Starters

Making your own fermented soda starts with the right soda starter. In our range you will find starter cultures and SCOBYs for making kombucha, water kefir, jun and ginger beer, suitable for both beginners and experienced fermentation enthusiasts.

Buy soda starters

Making your own fermented soda starts with the right starter culture. With a good soda starter you can easily make natural, lightly sparkling drinks such as kombucha, water kefir, jun and ginger beer. Every starter has its own bacteria and yeasts, which means flavour, fermentation speed and final result all differ. In our range you will find various soda starters for both beginners and experienced fermentation enthusiasts.

What is a soda starter?

A soda starter is a living starter culture of bacteria and yeasts that allows you to make your own fermented drinks. During fermentation these micro-organisms convert sugar into, among other things, organic acids, carbon dioxide and flavour compounds. This creates a natural, lightly sparkling drink with a fresh and complex flavour.

Depending on the starter you choose, you can make different fermented sodas, such as kombucha, water kefir, jun or traditional ginger beer. Each starter contains a unique composition of bacteria and yeasts, which means flavour, fermentation speed and final result all differ. With the right soda starter you can easily make your own natural fermented drinks again and again.

Which soda starter do you need?

There are various starter cultures for fermented sodas, each with their own characteristics and uses.

Kombucha SCOBY

A Kombucha SCOBY is used for fermenting sweetened tea. During fermentation a fresh, slightly sour and lightly sparkling drink is created that can be endlessly varied with herbs, fruit and spices. The SCOBY keeps growing during fermentation and can be used over and over again.

Jun SCOBY

The Jun SCOBY is similar to kombucha, but is traditionally used with green tea and honey. This results in a softer, more refined and often slightly lighter flavour. Jun usually ferments faster than kombucha and is therefore also known as the elegant sister of kombucha.

Water kefir grains

Water kefir grains are living colonies of bacteria and yeasts used to make a lightly sparkling, fresh drink based on water and sugar. Water kefir is easy to maintain and can be combined with fruit, herbs or fruit juices for virtually endless flavour variations.

Within our range you will find real water kefir grains from Kefirko. The advantage of these water kefir grains is that they keep longer than grains from other brands.

Water kefir starter

A water kefir starter is ideal for anyone who wants to start making water kefir. With proper maintenance the starter keeps multiplying, so you can ferment new batches again and again.

Ginger Beer Plant

The Ginger Beer Plant (GBP) is a traditional starter culture for making authentic ginger beer. Unlike an ordinary ginger bug, the Ginger Beer Plant consists of a unique symbiosis of bacteria and yeasts that provide a characteristic flavour, natural carbonation and a centuries-old fermentation method.

What is the difference between the soda starters?

All soda starters ferment sugar into a fresh, slightly sour and often sparkling drink, but each starter uses a different combination of bacteria and yeasts. As a result, they differ in flavour, ingredients used and fermentation method.

Kombucha and jun are both made with a SCOBY and tea as a base, whereby kombucha traditionally uses black tea and sugar and jun uses green tea with honey. Water kefir is made with water kefir grains and sugar water, while the Ginger Beer Plant is specially developed for fermenting ginger beer. Which starter suits you best therefore mainly depends on the drink you want to make and the desired flavour profile.