Our story

You’ll find us at the edge of the Arctic circle, where natural beauty and extreme conditions  combine to create an environment like nowhere else. It is here that we brew our kombucha, raw and triple-fermented in the traditional method, using some of the purest water on earth. We pride ourselves on sourcing organic and fair trade ingredients, and hand-foraging the wild Icelandic berries that flavour our brews. As a family-owned company, our kombucha is handmade with love, and we hope that the care we take comes through in each delicious, refreshing bottle.

Kombucha Iceland is the brainchild of husband and wife team Manuel and Ragna. When not making kombucha they are busy raising their young family, while pursuing successful careers as an engineer and an anthropologist.

Manuel grew up in rural Cuba, where his parents fermented traditional beverages from local ingredients like rice and wild plums. This instilled in him a lifelong curiosity about how these mysterious tonics were created.

After moving to Iceland in 2006 he pursued a Doctor’s degree in Chemistry, so when he began seeking a relaxing pastime away from his studies home brewing felt like the obvious choice. Manuel found the complex processes involved in fermentation so fascinating that he threw out his recipe books and began experimenting with his own formulas. While searching for new ingredients to brew with, he came across the ancient practice of fermenting tea to make kombucha.

Intrigued by both the folklore and the science behind kombucha, Manuel began to drink it to energize and sustain him through his rigorous study sessions – and it worked! After graduation, he knew the drink was something extraordinary that he wanted to share with others. Iceland’s first commercial kombucha brewery was created.

Ragna is a native of Iceland and, as such, she is deeply invested in the creative process of brewing kombucha with water and ingredients derived directly from her homeland.

Although she grew up in Reykjavík she’s a nature lover at heart. Summers as a child were always spent in the countryside, and these days she regularly enjoys trips to the mountains, foraging for berries with Manuel and their three daughters.

A lover of culture and community, Ragna is an avid traveller and has lived in Ecuador and Spain. She holds a Masters in Anthropology, and is currently working on her doula certification.