombucha I ever had was Panacea Brewing’s Oat Straw Kombucha. It had such a delicate flavor, it reminded me of the sweet smell of a hay loft.

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: Kristen has a degree in sustainable agriculture and as the owner she takes care of our books, social media presence, flavor development and making sure we are all staying in line. I have a degree in Geological Sciences and business management with close to 15 years culinary experience and another 14 years as the head brewer for Cape Ann Brewing Co.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: We don’t really have a saying that we live by although we do have “Get Fermented” on our cans. Be nice, be kind, there are many people going through many things you will never know. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, it’s a tough world out there.

Meet Our Members – Tonica Kombucha (CAN)

Zoey Shamai, Tonica Kombucha, Canada Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: In 2004 while living at a Kundalini Yoga Ashram in New Mexico. Everyone was making their home brews and GTS was the only booch on the shelves in Wild Oats (now Whole Foods) back then! Q: Why did you start your own […]

Monday, 13th February 2023

Zoey Shamai, Tonica Kombucha, Canada

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: In 2004 while living at a Kundalini Yoga Ashram in New Mexico. Everyone was making their home brews and GTS was the only booch on the shelves in Wild Oats (now Whole Foods) back then!

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: I loved the immediate digestive boost I experienced with kombucha, and wanted to share it with friends and family. When the response was so incredible, the business kind of started to make itself. I quit my day job as a yoga teacher, and night job as a waitress, and the rest is history!

Q: What is your favorite flavor of Kombucha? 

A: I love Wild Brews out of Costa Rica, especially the Limon & Chlorofila flavour.

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: I was a yoga teacher before starting Tonica. Now I am a full blown CEO and business woman everyday!

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: Let Love Rule. Believe. Receive. Flow.

KBI Accepting Board Nominations

Want to become more involved with KBI and the Board? Are you looking for opportunities to build your network Want to further your skill set and enhance your resume? Seeking a path to becoming a Board Director? Kombucha Brewers International is actively seeking passionate, diverse, and experienced board members to help guide the organization as it grows. Board […]

Wednesday, 8th February 2023

Want to become more involved with KBI and the Board?

Are you looking for opportunities to build your network Want to further your skill set and enhance your resume? Seeking a path to becoming a Board Director? Kombucha Brewers International is actively seeking passionate, diverse, and experienced board members to help guide the organization as it grows.

Board Member Role and Responsibilities

  • Work with Board to set policies and maintain overall direction for the organization

  • Establish priorities based on the mission of the organization and impending issues

  • Craft strategies

  • Ensure that plans and programs are implemented

  • Share a passion and commitment to the mission

  • Must commit to a three year term

  • Ideally the majority of the Board is made up of Founders

  • Must attend at least EIGHT Board meetings annually (2 or more consecutive absences or 4 in a calendar year will result in removal from the position)

  • Must attend KombuchaKon and may be required to have additional duties at the conference including

    • Introducing Speakers/Thanking Sponsors

    • Generating & Presenting on topics of interest to the industry

    • Attend Member Meeting

  • Giving Annual Contribution to KBI above and beyond dues, KKon fees, etc.

    • Required for T3/T4

    • Optional for T1/T2

    • Amount is at the brand’s discretion

    • Lead by example – allows KBI staff to leverage those donations for further development from other members of the association

The Board is Seeking to Appoint Two Officers to the Board

 

Secretary (non-voting officer) – Roles and Responsibilities

  • Work with KBI President and staff to maintain Board Meeting Minutes & generate Board Meeting Agendas

  • Ensure the accuracy of all board records (including roll call, voting record on key decisions, nominations, etc)

  • Take clear and specific notes at all board meetings

  • Review board minutes and update on Google Docs following each board meeting within one week highlighting key follow-ups and next steps

  • Take roll call during the meeting

  • Send out agenda at least three days prior to meeting noting essential pre-reads and follow-ups

  • Conduct Roll Call at KombuchaKon (annual conference)

  • Take meeting notes during Member’s Meeting at KombuchaKon

  • Tally any votes that may take place at KombuchaKon

Treasurer (non-voting officer) – Roles and Responsibilities

  • Understand financial accounting for nonprofit organizations

  • Work with President to ensure that appropriate financial reports are made available to the board on a timely basis

  • Present budget status at monthly Board meetings and discuss any potential or projected shortfalls and make recommendations to fill gap

  • Work with President to present the annual budget to the board for approval

  • Assist with collections of outstanding member payments on biannual basis

  • Assist with developing fundraising strategies with President, KBI staff and other KBI Board members

  • Present Financial Report at Member’s Meeting at KombuchaKon

If interested, please reach out to Hannah Crum @ president@kombuchabrewers.org    

Meet Our Members – Bambucha Kombucha (CA)

Michael Zonfrilli, Bambucha Kombucha, Vista, CA Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: After college I spent a couple years living in southern Oregon on a commune called the Magic Forest Farm. This was in the 1990s before there was a bottle of commercial kombucha on the shelf, so the drum of fermenting tea […]

Monday, 6th February 2023

Michael Zonfrilli, Bambucha Kombucha, Vista, CA

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: After college I spent a couple years living in southern Oregon on a commune called the Magic Forest Farm. This was in the 1990s before there was a bottle of commercial kombucha on the shelf, so the drum of fermenting tea was a total mystery to me. We didn’t flavor or do secondary fermentation, but just ladled it into cups to drink with our vegan dinners. Years later, working as a chef, my sous chef brought me a bottle of GT’s Trilogy. It blew my head off! I started growing my first modern day SCOBY a week later.

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: When teaching at a culinary school in San Diego, I would tell my students that being a chef is great, but in my “next life” I would want to make one product perfectly and sell it. I am fortunate that I was able to find that product in kombucha and quickly realized that I could take flavor pairings inspired from different world cuisines and infuse them into this hippie juice we had been making on the farm many years ago.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of kombucha? 

A: GT’s Divine Grape. We decided not to make our own grape flavor, because why mess with perfection!

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: Everything I had learned as a professional chef translated perfectly into commercial kombucha brewing. Fermentation, ingredient sourcing and purchasing, classic flavor pairings, sanitation and food safety, high volume production, knowledge of the hospitality industry and enough connections to get those first kegs out the door. Having a trained palate also helped in balancing taste, flavor, acidity and sweetness which is so important in making a kombucha that has a mainstream appeal.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: Make it nice or make it twice.

Meet Our Members – Cultura Viva Kombucha (ITA)

Stefano Zenezini, Cultura Viva Kombucha, Italy Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: Back in 2007, my wife Laurence, artist-herbalist-forager-yoga teacher-health conscious, offered me a scoby and the book “The art of Fermentation”. Six weeks later kombucha appeared in our home and never left our table! Q: Why did you start your own kombucha […]

Monday, 30th January 2023

Stefano Zenezini, Cultura Viva Kombucha, Italy

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: Back in 2007, my wife Laurence, artist-herbalist-forager-yoga teacher-health conscious, offered me a scoby and the book “The art of Fermentation”. Six weeks later kombucha appeared in our home and never left our table!

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: When visiting our family in Italy each summer, we could not find kombucha anywhere and missed it a lot. As soon as the opportunity came, we decided to start producing and selling kombucha in Italy using a unique infusion of black, green and olive leaves and herbs and fruits from our garden!

Q: What is your favorite flavor of Kombucha? 

A: We love all GT’s flavors and GT’s Peach Paradise takes it to another galaxy….

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: I am a Chemical Engineer and spent more than 33 years working in the Consumer Goods Industry in Europe and USA.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: Things are united by invisible bonds. You can’t pick a flower without upsetting a star (Galileo Galilei)

Meet Our Members – Kouboya (AUS)

 Tsumugi Osakabe, Kouboya, Australia   Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: I grew up in Japan where avvariety of fermented foods are consumed on a daily basis. However, after moving away at 15, fermented foods became a rarity in my life. This all changed when I met my friends who create artisan sauerkraut […]

Wednesday, 25th January 2023

 Tsumugi Osakabe, Kouboya, Australia

 

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: I grew up in Japan where avvariety of fermented foods are consumed on a daily basis. However, after moving away at 15, fermented foods became a rarity in my life.

This all changed when I met my friends who create artisan sauerkraut in Brisbane. I started appreciating the beauty of fermenting foods. They were extremely inspiring and were the first ones to introduce me to kombucha.

They also gave me the opportunity to work for their company in 2015, creating different kinds of fermented products. They shared the fermentation brewery with a kombucha company, and that further cemented my interest in kombucha.
Their flavour of kombucha brew my mind how delicious it was.

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: After moving to the mid north coast in 2016, I started exploring the idea of creating a fermenting business as there was a gap in the market. I felt the need to spread the health and taste the benefits of fermented foods. This began with selling Japanese pickles and kombucha at the local farmers’ market. We also used this opportunity to received amazing feedback from customers, which further assisted in finalizing the product.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of Kombucha? 

A: Buchi Hibiscus and Galangal

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: I studied a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences, before making ferments.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

Appreciate the people that make you smile and throw kindness around like confetti.

Meet Our Members – J’s Kombucha (MN)

Jason Wagner, J’s Kombucha, St. Paul, MN Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: Several years ago, I was searching for a way to alleviate my oldest son’s severe allergies. Having learned of the allergy-immune system connection, I had reason to believe strengthening his gut health would improve his immune system, and this in […]

Monday, 16th January 2023

Jason Wagner, J’s Kombucha, St. Paul, MN

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: Several years ago, I was searching for a way to alleviate my oldest son’s severe allergies. Having learned of the allergy-immune system connection, I had reason to believe strengthening his gut health would improve his immune system, and this in turn would hopefully lead to less severe allergic reactions. Since he was allergic to dairy and other common foods that naturally contain probiotics, I needed to find an alternative source that a picky four-year-old would also enjoy – the answer was kombucha!

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: I wanted to bring something positive into the world that I can be proud. After many years of home brewing, the volume was approaching commercial levels anyways.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of kombucha? 

A: GT’s “Sacred Life” — you had me at blue spirulina.

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: In another life, I was the proprietor of Univocal Publishing, an independent press specializing in artisanal editions and translations of texts spanning the areas of cultural theory, media archaeology, continental philosophy, aesthetics, anthropology, and more. Univocal is now a series with the University of Minnesota Press.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: The Dude abides.

Meet Our Members – Gut It Right (IND)

Kruti Gajjar, Gut It Right, India Q: When did you first discover kombucha? A: I discovered Kombucha a few years back around 2019 at a friend’s place. I feel lucky that she forced me to try it out which amazed me and inspired me to start brewing my own booch gradually. Q: Why did you […]

Wednesday, 11th January 2023

Kruti Gajjar, Gut It Right, India

Q: When did you first discover kombucha?

A: I discovered Kombucha a few years back around 2019 at a friend’s place. I feel lucky that she forced me to try it out which amazed me and inspired me to start brewing my own booch gradually.

Q: Why did you start your own kombucha company?

A: Despite having a moderately successful stint in the IT field, I was always drawn towards the subject of optimal health and creativity. I decided to pursue a course of exercise and science of nutrition, and got deeply interested in gut health which eventually led me to understanding fermentation and its benefits. Having always looked upon foods as medicine over traditional medicines, I didn’t want to just offer up a quick short term solution, but help people make the right nutrition and lifestyle choices and that’s what got me started. We will be gradually expanding into a range of other fermented products as well!

Q: What is your favorite flavor of Kombucha? 

A: GT’s Guava Goddess & Synergy Trilogy, Beetroot Ginger Kombucha from Dr. Booch

Q: What is your former/current other life or career?

A: I am the chief brewer and founder of Gut It Right, which is my full time job and passion. I am not just interested in gut health but also in overall nutrition. I would like to focus a lot more on making health and nutrition accessible to everyone and position it as a lifestyle shift that doesn’t require anguish but rather requires some basic choices. Nutrition is definitely my focus point now.

Q: What is a saying that you live by?

A: Always be a little kinder than necessary!