Unity Vibration adds staff, opens new tasting room

It's been a busy year for Ypsilanti kombucha brewer Unity Vibration. The company, founded by Rachel and Tarek Kanaan after they began experimenting with brewing their own kombucha and kombucha beer in 2006, has expanded the reach of their product from two markets to 12 since January of last year. Today, Unity Vibration kombucha is sold in Michigan, Chicago, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Florida, Washington, Oregon, L.A., San Francisco and Sacramento. "It takes time to grow a truly unique product and create a category," says Rachel Kanaan of Unity Vibration's unique kombucha beer. "We get a lot of positive feedback everyday, so we know it's worth growing at a healthy rate." There's evidence of the small company's growth at their headquarters as well. The Kanaans have hired a staff of four, and are now building a new tasting room in their Ypsilanti brewing facility.  "We wanted more direct contact with our customers," says Tarek Kanaan, "and it seemed like a cool thing to do. Eventually we will have a tasting room either in Depot Town or Michigan Ave, which will be much more of a healthy foods, kombucha, music-venue kind of hip spot." The first Unity Vibration tasting room is currently under construction in the company's Ecorse Rd. facility. Though the footprint will be small, it will include a bar and a 'keezer,' which is a converted freezer with six taps coming out of it. At the tasting room, visitors will be able to buy growlers, as well as packaged products, and taste samples.  The Kanaans plan for continued growth down the road as well. They hope to expand their operations to include a farm where their ingredients can be grown, and to hire additional staff. In the meantime, they'll keep growing their list of new kombucha flavors, including the new Bourbon Peach, Kombucha Pale Ale and their seasonal Kombucha Tea Cranberry Clementine.  Source: Rachel and Tarek Kanaan, Unity Vibration Living Kombucha Tea Writer: Natalie Burg