Gnarbucha Owner/Brewer Chris Prevatt began cooking with his father at a young age. This early influence helped him develop a passion for scratch cooking and natural flavors. He has worked professionally as a chef, food marketer, and, most recently, brewer.

Chris began brewing kombucha at home as a new and exciting challenge to bring a healthy beverage to his family. Gnarbucha grew organically, starting at the Neptune Beach Farmer’s Market while customizing a manufacturing space in Atlantic Beach. Today, Gnarbucha provides wholesale distribution in addition to selling cups and growlers at the Farmer’s Market.

Chris spends his spare time with his wife and daughters and enjoys football, scuba diving, and fermenting anything he can find in the kitchen that fits in a jar.

About Kombucha

Kombucha is an ancient beverage that can trace its roots to China as long ago as 220 B.C. It was carried along trade routes to the rest of Asia, Europe, and the United States in small batches.

It gained consumer popularity in the 1990s and continues to grow in the United States as more people are exposed to the healthy and delicious benefits of Kombucha.

The beverage is composed of sweetened tea that ferments on a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). The double fermentation process captures probiotics, amino acids, and vitamins that are associated with wellness. The drink produced is raw, vegan, naturally low in sugar, and lightly carbonated.

At Gnarbucha, we brew tea in small batches with a proprietary blend of organic loose-leaf black and green teas and organic cane sugar. Flavors are created using organic and/or local fruits, juices, and herbs. We pride ourselves on freshness, creativity, and fun!

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Q&A

Tell us a little bit about your background and your journey, and what you’re focused on today.

We have been around since 2017, selling kombucha at our shop, three local farmer’s markets, and multiple locations around town. We recently started selling hard kombucha, which is expanding our market in exciting ways.

Who do you serve and what makes you different?

Our customers are of all ages and all backgrounds. People drink kombucha for the probiotic health benefits, as a healthier, low-sugar beverage option, or just because they enjoy the taste. Local kombucha is the best because it’s fresh! We love creating fun flavors.

What would you attribute to your success, and how can people get to know you better?

We have worked hard and had a lot of luck. We have streamlined our processes multiple times and had to change and adjust accordingly. We have met, partnered with, and been inspired by countless other small business owners. We are active partners with Kombucha Brewers International, which keeps us informed of global kombucha trends. Come by during shop hours or find us around town.

What’s the best part about living on the First Coast?

Year-round farmer’s markets and the beach! We have a great community of people committed to a healthy lifestyle who support local businesses like ours.

Anything else that you’d like to add?

We love being part of Atlantic Beach and are proud of the growth occurring in Mayport.

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Craft-brewed kombucha gives and gets local love

This unusual beverage contains live cultures — you know, the good ones. Flavors both sweet and tart include dragonfruit, mango, ginger turmeric, passionfruit, apricot, tart cherry, beets with lavender lemonade, loquat and ginger hibiscus — not all flavors are always available but are dependent on what fruit and veggies are seasonal, obvee. It’s becoming less unusual, too, as its fame spreads.

Owner/brewer Chris Prevatt has been concocting the exotic and apparently “addictive” elixirs for some time now and is a real pro. What you’re drinking is a sweetened tea that has been fermented with bacteria and yeast, yielding a potion heavy with probiotics, amino acids and vitamins — lightly carbonated, it’s also low in sugar.

The product is served throughout Northeast Florida, at restaurants and farmers’ markets — and you can snag oodles at their brick-n-mortar shop. Now for a drum roll … ta-da! They’ve just introduced their newest iteration of the beloved libation, the first ‘hard kombucha,’ Gnarbucha Blueberry Lemonade Hard Kombucha, at 5 percent ABV. The usual kombucha is a mere 0.5 percent ABV, a negligible amount that practically anyone can imbibe and suffer no tipsy effects. Translation: The whole family can slurp to their healthy heart’s content. Gnarbucha also offers beachy-themed swag: T-shirts and nice growler bottles; who knows what’s going to be available in the future? Because that’s where Gnarbucha Kombucha is going — straight into the future, straight to the top. Don’t get left behind; hit it soon!

Writer Marlene Dryden