WHEN WE began in 2003 it didn’t occur to us to make kombucha any other way except by hand, in small batches, brewed over several weeks and bottled in glass without resort to processing or adding anything else - nor indeed taking anything away.

For 18 years we’ve worked with Trading Standards to ensure our labels are compliant with UK regulations; each time they are updated they go to our local officer for approval before printing, with even the niggliest of changes made to ensure compliance.

We saw a time when we would be joined by like-minded brewers making kombucha the traditional way (Equinox was first in that respect). Perhaps we were naive not to foresee it become a gold rush for the more unscrupulous to exploit for profit. They wouldn’t, surely, have the patience or wherewithal to wait for nature’s gift to ferment for weeks on end?

But pile in they did, pasteurising & developing ways to short-circuit and cheat the fermentation process altogether, or lab-create their own “proprietary” probiotic blends to add to processed tea solutions, mixing and bottling their concoctions in one go, first in plastic then plastic polymer-lined cans - some imported into the UK from as far afield as Australia!

Real booch producers are finally calling time on these weird, whacky and fake brands who flagrantly call themselves “kombucha” in direct breach of Reg. No. 1169/2011 of the food labelling act; to comply with UK labelling law now or face the music. ‘The Real Kombucha Revolution’ is an ongoing campaign to educate and empower the public to make informed choices about the so-called “kombucha” they buy on the high street.