Prebiotic tea company and cannabis-infused seltzer line gain a following

HIS NATIVE ECUADOR. TWO BOSTON ENTREPRENEURS ARE DRAWING ON A TRADITIONAL RECIPE TO CREATE A DRINK INSPIRED BY THE FLAVORS OF THEIR HOMELAND. IN ECUADOR, WE KNOW IT AS ORCHARD OHANA. THAT’S A BLEND OF HERBS. IT HAS MINT, CHAMOMILE, LEMONGRASS, LEMON. BAM’S CO-FOUNDERS NICO ESTRELLA AND JUAN GIRALDO USED THAT HERBAL TEA BLEND AS THE BASE OF WAKU PREBIOTIC TEA TO THAT TRADITIONAL RECIPE. THEY ADDED FRUIT FLAVORS AND PREBIOTIC FIBER FROM CHICORY ROOT ESTRELLA SHARED HIS FAVORITE FLAVOR WITH ME PASSION FRUIT. CHEERS! CHEERS TO YOU. IT’S LIKE A LITTLE TANGY, NOT TOO SWEET. WE USE REAL PASSION FRUIT FOR THIS ONE, AND YOU CAN TASTE THIS. ALSO, A LITTLE BIT OF THE HERBAL TONES IN THE BACKGROUND, BUT IT’S MORE LIKE FRUIT FORWARD AND I THINK IT’S THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SWEET FOR ME. ESTRELLA AND GIRALDO THOUGHT AMERICAN CONSUMERS WOULD BE DRAWN TO A BENEFIT OF HORCHATA SUSANNAH. IT’S FAMOUS BECAUSE OF THE TASTE OF THE TEA AND ALSO BECAUSE OF THE GUT HEALTH BENEFITS. WAKU COMES FROM A QUECHUA WORD THAT MEANS TOGETHER, AND IT THIS SENSE OF TOGETHERNESS AND COMMUNITY THAT WE REALLY LIKE AS A BRAND. WE WANT IT TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE FELT PASSIONATE ABOUT. WE ALSO WANTED TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GENERATE IMPACT IN ECUADOR. WE SOURCED ALL OF THE HERBS DIRECTLY FROM SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN ECUADOR BY DOING THAT, WE GENERATE ECONOMIC IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITIES OF FARMERS IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS BECAUSE WE BUY THE INGREDIENTS AT FAIR TRADE PRICES FROM THEM. MORE THAN 40% OF THE FARMERS BACK HOME ARE LIVING UNDER THE POVERTY LINE. THAT MEANS, LIKE LIVING WITH LESS THAN $2 PER DAY. WHEN YOU GO BACK HOME AND YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FAMILY DRINK IT, WHAT DO THEY THINK? I THINK IF AN ECUADORIAN TASTES A WAKU DRINK, I’M NOT SURE IF THEY WOULD IMMEDIATELY THINK, OH, THIS IS LIKE HORCHATA BECAUSE IT’S IT’S EVOLVED A LOT FROM WHAT WE STARTED. IT’S LIKE WE GAVE IT OUR OWN TWIST. TAKE A QUICK GLANCE AROUND THIS PRODUCTION FACILITY IN GEORGETOWN AND IT LOOKS JUST LIKE A BREWERY. BUT THE TEAM AT LIVEA IS CREATING A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUZZ. THESE TANKS ARE FILLED WITH CANNABIS INFUSED SELTZER. MY FAVORITE QUESTION THAT PEOPLE ASK IS YOU CAN DRINK IT. KRISTEN ROGERS IS LEVIAS CO-FOUNDER AND BRAND MANAGER, AND SHE SAYS THE ANSWER IS YES. IT’S POSSIBLE TO DRINK CANNABIS. SO WHAT DOES HAVING ONE OF LEVI’S SELTZERS FEEL LIKE FOR HER? IT FEELS JUST LIKE A GLASS OF WINE. 15 20 MINUTES ON SET AND THEN 2 TO 3 HOURS AND YOU’RE NOT FEELING IT ANYMORE. PRODUCTION STARTS WITH THE DELIVERY OF CANNABIS FLOWER THAT’S GROWN IN AN MILFORD, THEN PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR SEAN O’SULLIVAN MAKES IT INTO OIL. I’M GOING TO PUT IT INTO MY EYES. CO2 EXTRACTION MACHINE. FROM THERE, I’M GOING TO GET FULL SPECTRUM CO2 OIL OUT OF THE CANNABIS MATERIAL. THE OIL IS MIXED WITH AN EMULSION TO MAKE IT WATER SOLUBLE. THIS ONE CONTAINER WILL GO INTO ONE OF THE TANKS OUT THERE. WHAT THIS IS GOING TO DOSE IS 14,085 CANS OF LIVEA. WE CHOSE TO GO THE ROUTE OF AT FIRST THREE DIFFERENT EFFECTS. SO WHEN YOU WALK INTO A DISPENSARY, WE WANT YOU TO SAY, OKAY, SO I REALLY WANT SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO UM, GIVE ME ENERGY. THAT IS OUR ACHIEVE SELTZER. IT IS A RASPBERRY LIME SELTZER. THEN WE HAVE CELEBRATE, WHICH IS A HYBRID THAT IS SORT OF MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. LIKE IT’S NOT GOING TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP, BUT IT’S IT’S GOING TO HELP YOU SORT OF RELAX. AND THEN WE HAVE DREAM, WHICH IS GREAT FOR NIGHTTIME. GOING TO SLEEP NO MATTER THE FLAVOR LEVY A SELTZERS CONTAIN FIVE MILLIGRAMS OF CANNABIS. ROGERS SAYS NEW USERS MIGHT WANT TO EASE IN WHEN YOU’RE FIRST TRYING OLIVIA FOR THE FIRST TIME, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE NEW TO CANNABIS. WE LOVE PEOPLE TO TRY HALF A CAN FIRST, BECAUSE MORE THAN LIKELY YOU’RE GOING TO GET LIKE A YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT ROGER SAYS SHE HOPES THE LEGALIZATION OF THE ADULT USE OF CANNABIS IS CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF THE DRUG. I’M REALLY EXCITED TO, YOU KNOW, HELP OTHER PEOPLE ENJOY THIS AS WELL AND ALSO MAYBE REDUCE SOME STIGMA AT THE SAME TIME. AND LIVEA ALSO MAKES SEASONAL FLAVORS. AND IN ADDITION TO SELTZERS, THEY MAKE TINCTURES, WHICH ARE CANNABIS OIL EXTRACTS, WHICH YOU CAN THEN PUT INTO ANY DRINK YOU’D LIKE TO. AND BACK TO WAHOO! NAOKO TRIES TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE TO US BETWEEN PROBIOTICS VERSUS PREBIOTICS. PROBIOTICS ARE THE HEALTHY BACTERIA THAT ARE IN OUR GUTS VERSUS PREBIOTICS ARE THE FOOD FOR IT. THINK PROBIOTIC AS A PLANT AND PREBIOTI