The fermentation encyclopaedia
An ancient biotechnology, brought back with scientific precision. Read how enzymes, bacteria and fermentation actually work — in plain language.
Enzymes
Protein molecules that speed up digestion, metabolism and cell renewal.
Bacteria
Billions of live plant-based probiotics that help look after gut flora.
Fermentation
A natural process enriching the drink with bioactive compounds.
Read the articles
How to read food labels on a fermented drink
The back of a bottle is regulated; the front mostly is not. A plain guide to ingredient order, sugars, live versus pasteurised, alcohol and dates — and what EU rules actually let any food claim.
13 min readHome fermentation for beginners: your first ferment
A practical first-batch guide to fermenting at home: the equipment that actually matters, how to sanitise, which water and fruit to choose, ratios and timing, and how to tell a healthy ferment from one that belongs in the sink.
17 min readHow to store and serve a living fermented drink
A living ferment is still working when it reaches your door. Practical handling from the doorstep to the last inch of the bottle: temperature, pressure, sediment, glass and plate.
12 min readTarhun: the tarragon drink and its food history
Tarragon is the one kitchen herb that tastes sweet before it tastes savoury — which is how it ended up in a bottle. The botany behind the anise note, the herb's long life as a green soft drink, and how our 1 L Tarhun ferment is made.
11 min readTypes of Fermented Drinks: Kombucha, Kefir, Kvass and Beyond
Kombucha, kefir, kvass and fruit ferments share a mechanism and almost nothing else. A plain comparison of what each is made from, what ferments it, how it tastes, and how much alcohol it carries.
12 min readHow our fermented drinks are made, under pressure
A walkthrough of how every ETRAFLORA batch is made, from ionised water at pH 9.2 to a sealed vessel at ten atmospheres held below 45 °C. Each step, and the reason it was chosen over an easier one.
10 min readBacillus subtilis: the hay bacillus
A portrait of one bacterial species: the soil organism named after a jar of wet hay, the endospore that lets it wait out anything, and the fermented foods built on it from Japan to Nigeria.
12 min readLive cultures in fermented food: what they actually are
A bacterial culture is a named, living population — and the three genera printed together on most fermented-food labels are not the same kind of organism at all. What "live" means technically, and why cold storage is a piece of microbiology rather than presentation.
13 min readWhat are enzymes? A plain guide to biological catalysts
Cut an apple and watch it brown: that is an enzyme working in front of you. A plain account of what enzymes are as molecules — the active site, activation energy, and why heat and pH change everything.
12 min readWhat Is Fermentation? Biology, History and Live Drinks
Cabbage, salt and two days produce the same process that makes bread, cheese, kimchi and kombucha. What fermentation is biologically, why almost every culture on earth arrived at it independently, and how a live drink behaves in the bottle.
14 min read