Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Thorstenson.
Hi Alyssa. Can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My first experience with kombucha was my husband shaking a bottle up (pro tip: never shake your booch) and opening it in our car on a summer day. The smell lingered for a while, and I had no interest in kombucha. After a while, I kept seeing kombucha everywhere, so I started trying different brands and flavors and enjoying and craving it. Our family of 5 drank a lot of kombucha, so after having my 3rd baby, I decided to try brewing my own. After experimenting, I found a groove but then encountered another problem. The 1-gallon lasted only a short time for our family, so we bought our 1st 7-gallon fermenter. Then we had an abundance of delicious kombucha. We started giving some to family, friends, and coworkers, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. I was encouraged or asked to make more, and people would love to buy it locally from me instead of the big brands from the grocery store. I began consuming books, blogs, podcasts, and all things kombucha, and we created our brand: Shark Tooth Kombucha. As a military family, we had moved around, and one of our fondest memories was hunting for shark teeth on Florida’s beaches. We started doing farmer’s markets and events and supplying kegs wholesale to a few locations. We are passionate about health, service, sustainability, integrity, family, and community. We hope to open someday a taproom where anyone is welcome to hang out and enjoy a glass or refill a growler of our delicious kombucha!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been bumpy in many ways. Although growing exponentially in popularity in the last 10 years, the kombucha industry is still new to many. A portion of our job is educating the community about kombucha and what it is. There have been many roadblocks, but we love finding creative and innovative solutions!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We craft-brew kombucha in small batches using quality seasonal, local, and organic ingredients. We love our branding, and our community does as well. We enjoy creating fun merch that people are excited to wear. At markets and events, we offer cups and growlers of kombucha. Currently, we also provide growler delivery to your door. In the past, we have collaborated with other local brands that we love to put on things such as beach cleans ups to serve our community. We hope to offer kombucha-making classes and other workshop events eventually! I am most proud of how much we have grown in the past 2 years; I never thought this would be a reality.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Riding ATVs and exploring freely on my grandparent’s land in Massachusetts
Pricing:
- Cups – $5
- New 32 oz growler – $15
- Fill up 32oz growler – $8
- New 64oz growler- $25
- Fill up 64oz growler – $14
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sharktoothkombucha.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharktoothkombucha/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071956638840&mibextid=LQQJ4d
