The Root Co

Do you find ordinary Ginger Beers too sweet and too fizzy? We’ve created a spicy, lightly sparkling alternative that actually tastes like fresh Ginger…

We juice carefully-sourced East African Ginger for maximum fiery flavour, keeping our drinks cold-pressed and cloudy!

Five years ago, Will woke up from a general anaesthetic and decided – one day – to shake up the world of non-alcoholic Ginger drinks.

The idea was simple: create a Ginger Beer x Ginger Shot hybrid, with a simple, spicy recipe and fresh juice.

Will found that Ginger Beers are often too sweet and too fizzy (more of a mixer), and that Ginger Shots are frustratingly small, sometimes too harsh - and always in plastic packaging.

In Summer 2020, he finally started brewing and tinkering with Ginger flavour. By batch 25, the recipe was getting close; he left his management consulting job and founded The Root Co in Feb 2021...

FRESH GINGER ROOT FROM SING'ISI, ARUSHA, TANZANIA

Batch 004: Last September, we directly imported two metric tonnes of Tanzanian Ginger for cold-pressing. This root comes straight from smallholder farms in northeastern Tanzania, and is one of the world's spiciest species. Academic research has shown a strong link between East African Ginger Root (Rhizome) and higher concentrations of Gingerol. This is the bioactive compound that yields several natural health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-nausea. Read more about the science behind amazing African Ginger here.

We are particularly proud of our 'as-direct-as-possible' supply chain, which guarantees fair prices for the Tanzanian farmers. The Ginger export operation was carefully coordinated by Gary of Feisty Foods / Hatari, along with Bob and the team at Two Rivers Farm in Sing'isi. They collected fresh Ginger Root from the gates of several smallholder farms; then washed, dried and packed 2,000kg of the good stuff before it landed here in the UK. Amazing!

ORGANIC LIMES FROM MOROCCO

Batch 004: We were careful to source Limes at their juiciest for our September batch, whilst keeping an eye on their organic and vegan credentials. We tried to find a source for fresh Limes in season, and were delighted to work with Natoora to secure organic supply, too. We use the fragrant zest of the Limes in our vegan-friendly Ginger drinks, so this time round we used unwaxed limes (as the majority of waxed Limes use shellac, which isn't vegan). Our Limes come from Morocco, ripe and ready after the sunshine in the Northern Hemisphere last summer.

A classic pairing with Ginger, the acidity of the Lime juice adds complexity and freshness to the overall taste. Limes are also naturally high in Vitamin C and anti-oxidants, enhancing the immunity boost that our Ginger drinks can provide.

FRESH MINT FROM THE UK

Batch 004: We didn't have to look very far to get amazing fresh Mint to steep into our Ginger Beer. We worked with a wholesaler up in Birmingham to source a few kilos of English Mint, which was harder to find than we might have liked in mid-September!

We know that Mint works with Ginger part of the classic Moscow Mule recipe after all), but we were also attracted by its functional benefits for easing stomach problems. The Ginger and Mint one-two should help sort you out.

MAPLE SYRUP FROM CANADA

Batch 004: We use award-winning Pure Maple Syrup, refined from the sap of Maple Trees in Quebec. The harvest season typically runs from March to April. Maple Trees draw up the snowmelt, which percolates back down the tree absorbing sugar crystals. This forms Maple Sap which is carefully collected with 'spiles. Sap is gently tapped-off, whilst preserving the health of the tree. Once gathered, the sap is filtered and reduced down into its sweetest form: the Maple Syrup we know and love! We choose to blend Maple Syrup into our drink for two main reasons:

( Maple Syrup gives a delicious caramel note to our drink, which compliments the Zingerone from the Ginger. This is a spicy-sweet compound that forms when Ginger is heated.

(2) It is also a low-calorie alternative to sugar, with anti-oxidant and anti- inflammatory properties; it is of course vegan and natural, too. p.s. You can also find Zinc and Manganese in Maple Syrup, which is great for immunity and metabolism! Who knew?