Bill Moses likes playing with fire. Cold fire, that is: fermentation.
Like our ancestors did for thousands of years, Moses experiments with the fermentation of foods to provide nutrition and preservation. He first started a winery in Ojai, California, turning organic grapes into healthy wine. Subsequently, he launched the probiotic and kombucha drink Kevita which he successfully sold to PepsiCo in 2016. Then, when he was ready to launch his next fermented foods business, a real fire almost took his new startup and his own life. Out of the flames, Flying Embers—organic ‘hard’ (alcoholic) kombucha and seltzer—was born.
It is said that the advent of fire—and therefore cooking—was the pivotal moment in human evolution. Fire requires external energy—wood, fuel. Fermentation, on the other hand, is the process of “cooking” or transformation by the enzymes that are present in a food. The root of the word fermentation comes from the Latin verb “to boil”: microbes—yeast—break down the fats, proteins and carbs in a food to free nutrition and flavors that otherwise would have been inaccessible. There is no need for external energy or fire. When the right conditions are created, fermentation is a self-generating, ‘free’ energy. Throughout history, fermentation has been equally critical for feeding humans.
In November 2017 in a century old wine cellar, Bill Moses and his team were testing the ancient alchemy of fermentation driven by a vision to create tasty ‘better for you’ alcoholic brews with functional benefits. Their work was rudely interrupted by the Thomas Fire—one of the largest wildfires in the history of California—descending on the town of Ojai. Against a mandatory evacuation order, Moses assembled a crew of friends to fight the fire and protect the historic winery, and the brews, strains, and formulas of his new company.
Ojai is situated at 750 feet above the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by mountains. The fire was coming from three directions swept up by fierce and warm Santa Ana winds. The decision to stay was a decision about life. If the fire would hit the town, there would be no escape. For three nights, the team prepared for a battle with flames and heat. They filled a swimming pool for a protection of last resort. The fire chief pleaded twice for their evacuation to no avail. “I remember saying goodbye to my wife and children on the phone as they evacuated. That was incredibly hard”, says Moses still shocked several years later.
The fire came within a few hundred feet. One spark could have meant the end. Instead, in the final night, the winds miraculously turned. Life returned to Ojai. And, Moses—in awe of the disaster he had survived—knew the name of his new company: Flying Embers.
With the survival came a deep sense of gratitude and respect—for nature and for the heroes, the firefighters and other first responders who protect life. Moses: “The dangerous adventure also taught me that life is most truly lived at full capacity when we are asked to give everything. Humans function at their best when they raise their vibrations in search for transformation, to change their reality—just like fire and fermentation.” In other words: the difference between ‘getting by’ and experiencing true joy in life, is a spark of inspiration—a flying ember.
Einstein’s famous equation—E=mc2—describes the interchangeability of mass and energy. All matter, including food, is energy—vibration. It makes a difference what we eat and drink. When we aim to live at our best, we need to feed ourselves with the cleanest and highest quality food. The reward is not just better health, but also more joy. When we raise our vibrations, we change our experience through the phenomenon of sympathetic resonance: our environment begins to resonate with us as ‘like begets like’. It is scientifically true that we get ‘good’ or ‘bad’ vibes from people.
The fermented beverages of Flying Embers aim to spark higher vibrations. They are made with the purest organic botanical ingredients that have lifted and healed the spirits of our ancestors in many traditions around the world: Turmeric, Ginger, and Ginseng. Fermentation ‘unlocks’ the energy—the phyto chemicals like polyphenols —in these ancient roots and produces a small amount of alcohol which adds to the purity of the beverages.
Today, the health benefits from fermented foods are gaining widespread acceptance. Consumers are beginning to realize that, yes, bacteria can be pathogens that carry disease. At the same time, healthy microbes help us digest food and they defend, heal and protect us through our complex immune system which is for 70 percent located in our gut. There cannot be health without a harmonious relationship with the millions of micro-organisms around us. “As counterintuitive as that may sound, in many situations disinfection and sanitization cause more harm than good as it destabilizes fragile equilibriums of micro-organisms”, says Moses.
Since ancient times, fermented foods and beverages have been the natural way to reinforce healthy—probiotic = ‘pro life’—bacteria and make them available for the digestion of our food. Fermentation is a dance of bacteria that is part of a healthy harmony with nature. It is a lost art based on ageless wisdom and practices that modern science is beginning to rediscover. The future of fermented, functional foods to support health and healing is only beginning to reveal itself.
Flying Embers aims to contribute to renewing the relationship of people with the tradition of fermentation. Fermented drinks with added adaptogen botanicals that help stabilize stress and imbalance in the body support digestion and vitality. The ultimate objective is to support anyone’s mission to achieve their highest potential—or to become the courageous hero that inspired the launch of Flying Embers.
The company is aiming for consumers who are looking for “something more than alcohol and who are conscious of what they are putting in their bodies”, according to Moses. It begins with “what is not in the beverages”: no gluten—making hard kombuchas and seltzers an attractive alternative for most beers—, no sugar, no carbs, low calories, and no pesticides—organic. “Then we ferment with an adaptogen root blend that is specifically supporting your well-being”, says Moses. The Flying Embers beverages are produced in the company’s factory at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Ventura, California.
Flying Embers is currently sold in 13,000 stores in the U.S.. The competition is fierce. Moses: “Recently I heard at a beverage industry symposium that worldwide each year 300 new beverages are launched. Ultimately, only one of these launches succeeds.”
Flying Embers has around 100 employees who all own stock in the company that is further funded with venture capital. Through the non-profit The Embers Foundation, one percent of the revenue of the company goes to support first responders to acknowledge their courage to live life to the fullest. “Many companies are addressing the source of climate change. Our first focus is to support the people who are trying to manage the outcome of global warming”, says Moses. Nonetheless, Flying Embers is the first hard kombucha and seltzers company repurposing the CO2—that is generated in the fermentation process—and adding it to the beverages.
Flying Embers’ support for heroes has an aspirational social dimension as well. Moses: “When we aim to be the best we can be, we contribute most positively and effectively to the world around us.” There is a direct relationship between taking better care of oneself—through eating better food and drinking better beverages—and taking better care of others and our environment. Better food contributes to better, more sustainable behavior and a better and healthier society. In that sense, each Flying Embers’ kombucha and seltzers also supports the fight against climate change and future wildfires.
There will always be fires. We can, however, prevent unnecessary and destructive ones. And, paradoxically enough—as is captured in the core of the history and mission of Flying Embers—that effort begins with the awareness that fire, in all its forms, is also a source of life. [JK]
More information: www.flyingembers.com
