Aqua ViTea CEO Jeff Weaber speaks on how he built Vermont ’ s most successful kombucha company from the ground up
Aqua ViTea : Healthy Culture
The first sip from a bottle of well-brewed kombucha is a unique and revitalizing experience . Complex and satisfying flavors are enhanced by effervescent bubbles , which electrify your tastebuds as you begin to feel a healing glow throughout your body . Over the past several decades , kombucha has spread through the American marketplace like wildfire . After moving beyond its original niche market of health-conscious gourmands and discerning naturopaths , legions of new kombucha converts have been introduced to the crisp , acidic , and refreshing taste of this probiotic elixir . As demand for kombucha continues to increase across the country , Vermont ’ s most successful kombucha company , Aqua ViTea , is meeting the challenges of a burgeoning market with grace and mastery .
Aqua ViTea ’ s founder Jeff Weaber has managed to grow his brand into a regional industry powerhouse over the past decade-and-a-half without sacrificing the quality of his product or compromising on his values at all . A holistically-minded entrepreneur , Weaber first got exposed to kombucha after moving out to Oregon with his wife Katina . According to Weaber , he and Katina first fell in love while they were studying Buddhism abroad at a Monastery in Bihar , India . After returning from their spiritually-focused travels , he and Katina moved to Middlebury before heading to Oregon . It was in Middlebury that they got their first true taste of Vermont living . “ We spent the summer there working at a small restaurant on the water ,” says Weaber . “ The restaurant was called Mister Up ’ s , and it ’ s still there today . We started to become enamored with Middlebury right away . We then spent a winter together in Stowe . Katina was set on going to medical school , so we relocated to Oregon , so she could do that . We knew right away that we wanted to figure out a way to come back to Vermont . Even then , we realized that the eventual goal was to live here .”
Once he and Katina arrived in Oregon , Weaber worked for a cabinet builder in Eugene , where he refined his carpentry skills while developing connections in the local social scene . While in Eugene , Weaber also became interested in the craft of brewing . “ There were a lot of potluck events , and I got to know a home brewer there . I ended up brewing a lot of beer with him when I wasn ’ t busy making cabinets .”
VTMAG . COM SUMMER 2021 5