In 2005, my wife and I moved to Salisbury, Vermont from Portland, Oregon—our home for nine years as my wife Katina pursued medical degrees in Naturopathy, Midwifery, and Acupuncture. During those years in Oregon, I became a brewer for The Lucky Labrador Brewing Co. where I was in the unique position of honing the craft of brewing and fermentation at work, while also learning about functional foods and the governing role of the digestive system from Katina at home. While there I also experienced my first bottle of Kombucha and felt an immediate and noticeable shift - I just felt healthy and balanced - you could say that I caught the kombucha bug then and there. After a little research and learning more about Kombucha, I realized that I had found a way to do what I loved and sustain a healthy lifestyle for myself and my community.
Upon Katina’s completion of her degree in Portland, we moved to Vermont and bought a farmhouse in Salisbury where we set up her practice and we started our on-farm Kombucha “business”. We would take our farmhouse-brewed Kombucha to local farmers markets to “test” whether or not people were open to it…and they were! Aqua ViTea was officially launched in 2007 and we were able to grow the company by bringing my friends into the fold and staffing the business with positive-minded people that offered all different skill sets.
Today, Aqua ViTea has moved from our original farm location in Salisbury, and currently employs a team of thirty full-time employees at our Middlebury facility. The operation has scaled up considerably since its early days, and Aqua ViTea now delivers to states across the country. Refusing to compromise on production standards, our team still goes to extreme lengths to make sure that our product has retained the same quality as our very first batch. Kat and I founded this company with a health mission, not a money mission, and we’ve always kept that in mind. We want our product to be a manifestation of healthy values in every sense, and we work hard to make sure it lives up to our standards.
Jeff brews his first batch of Kombucha.
(Sorry once again to the Lucky Lab for
contaminating a batch of beer).
Katina and Jeff move from Portland, Oregon to their farm in beautiful Salisbury, Vermont.
Aqua ViTea is launched, and Jeff sets up camp
at the Middlebury Farmers Market.
+
The first Kombucha fountain in the universe
begins to flow in Middlebury, Vermont.
Aqua ViTea starts distributing Kombucha in bottles, and our first flavors are introduced.
Aqua ViTea fountains can be found in 32 Grocers across 4 states (VT, NH, MA, NY).
Demand outpaces production capacity and plans to move production off the farm to Bristol, Vermont begin to ferment.
The first batches are brewed, bottled, kegged, and delivered from our new facility in Bristol, Vermont.
Distribution partnerships are built, and Aqua ViTea expands its reach into New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
In addition to our facility in Bristol, Aqua ViTea
moves its operations to Middlebury, where
production capacity skyrockets.
+
We purchase the Spinning Cone - a state-of-the-
art piece of machinery from the wine industry to
create a product that is verified alcohol-free and
naturally lower in sugar and calories.
Our HQ and production moves completely from Bristol, VT into the 63K sq ft facility in Middlebury. 30 team members, 11 distributors, 900 stores, 23 states!
New bottling line, 3000+ stores and launch of CBD Kombucha and AfterGlow Hard Kombucha.
Launch 12oz cans. With the onset of Covid we pivot and create hand sanitizer.
We launch a new line of probiotic seltzers— AQUA SELTZER! Flavors include Raspberry + Lime, Grapefruit + Thyme, Pomegranate + Cherry and Cucumber + Mint.
One of the first commercial Kombucha brands, Aqua ViTea was born alongside the naturopathic clinic Jeff Weaber co-founded, where the guiding principles for both is to empower individuals to take their well-being into their own hands.
Jeff and team are driven by our vision of a world where healthy beverage choices are the norm for everyone in schools, hospitals, stores and homes.
A good company is only as good as the sum of its parts, and our team is a huge part of that equation. If you think you’d fit right in at Aqua ViTea, then check out our current listings and give us a shout!
Megan
Production TeamFavorite Aqua ViTea Product: A toss-up between Blood Orange and Blueberry Social
Favorite Podcast: MrBallen ... if you love mysteries + true crime, you'll love this one.
Fun Fact: Loves to travel and has been to 15 countries (and counting)!
Our Acts of Sustainability
26K lbs.
of tea composted for local agriculture
We compost the nutrient-dense organic green and black tea used in our brewing process, which is used to support local agriculture.
of wastewater for renewable energy
Every year we contribute this wastewater to an anaerobic digester project that combines cow manure and food waste to create Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) for Middlebury College, one of the nation's first carbon neutral campuses.
Over 575
farmers get paid livable wages across China and India
Our local tea partner of over a decade personally sources our premium, organic tea from tea gardens that pay fair wages to their employees.
of our employees live in rural areas
We support the local rural economy by employing team members from economically underdeveloped areas and we were voted one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont.
50ml
of organic alcohol is removed from every bottle of our Kombucha and repurposed
This alcohol is used to support innovations like hand sanitizer initiatives and new beverage development.
of the fills at our Kombucha
fountains utilize reusable glass
Hundreds of our Kombucha fountains are reducing glass waste every day by offering refillable glass bottles.
Aqua ViTea is located at 153 Pond Lane in lovely Middlebury, Vermont 05753
We are open for To-Go sales on Thursdays from Noon - 5pm
