Wilder Ferments Kombuchas Capture Coastal Flavors
A Fresh Spin on an Ancient Brew
by Karen Lewis
What happens when you blend water, organic teas, sugar, a SCOBY, herbs, and say the magic words? You get Wilder Kombucha, which is one of Mendocino County’s newest startups, launched by Nicholas (Niko) Ramsdell and Evita Sikelianos. Kombucha is a fermented beverage thought to have originated in China more than two thousand years ago, where it was called the “Tea of Immortality.”
Kombucha develops during a controlled fermentation process into a beverage that’s refreshing, like soda pop or beer, yet ultimately low in sugar and <0.5% alcohol. One of the fastest growing bottled beverage sectors in the United States today, kombucha delivers complex fizzy flavors along with probiotic (healthy bacteria) and antioxidant elements, vitamin B, and other nutrients.
Niko and Evita take pride in their small-scale production, with careful attention to craft. It’s a multi-stage process to get from raw tea to bottled kombucha. Wilder selects a blend of organic, fair-trade green and black teas, filtered water, and organic cane sugar. Every batch of kombucha requires a “starter” to get the fermentation going. Fondly known as a SCOBY—Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast—this membrane grows during fermentation when wild yeast interacts with natural bacteria and sugar. After several weeks, the SCOBY is removed from the Kombucha and can be divided and used to start new generations of the brew. Niko held up a SCOBY that will jumpstart a new batch of “booch.” It reminded me of a moon: round, gorgeous, and wild as a journey across craters. There’s a sense of reverence here, in the same way a baker guards their sourdough starter, knowing it’s connected to history as well as to future generations of nourishment.
The balance of sugars to alcohol and yeast develops in dynamic synergy. Careful control of temperature and timing assures a consistent product. “After the first fermentation, we remove the SCOBY and add the herbal blends. Then, secondary fermentation starts,” Niko explained. Once secondary fermentation with flavor ingredients is complete, Niko and Evita filter and bottle the new kombucha. After bottling, traces of residual sugars continue to ferment, lending fizz to the live, raw brew in the bottle.
In the production area where Niko and Evita bottle the beverage, one batch caught my eye with its shimmering ruby color. “That’s the elderberries,” Evita explained. “Elderberries give a blush to the Elder Tonic, which is one of our bestsellers.”
A glimpse of Wilder’s secret recipes—handwritten notes and diagrams—calls to mind a treasure map. Since Wilder products are fermented in small batches, the partners often create new flavors based on seasonally-available fresh ingredients like locally grown peaches, watermelon, or wild-crafted mint. According to the founders, “We’re always innovating. It’s a carefully measured alchemy.”
Niko and Evita met while they were studying film and photography at Syracuse University, and Niko admits to a childhood fondness for the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), where a youngster’s misadventures in the “Fizzy Lifting” soda room lead to mayhem. As an adult, during an extended visit to coastal Kenya, Niko, with some friends, brewed his first batch of kombucha with some surprising results. He learned that at equatorial temperatures, kombucha ferments very quickly. A small batch of tangy ginger booch was ready in just three days. After that, Niko continued to explore and fine-tune his home brewing skills, all the while brainstorming how to turn this passion into a business.
When the idea of starting a company was first conceived, Evita was finishing a ten-month apprenticeship with herbalist Liz Migliorelli at Sister Spinster. Although Wilder is careful not to make any medicinal or nutritional claims, Evita is excited about the many herbs that support our bodies. “First Green was created during our local foraging forays in the spring, when nettles, horsetail, and mint are all beginning to grow, providing the body with much-needed trace minerals after winter.” The partners work together to test new blends. According to Evita, “Black Birch was inspired by flavors from the original soda pops—birch bark, sarsaparilla root, and vanilla.” Seasonal Wilder Kombucha flavors have also featured strawberries from Nye Ranch or hops from Wavelength Farm.
Connections to community are important to Evita and Niko. The first public tasting of their kombucha happened during the 2018 Mendocino County Herb Guild Craft Fair in Caspar. Partly due to public enthusiasm, and also following long-held ambitions to start their own business, they launched formally as Wilder Ferments in early 2019. “It was a culmination of years of research and development, followed by months of licensing, logistics, and supply sourcing,” says Niko.
In the spring of 2019, Niko and Evita built a booth for the Mendocino County Farmers Markets and began sampling and selling bottled Wilder. They also established retail accounts like the Elk Store, Corners of the Mouth, Surf Super, Fog Eater, and Café Beaujolais. In 2020, Wilder anticipates distribution countywide using the MendoLake Food Hub.
According to Niko, “The Farmers Market is where we really started, and it’s where the most fun happens. We meet a lot of tourists coming through, as well as locals. We do taste tests for new seasonal flavors and have a chance to communicate with customers and also local growers, where we discover new ingredients.” Evita applauds the local Farmers Markets, noting, “It was exhilarating to show up in the public eye with a product that we were proud of. It also means a lot to me to be a part of the incredible community of farmers and makers at the markets.”
Current production takes place at Chubby’s Commercial Kitchen in Fort Bragg, a shared-use facility where Wilder enjoys a dedicated, climate-controlled fermentation room and secure refrigeration space in a community of other small-scale food entrepreneurs. Wilder bottles their kombucha in traditional brown glass to protect live cultures from UV light. A friend from college days, graphic artist Christopher DeLorenzo, designed the distinctive Wilder Kombucha labels. Black line art on white labels adds a fresh, fun look to the bottles, with botanical designs that reflect pure and healthy Mendocino lifestyles. Once bottled, there’s little hint of the color, nor the fizzy effervescence that’s characteristic of kombucha, and because unpasteurized kombucha has a life of its own, it must remain refrigerated until drinking.
My first sip of Wilder Kombucha was a complete surprise; it delivered a bubbly champagne-like joy along with hints of mint and something wild. The refreshment fortified my energy for a long drive home. I also learned that Elder Tonic isn’t just for elders, but for everyone who loves elderberries. Elder Tonic, Black Birch, Heart + Thorn, and First Green are consistently available. Other seasonally-available flavors have included Blackberry Mint, Ginger Lemon, Fall Fruits, Rose Mint, Watermelon Chili, Turmeric Black Pepper, and Strawberry Tulsi. The future will bring new recipe innovations including a line of kombucha vinegars soon to hit the shelves.
Every drop of Wilder Kombucha is connected to a centuries-long tradition, reinterpreted by Niko and Evita and flavored with restorative herbs and fruits, many of them sourced locally. These seasonally inspired brews are as refreshing and invigorating as a walk beside the ocean, with the salt-sprinkled winds and sun-shimmered water prodding our hibernating minds awake.
Wilder Ferments can be found at the Farmers Markets in Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Gualala, and select retailers. On Instagram @WilderFerments.
Karen Lewis is a poet and writer who lives near Albion and cherishes this wild, inspiring place we call home.
Photos by Nik Zvolensky, courtesy of Wilder Ferments.
