On this episode of the Bourbon Friday Show, we had the opportunity to talk with Olamide Adeboye, CEO and Founder of Wakava.

An Everyday Antioxidant Drink

When Adeboye first came to the United States from Nigeria, one of the first things he noticed was the negative effect that the American diet was having on his body.

To combat this, Adeboye set out to look for a product that would help him feel better, but didn’t find anything that seemed to work—which is where he came up with the idea to start making Wakava.

“I created this product due to a lack of finding any real antioxidant beverage for myself because when I came to the U.S., I noticed some changes in my body due to a lot of preservatives in the food,” says Adeboye. “So I created Wakava because I feel like we need the antioxidants to clean our immune systems.”

Wakava is a tea that’s created using a base of hibiscus. The recipe, which was passed down from Adeboye’s mother, is a traditional Nigerian antioxidant beverage.

Adeboye uses a cold-brewing process (similar to how cold brew coffee is made) to make the tea, and then creates different flavor varieties by infusing various herbs with the hibiscus tea base.

There are currently three flavors in the Wakava line: Lemongrass, Mint, and Chamomile.

While all three teas have an antioxidant effect on the body, each flavor has its own unique health benefits.

The chamomile variety supports relaxation, the mint supports skin health, while the lemongrass, Wakava’s most popular variety, increases the antioxidizing effect of the hibiscus.

To reap the most benefits, Adeboye suggests drinking Wakava every day to keep your body refreshed and revitalized.

Wakava is currently sold online, so if you are interested in learning more about Wakava or purchasing their products you can go to https://wakava.com/.

Bourbon Innovation

As always, the Bourbon Friday team does their best to choose a fitting drink for the occasion.

The drink of choice was beer barrel aged bourbon made by New Holland Spirits. The barrel that New Holland Spirits used for finishing this bourbon was the one used to make their own Dragon’s Milk stout. In addition to the flagship Dragon’s Milk stout, New Holland Spirits also has a version that relies on the flavoring of hibiscus, like Wakava.