Figment Kombucha co-owners Erica Galloway and Jason Dean (left to right) stand behind the bar at the Figment Kombucha brewery. Galloway and Dean worked together before deciding to open Figment Kombucha to the public. “Jason and I worked together at Five Points home brew supply shop,” Galloway said. “I knew that he was interested as well as myself in opening some sort of brewery.” Photo by Luna Reichert
Opened in March, Figment Kombucha is a local kombucha brewery that uses local and seasonal ingredients to create a unique Athens taste.
Tracing as far back as 221 BC in China, kombucha is a fermented, carbonated tea drink known for its health benefits and sweet-and-sour taste. Throughout history, this tea’s popularity has spread throughout the globe.
While this drink is often sold by larger companies at grocery stores, this beverage has been brought to the streets of Athens through Figment Kombucha, a kombucha production and sales spot located at 1085 Baxter St.
“Kombucha is fermented tea. A lot of things that are fermented liquids, you think of them as alcoholic, but kombucha is actually a non-alcoholic fermented beverage,” Figment co-owner Jason Dean said. “A lot of people will drink it as a health drink, (so) it’s kind of a healthy alternative to a sugary, soda-like drink.”
Figment Kombucha co-owner Jason Dean mixes ingredients in a metal pot in the kitchen of the Figment Kombucha brewery. Figment Kombucha’s product relies on local ingredients. “Ours costs us a bit more to make, and (production) takes a little bit longer,” Dean said. “But you’re getting local ingredients that are fresh.” Photo by Luna Reichert
Dean was working at Five Points Growlers and Brew Supply when he met Galloway, a fellow employee. Although Dean originally was interested in brewing beer, he found an interest in kombucha when he started making it at Five Points.
“Before (I began making kombucha at Five Points), I wasn’t really even interested in it. It just seemed like an odd, strange-smelling, strange-tasting kind of drink,” Dean said. “Over time, I got more interested in it, and the flavors that we were making at the time started really picking up sales-wise, and I said, ‘Why is no one making this locally?’”
Galloway had a previous interest in brewing and approached Dean with the prospect of creating a brewery together.
“(Dean and I) both worked at Five Points, and we both had an interest in possibly opening some kind of business separately in the beer industry. I asked him if he would be interested in doing a kombucha brewery, so we decided to get started with working towards opening our own place,” Galloway said. “It finally culminated in us finding this spot, getting the space set up and opening our doors in March to actually start manufacturing kombucha here.”
“The people of Athens really reacted right off the bat. It was so popular at the (Farmers) Market that we couldn’t keep up. The market has been kind of the backbone of the business.”
— Jason Dean,
Co-owner of Figment Kombucha
Before Figment’s front taproom opened, Dean and Galloway’s primary sales were at the Athens Farmers Market, where they would sell their kombucha every Saturday.
“Initially, our only source for sales was through the farmers markets. That gave us a source of income we could count on every single week,” Dean said. “The people of Athens really reacted right off the bat. It was so popular at the (Farmers) Market that we couldn’t keep up. The market has been kind of the backbone of the business.”
Garrett Ceramics employee Caroline Narron was introduced to Figment while also working at the Farmers Market. Since then, she says she has become a loyal customer, drinking Figment’s kombucha almost every week.
“They have an amazing product, and I love being able to have that conveniently here at the Farmers Market,” Narron said. “The flavors that they use, the different fruits that they use in their product is just amazing. Most of it is locally sourced and the flavors just pop.”
Though the business is new and relatively small in size, Dean considers this to be an advantage over larger brewing companies, as it presents them with unique opportunities for producing their kombucha.
Figment Kombucha co-owner Jason Dean measures an ingredient the kitchen of the Figment Kombucha brewery. Kombucha is a sweet drink made by adding bacteria to black or green tea. “A lot of people will drink it as a health drink, (so) it’s kind of a healthy alternative to a sugary, soda-like drink,” Dean said. Photo by Luna Reichert
“We can forage and harvest things seasonally that the bigger companies might not be able to use because you can’t get enough of it to make a year-round flavor,” Dean said. “The fact that we can get a pound of ingredient and use it to flavor a single keg and have something really interesting and seasonal is very different than what a huge brewery is going to be able to do.”
According to Dean, all the responsibilities of running Figment rest on him and Galloway, making the business a major part of their lives.
“The reality of a small business (is that), in the beginning, you’re limited to who’s willing to work for free, essentially,” Dean said. “We both do sales, production, bathroom cleaning, deliveries, working the markets — everything just falls on two people. It basically becomes your life.”
Dean’s wife, Jessica Dean, helps with the needs of the new business in addition to working full-time herself. Jessica believes Figment has made the couple’s schedule more hectic than ever.
“There are weeks where I have to go to another town or city, or even fly on a plane to another place for work, and he’s got to coordinate his schedule, and we may go two weeks without really actually seeing each other except for sleep.”
— Jessica Dean,
Jason Dean’s wife
“There are weeks where I have to go to another town or city, or even fly on a plane to another place for work, and he’s got to coordinate his schedule, and we may go two weeks without really actually seeing each other except for sleep,” Jessica said. “That’s just the reality of a small business.”
As the business has grown, the co-owners have reached out to form partnerships with multiple businesses, including 1000 Faces Coffee. These restaurants and cafes feature Figment Kombucha on their menu for all customers to enjoy.
“We’ve been a wholesale partner of theirs for four or five months now. They’ve been really great to work with,” manager of 1000 Faces Coffee Mike Young said. “It’s really great to be able to offer a different option for people who maybe don’t drink coffee, don’t like coffee or just want something a little bit different.”
Young has developed a positive impression of the business and believes that Figment goes above and beyond in many ways.
“Not only do they have a really great product that we’re proud to present to our customers, but they also just add so much value to the relationship by the service they provide,” Young said. “The relationship that they’ve put so much time and energy into fostering with us and maintaining with us doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s relationships with vendors that care that are the ones that last the longest for us and are the most rewarding for us.”
Looking forward, Galloway hopes that Figment brings more attention to kombucha for customers and other brewers within the Athens community.
“We’ll know that everything’s going great when there are even more people producing kombucha in our local area. Maybe it starts out with one person producing, and then other people start getting in, and they see that it’s actually something that’s viable,” Galloway said. “Then, you start having more competition in your own backyard, which is fantastic because that means you are doing something good, and people are responding to it.”
Figment Kombucha is a newly established kombucha brewery, providing Athens with a local taste for the drink that has seen a recent spike in popularity.
Story by Roxanne Domizi
Video by Colin Frick
Package by Ireland McCage
