Midsummer at the Fermentary

There are three things that make a REAL Sparkling Tea truly exceptional. The first is the tea itself — we source extraordinary leaves, each selected for their inherent complexity and depth of flavour. The second is our fermentation process — a carefully developed method that creates a remarkable balance between sweetness, acidity, astringency, and those delicate fruity top notes that make our drinks so alive. And the third? That's where things get really interesting. It's the microbes.

Specifically, it's these microbes. Our microbes. And they all have names.

A Fermentation Unlike Any Other

Our fermentation is what's known as a mixed fermentation: a fermentation of yeast and bacteria — and understanding what that means is the key to understanding what makes our drinks so special.

Here's how it works. Like in winemaking, our yeasts consume the sugars and nutrients from the tea, and in doing so they create extraordinarily delicate and complex flavours — subtle, nuanced, layered. Think of them as the lead actors, commanding the stage.

But simultaneously, working quietly alongside them, are our bacteria that are continuously consuming the alcohol the yeast produces, converting it into organic acids and other compounds that give our drinks their tartness, their sharpness, their beautiful balance. They're not competing with the yeast — they're in constant conversation with them. And that conversation, it turns out, is everything.

What you end up with is a drink of real depth and complexity: the delicate flavour architecture of the yeasts woven together with the bright, clean acidity of the bacteria, all built on a foundation of exceptional tea. It's a process that took us the best part of ten years to perfect.

Ten Years, a Lot of Wild Brews, and Some Very Interesting Discoveries

A decade ago, we started doing what you might call wild fermentations — experimental brews using whatever yeasts and bacteria happened to be present, letting nature do its thing and seeing what emerged. And what emerged was fascinating.

We went deep. DNA testing, strain isolation, flavour mapping — identifying which microbes were creating which flavours, which combinations worked, which didn't, and which were doing something so interesting we absolutely had to find out more. Some of the strains we isolated had never been identified in nature before and they were sitting in our fermentation vessels, quietly doing extraordinary things.

Over time, those strains became ours. Part of our culture, quite literally. And as we got to know them — their habits, their quirks, what they brought to the party — each one started to develop a distinct personality.

So naturally, we gave them names. And since we were clearly dealing with a cast of vivid, complex, occasionally unpredictable characters, there was really only one place to look for inspiration.

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Meet the Cast

Oberon is our anchor yeast. Bold, earthy, robust — this is the king of our fermentation, just as Oberon is king of the fairies. He creates the foundational character of our drinks: strong, rugged, unapologetically present. Without Oberon, the whole ensemble loses its spine.

Puck is something else entirely. Lively, fruity, mischievous — this yeast creates the delicate top notes that dance above everything else, the bright fruity quality that makes our drinks feel so alive. Like his Shakespearean namesake, Puck is the one who keeps things interesting. He's chaos, but the very best kind.

Hermia is our most complex yeast — and perhaps our most intriguing character. She can be dry, she can be yielding, she's always fascinating. Hermia adds a layer of sophistication and depth that you might not notice immediately, but that you'd absolutely notice if she wasn't there. She's the one that makes you pause mid-sip and think: what is that?

Alongside these three, we have Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena — each contributing their own quiet voice to the fermentation, supporting the leads without stealing the spotlight.

And then there are the Mechanicals.

If the yeasts are our lead actors, the bacteria are our ensemble — and like Bottom, Quince, Flute, Snout, and Snug in the play, don't be fooled by their supporting billing. Bottom is our most powerful bacterial character: the one creating that robust, foundational acidity that underpins everything else. The Carpenter, the Tinker, the Bellows-Mender — each one of our other bacterial strains plays their part, contributing subtly but essentially to the whole.

The Play's the Thing

Here's the truth about A Midsummer Night's Dream: none of these characters would be particularly interesting on their own. Oberon without Puck is just imperious. Puck without Hermia is just chaos. Bottom without his fellow mechanicals is just a man with a donkey's head.

But together? Together they create something magical. 

Our fermentation works in exactly the same way. Each microbe alone would create something interesting but one-dimensional. But it's the interaction between Oberon's earthiness and Puck's brightness, between Hermia's complexity and Bottom's robust acidity, between all of our yeasts and all of our bacteria working in harmony where the magic happens.

Ten years of research. A cast of characters unlike any other in the world. And every bottle of REAL Sparkling Tea is their performance.

We think Shakespeare would have approved.