More than a drink.
A calling.
Tea of Life began with one woman, one SCOBY, and one question: what if a drink could actually support the way you feel? A decade later, that question is still driving every batch we brew.
Elizabeth Gunther
Brewer. Founder. Living proof.
"The first time I tasted real kombucha, I felt a shift. I had been managing Type 1 Diabetes for years, searching for something natural that actually worked. That first sip changed everything."
Elizabeth grew up in a home where tea was never optional. There was always a pot on the stove, and whoever finished it made the next one. That ritual became something deeper when, years later, a diabetes diagnosis reshaped her relationship with food, health, and what she put into her body.
Her search led her to raw, unpasteurised kombucha. She started brewing at home with a single SCOBY. She shared bottles with friends. And quietly, without a business plan or a marketing budget, Tea of Life was born.
The same SCOBY culture from those first home batches remains at the heart of every bottle we brew today. Some things should not change.
Fermented drinks should actually be alive.
Ours are.
Three things we will never compromise on
We never pasteurise. Pasteurisation kills the living cultures that make kombucha functional. Our bottles arrive at your door exactly as they left our brewery — raw, alive, and working.
Most kombucha ferments for 7 to 10 days. Ours ferments for up to 30. Slower fermentation naturally reduces sugar and builds a richer culture of beneficial acids and yeasts. Patience is the ingredient no one else is willing to afford.
We brew in Cape Town with indigenous botanicals. Honeybush. Buchu. Sceletium. Rooibos. South Africa grows some of the most powerful natural wellness ingredients on earth. We use them because they belong here, not because they are trending.
How a home kitchen became a health movement
A turning point that changed everything
Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after a car accident. Her search for natural ways to support blood sugar balance and daily wellness would eventually lead her to kombucha — and to founding one of South Africa's most trusted living beverage brands.
Brewed at home. Shared with the world.
Elizabeth brewed her first batch of raw kombucha at home using a single SCOBY mother culture. She felt an immediate shift. She started sharing bottles with friends and family. Word spread. That same SCOBY still lives in our brewery today.
Rebecca and James join the brewing circle
As demand grew beyond what one person could manage alone, Tea of Life welcomed its first team members. Rebecca and James formed the core of what would become our family of brewers — each person chosen for care and craft, not just capacity.
A 70m² home in Muizenberg
Tea of Life moved into its first dedicated production facility — a compact 70m² unit in Muizenberg. Small batches. High standards. The hands-on approach that began in a kitchen carried straight into the brewery, where it has stayed ever since.
A brand that finally looked the part
Tea of Life underwent a full rebrand — a new visual identity that matched the premium quality that had always been in the bottle. The ingredients, the culture, and the mission remained unchanged. Now the packaging and brand presence said so too.
300m² and a new team member
We outgrew Muizenberg and moved into a new 300m² facility built for proper production, bottling, and logistics. Jessie joined the team to strengthen stockist relationships across South Africa, helping Tea of Life reach more premium shelves and wellness retailers.
GFSI Food Safety Certification
Zizi joined the team as Food Safety Officer and Aidan came on in production. Tea of Life earned its GFSI Intermediate Food Safety Certification — formal recognition of quality standards we had always held ourselves to, now independently verified.
Still alive. Still uncompromising.
A decade after that first home batch, Tea of Life is stocked in luxury hotels, wine estates, and premium wellness retailers across South Africa. Our kombucha is still brewed in small batches. Still unpasteurised. Still connected to the same SCOBY culture Elizabeth started with. The movement keeps growing.
More lives.
More REAL.
Tea of Life continues to grow in ever expanding circles. More South African ingredients. More functional blends. More people who feel the difference a truly living drink may make in their daily wellness.
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