Symbiosis Magazine – Spring 2022

The Spring 2022 edition SYMBIOSIS magazine is out now. This is the official Journal of Kombucha Brewers International, a trade publication for the kombucha industry. The first edition came out in June 2020, the second edition in September 2020, the third edition in March 2021, and the fourth edition in November 2021. This is the fifth in the series.

This edition includes the Agenda to the KKON22 conference listing speaker bios, presentations, and ads for the vendors who attended.

All editions have an ‘evergreen’ lifespan and live forever on the MagCloud.com platform. Anyone can order a printed copy that will be sent directly to them in the mail. It’s the perfect way to get our content out into the world. Order your copy from the link at the end of this post.

This magazine is not just for KBI members. The content is of value for any commercial kombucha brewer worldwide, plus the growing ranks of homebrew enthusiasts curious about scaling up or refining their technique.

Table of Contents

The 60 pages of the Spring 2022 edition includes the Agenda for KKON22. Regular columns include:

•     KBI President’s Letter: an update from Hannah Crum.
•     Advocacy Corner: Dave Ransom writes on the KOMBUCHA Act.
•     Producer Profile: Leave Your Sword, a taproom and brewery in Amsterdam.
•     Kombucha Kulture: Soaps, shampoos, hot sauce, and premium vinegar.
•     Book Review: The Transformational Consumer, by Tara-Nicholle Nelson

Feature Articles

• Angel Investors: A guide to securing additional funds.
• World Kombucha Trends: an update on worldwide numbers.
• The Chemistry of Fermentation: The final part of the 3-part series by French expert Thierry Tran.
• The Women of Kombucha: Dr. Yasmine Mason, The Fermentation Farm, Costa Mesa, California.
• Kombucha Kup Tasting Notes: The criteria by which entries will be judged.
• KKON22: The complete Agenda, Speaker Bios, and more for the March 30 – April 1 conference.

Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the Spring 2022 issue of SYMBIOSIS. 

We feature an updated listing of the numbers of brands worldwide that has grown to over 2,100 brands – a 32% increase since the Summer of 2020 when we first published these statistics. Much of the growth has been driven by small regional brands. But from tiny acorns, mighty oaks can grow.

Our profile of Dr. Yasmine Mason, the founder of the Orange County, California, Fermentation Farm, details her rapid growth from a small 800 square foot storefront to a restaurant complex of over 5,000 square feet in eight short years. The Fermentation Farm was recently voted the third best restaurant in the USA.  In addition to kombucha and jun, they carry a wide range of fermented foods, from bone broth to yogurt and sourdough bread.

At the smaller end of the scale, Nicolas Adam, the founder of Amsterdam’s Leave Your Sword Kombucha, struggled with the vagaries of repeated pandemic lockdowns. Nevertheless, he stayed true to fermenting the premium tea, hard kombucha, that is carried in some of that city’s best restaurants and bars. He’s now planning to expand to a new taproom in a busier location.

The path to growth needs funding. If you’ve tapped out friends and family and don’t have deep pockets, the time might be right to search for outside investors. Chelsie Kugler, Vice President of Business Development at CFOshare, offers her advice on approaching Angel Investors. You might also take a look at the creative ways of raising capital pursued by the founders of Honest Tea, described in their book Mission in a Bottle, reviewed in the Fall 2020 SYMBIOSIS, and reprinted in Booch News.

In this edition, I review The Transformational Consumer by Tara-Nicholle Nelson. This is a fascinating guide to understanding the market segments most likely to be open to trying kombucha.

Kulture Korner listed kombucha cocktails and food pairings in past editions. This issue highlights kombucha-based products available from creative brewers: shampoos, soaps, hot sauce, and premium vinegar.

Thierry Tran’s three-part series on the chemistry of fermentation concludes with a discussion of the techniques for elevating the quality of kombucha and the various levers that can be used during production.

The bulk of this edition is the Agenda for the KKON conference. In a packed few days, everyone who attends virtually or in-person will have the opportunity to hear from industry experts, gain hands-on experience, and most importantly, network with others in the industry. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. Please don’t be shy. Say hello and tell me what you have enjoyed reading in SYMBIOSIS, where we can improve, and share your ideas for future editions.

As always, you can download a PDF of SYMBIOSIS from the web or purchase a printed copy of any of our editions for your library. 

Order your copy today

Print-on-demand and downloadable PDF versions are available from MagCloud. It’s printed in the US, UK, and mainland Europe with local postage rates.