How it is made
Living fermentation under pressure, held below 45 °C, in small batches — and tested batch by batch.
Live fermentation, under pressure
Every ETRAFLORA drink is fermented rather than mixed. Fruit, herbs and the starter culture are brought together in ionised, highly alkaline water (pH 9.2) and left to ferment under pressure — around 10 atmospheres — in a closed vessel.
The temperature is held below 45 °C for the whole cycle. That ceiling is the point of the process: the cultures stay live and the ferments that form during fermentation are not cooked out of the drink. Nothing is pasteurised, and nothing is reconstituted from powder or extract.
Small batches, by hand
We brew in small batches rather than continuous production runs. Each batch is prepared, filled and labelled by hand, which is why the range moves with the seasons and why some flavours are made only while their fruit is available.
Fermentation is not something that can be hurried. A batch is ready when it is ready — we do not shorten a cycle to meet demand.
What goes in
The base is ionised, highly alkaline water at pH 9.2. To that we add seasonal fruit and vegetable purées and juices, herbs, artichoke syrup, honey and stevia, and the cultures themselves — plant-based cultures and Bacillus subtilis.
There are no preservatives, no colourings, no flavourings and no GMO ingredients, and no sugar is added beyond the honey and stevia already listed. The full composition of every product is printed on its own product page.
A note on alcohol
Fermentation naturally produces a very small amount of alcohol. The quantity is minimal and the drinks are classed as non-alcoholic, with no restriction on who may drink them other than an intolerance to one of the components.
Testing and food safety
Production runs under a HACCP framework, and every batch is microbiologically tested before it is released. Batch documentation is available on request — email [email protected] and tell us which batch you have.
Cold chain
Because the drinks are living, temperature matters after they leave us as much as before. Finished drinks are held and shipped chilled, between +5 °C and +19 °C, in insulated packaging with tracked carriers. Refrigerate them when they arrive.