Happy Kombucha Avis 

Edited after response:
Lengthy delivery times are understandable (as I said, “fair enough”), but still worth mentioning. Swapping soaps I ordered for ones I didn’t may have been well-intended but you should have asked first. I would have been more understanding if there had actually been a note explaining in the box (and there was not) or a post-facto apology for the slip-up after I posted my review.

What I find more difficult to understand is a company rep who thinks my 3* (average) rating justifies a retreat from professionalism, a rep who may (incorrectly) believe that berating a customer (who is left out of pocket for a product she cannot use and without the one she needed) will lead to a revised rating, and a rep that arrogates to dictate where customers can or cannot leave their reviews.

True, there is a “national crisis” and many customers - myself included - will no doubt appreciate the long hours your staff put in. It is not, however, clear to me why you imagine that this crisis should shield your company from receiving ratings any less than “great”; you are, after all, predominantly a purveyor of fermented beverage supplies, not staples or medicine, and what may seem to you a selfless, even heroic, effort is likely to serve your company well too. Yes, there are many businesses that are going under because they were forced to close and/or demand has dried up overnight - and that is quite different from a company like yours who is allowed to stay open and who struggles to meet unprecedented demand. I would think you are one of the lucky ones, no?

(And for the record, our products were purchased from you under my spouse’s name in March 2020 and they arrived in the first week of this month)
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Heard good things about their kombucha scobies so ordered a kit and 3 bars of tea tree soap from them. Not sure how the scoby is working yet but wasn’t pleased that they substituted neem soap without asking. Also, it might be better if they made it a bit clearer that their kits don’t come with tea. The order took a long time to come but they warned me in advance so fair enough.

Bought both Kombutcha start kits and Milk Kefir grains. Both worked fine and were delivered on time.

Wow my experience with Happy Kombucha is so positive and bears no resemblance to the negative reviews on here. I feel sorry for the business owners having had to deal with such negative people!

After researching thoroughly on kefir grains suppliers, I have settled on HK and my experience has been more than amazing. Great customer service over the phone, and grains arrived quickly in superb condition.

I was enjoying my very first batch of home-made kefir within 48 hours of receiving grains. It's now been a week or so, and I swear the grains have already doubled in quantity, and I sadly had to bin half so to keep making same quantity of kefir! HK's grains are really active!

My advice to anyone is to read and follow HK's detailed instructions to a tee and you really can't go wrong!

Very very happy with this company. The order arrived promptly. I had a question before it arrived and the delightful lady that I spoke to on the phone was very helpful and informative. I understand they are busy there, but it really felt like she had time to talk to me.

The product arrived exactly as described as well.

Very happy with this company! Thank you Happy Kombucha!

Note that the seller constantly changes their response to this review. Guilty conscience, perhaps?

I ordered from this company via Amazon. The product was dispatched on 2nd January and still had not arrived by 10 January (expected by 7th at the latest).

Although Royal Mail had tracked it and therefore had clearly lost it in the post (acknowledged by Happy Kombucha after my second email), the seller told me I needed to print out and sign a form so that I could be refunded. This is not compliant with Amazon’s policies. I ended up sending several emails for a refund of around £10.

Furthermore, Happy Kombucha stated that their scoby would be good for 4 weeks in transit, which is contrary to what their own website said (10 days or so). They also told me a scoby doesn’t produce waste products, which as a relatively high activity microbial culture, is impossible unless dead, frozen or freeze-dried. I have a PhD in a relevant discipline, so they probably shouldn’t have made that up.

This is poor customer service. I appreciate that small businesses need to protect themselves, but the product is their responsibility until it has been delivered to me. They did respond to my emails promptly but I would also expect an immediate refund or replacement for a product that’s been lost in the post, when they have independent evidence of this.

Following further insulting and upsetting messages from the seller, I called Amazon and they have referred Happy Kombucha to the Investigations team, but told me they couldn’t tell me the outcome.

I cannot agree with the dreadful review of the milk kefir grains from Happy Kombucha. I have had water kefir grains from them in the past and they were excellent. However, I decided to try the milk kefir grains and sent off for some so I could make goat milk kefir. The grains were posted on a Tuesday and arrived by lunchtime on Wednesday. Twenty minutes later, they were in 250mls of goat milk and by the following morning, the grains were fermenting and looking and smelling very happy. This is a great company that gives excellent service and plenty of helpful advice to the novice.

I bought a scoby, tea, sugar and temperature gage from Happy Kombucha and both the products and the service were excellent. The instructions were brilliant and remain in my kitchen to ensure that all future batches work well (I'm on my fourth). Also, credit to the quality of the scoby as I started my first batch during the cold snap in December and it still worked fine. I would not hesitate to buy from this company again as I now, quite literally, have great tasting kombucha on tap.

Amazing people! Have used them for a long while and they are seriously clued up. Cannot believe someone would write such horrible things about a small company that could cause a lot of damage. Their scoby are the best (we have tried many different ones) and they are very lovely and accommodating.

I was so horrified by what I read in the previous review I had to post my own, I have been buying from Happykombucha for many years and have never received anything but fantastic service. Their customer service is amazing, i have had issues with my water kefir (not enough minerals in my water) and the lady I spoke to and emailed with the issue (it's true they do ALWAYS ask for pictures) could not have been more helpful. These are live cultures so sometimes things can go wrong (I have killed my sourdough twice by neglecting it) but I have found them to be nothing but helpful and have saved products that I thought would have to go in the bin many times and I have had a refund on a salt lamp (faulty lead not their fault) so I think the previous reviewer is just making it up. Happy kombucha are my go to company for anything fermented and I live in London so I can grab their stuff from Planet Organic if I need to rather than wait for the post.
Ps it's true they NEVER ask you to do a review. I get fed up with review request every time you buy something. In 5 years they have never asked.