Notes for kombucha makers
Food safety, cultures, and the craft of running a kombucha brewery.
Kombucha brewing equipment: what a commercial brewery actually needs
Station by station: the hot side, cooling, fermenters, carbonation, pumps, CIP, fittings and filling. Which specifications matter, what to ask before signing a quote, and what each vessel owes your logbook.
RegulationHow to legally sell kombucha in Mexico
No kombucha NOM and no per-product registration: one free aviso de funcionamiento, 30 days before opening. The real test is the label: NOM-051 warning seals and the 2% alcohol line.
RegulationHow to register your kombucha in Argentina
Kombucha (2022) and water kefir (2024) are now in Argentina's Food Code. The two registrations, RNE and RNPA via SIFeGA, the legal parameters, and what varies by province.
RegulationHow to register your kombucha with MAPA
The two SIPEAGRO registrations, the establishment (with an on-site inspection) and the product, both free. The step by step, the documents, the up-to-date legal base and what MAPA does not cover.
RegulationAutocontrole: Brazil's self-control programs, explained
Decree 12,709/2025 asks for auditable records from raw material to dispatch, traceable by lot, kept for 18 months. The new decree in producer language, including guidance-first inspection for small producers.
RegulationThe words you can't put on a kombucha label in Brazil
Artesanal, probiótica, bebida viva: Brazil's IN MAPA 41/2019 lists the words that may not appear on a label. The full item 3.7 list, the alcohol tiers, and the records behind a defensible label.
Food safetyHACCP for kombucha: the two control points that actually matter
Acidification and alcohol do the real work. A plain-English look at the KBI-aligned control points every commercial kombucha brewery should document.
CulturesLiquid starter vs. the pellicle: what actually acidifies your kombucha
The floating pellicle gets the attention, but it's the liquid starter that drops your pH fast and keeps a batch safe. Here's why — and how much to pitch.
CarbonationKombucha carbonation: fizzy bottles without the bombs
Flat one week, gushers the next. How second fermentation carbonates kombucha, why bottles over-pressurise, and how to hit consistent fizz every batch.
ComplianceKeeping kombucha under 0.5% ABV
Every kombucha has some alcohol. What the 0.5% line means for selling it as non-alcoholic, what pushes ABV up, and how to keep finished batches compliant.
GrowingFrom homebrew to commercial: what changes when you scale
The recipe is the easy part. Going commercial is a records-and-consistency problem — here's what to put in place first, roughly in the order it starts to matter.
TraceabilityKombucha batch tracking and recall-ready records
Lot numbers, retention samples, FEFO stock, and answering a recall in minutes instead of days. The four habits that make a kombucha brewery traceable.