Fermentation · 1 October 2026 · 5 min read
What is a probiotic drink?
Probiotic (โพรไบโอติก) is one of the most searched words in Thai wellness. Here is what it means for a drink, and how we make ours in Bangkok.
What makes a drink probiotic
Probiotics are live microorganisms, the friendly yeasts and bacteria that do the work in fermentation. A probiotic drink is simply a drink that still carries those live cultures when you open it.
That last part matters. Fermentation creates the cultures, but heat destroys them. Most shelf-stable drinks are pasteurised so they can sit at room temperature for months, which also means nothing in the bottle is alive any more. A raw, unpasteurised ferment that is kept cold is still a living drink.
Kombucha, ginger bug and tepache
Kombucha starts with sweetened tea and a SCOBY, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. The culture turns the sugar into gentle acidity and natural fizz, which gives kombucha its clean, bright, slightly tart taste.
A ginger bug is a starter made from fresh ginger, sugar and water, fed every day until it bubbles with wild yeasts and bacteria. Added to fruit juices and herbs, it makes naturally fizzy probiotic sodas like our Smoke and Roselle and Green Hive.
Tepache is a Mexican ferment made from pineapple, including the skin, where wild cultures live. It is tropical, lightly funky and one of the easiest ferments to love. Our Tepache Remix uses pineapple three ways.
Probiotic drinks and probiotic supplements
Probiotic capsules and sachets contain specific strains in measured amounts. Fermented drinks are food: a living mix of cultures that changes from batch to batch, with real flavour from fruit, herbs and spices.
We think of our drinks as a delicious, low-sugar way to enjoy fermented food every day, not as medicine. If you have a health condition or are taking a supplement for a specific reason, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
How to keep a probiotic drink alive
Keep it cold. Live cultures stay happiest at 2–6°C, so our bottles go straight into the fridge and are best enjoyed within 14 days of delivery.
Do not freeze or heat it. Freezing can damage the cultures and the carbonation, and heat stops fermentation altogether. Open the bottle slowly, because a living drink keeps building its own fizz.
Where to find probiotic drinks in Bangkok
Every biotic drink is a raw, slow-fermented probiotic drink brewed by hand in our workshop at Maneeya Center, Chidlom. Visit the shop on the 3rd floor, Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 18:30.
You can also order any mix of our nine drinks on LINE (@biotic). Bottles are ฿90 each, with free delivery across Bangkok on orders over ฿990.
