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We’ve all heard about the importance of gut health, but it’s not always easy to incorporate fermented foods into our diet. At Drifter Ferments, it couldn’t be simpler with the range of homemade products including plant-based ferments, tempeh, sourdough bread and cultured condiments. Not only that specialist store based in the historic center of Warwick offers its own produce, but it also serves farm-to-table fare and locally roasted coffee in the cafe, collaborating with local farms and businesses to highlight the importance of sustainable, seasonal foods that enrich a community of consumers.
Drifter Ferments founder Tara Whitsitt has been teaching the art of fermentation and ferment making for over a decade. Previously, Whitsitt traveled the country, sharing his culture, passion and flavorful food from his traveling educational center, Fermentation on Wheels. Whitsitt taught the nonprofit project from a converted 40-foot school bus and worked with schools, farms and other food justice nonprofits across the country to help increase access to traditional food processes and methods that are also beneficial to human health. After his travels, Whitsitt also published a book of the same name on the subject of fermentation and his personal experiences with it, Fermentation on wheels.
It was during her travels that Whitsitt realized her love for the Hudson Valley region in 2019. Here, for a few teaching opportunities, she was hosting pop-up dinners when the pandemic hit, and it’s time to shift gears. After trying out a few ideas, the cafe space that would become Drifter Ferments became available. Whitsitt works in Warwick and has focused his craft since 2020; his company’s doors were officially opened to the public in 2021.
One of the best things about Whitsitt’s boutique is that it is seasonally focused, with all products handmade in-house. The menu offers an impressive array of wonderfully creative dishes like the tempeh barbecue sandwich and the KLLT (kimchi-lettuce-tomato-tempeh) sandwich. Tempeh is a standout product, not only because Whitsitt makes it with several varieties of beans like pinto, chickpea and black bean, but also because it’s made fresh every week.
All sandwiches are made with sourdough bread and fermented vegetables from Drifter Ferments, as well as rotating cultured condiments that are available to purchase to take home. During the summer months, Whitsitt focuses more on kombuchas and other non-alcoholic fermented drinks, highlighting kombucha popsicles that get a lot of love in the warmer months. Another popular menu item is the Tempeh Reuben, which is by far the cafe’s all-time best-seller.
As a fermentation farm company, Drifter Ferments works with the most organic, local, sustainable and fair trade businesses in the valley. For vegetables, Whitsitt sources from Sun Sprouts Farm And Choy Division in Chester, while most of its beans come from Genesee Valley Farm in Caledonia. As for cereal, Whitsitt turns to Farm ground flour in Trumansburg, Champlain Valley Flour Mill in Willsboro, and Morganics Family Farm in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
With her business, Whitsitt is happy to fill a niche in her local community and provide organic, nutrient-dense foods to the indigenous people of Warwick.
Whitsitt says, “I value my customers in a deep way: not only are they my customers, but they are also my friends and neighbors. » As Drifter Ferments grows, the company hopes to provide the community with healthy alternatives to conventional groceries while raising awareness of the processes and nutrition of fermented foods. In fact, this fall, Whitsitt is expanding her small cafe into a teaching kitchen to engage visitors in educational workshops on fermentation.
“A lot of educational work is about offering something that sparks curiosity, so having my products readily available to do just that has been a beautiful part of having my own production and retail space.”
Drifter Ferments is located at 2 Oakland Avenue #1A, Warwick.
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