01/04/2026
Company Drinks is super local—and can be super local in many different places 🌱
Born and rooted in Barking & Dagenham, it has its deepest connections there. In 2019, .foresta.rovereto in Northern Italy started and is growing its own local context 🍇🍏
Now, in 2026, a first German drink is starting to take shape. Called “Gemeine Getränke”, the name plays on the double meaning of gemein—“common.” Like in English, the word has largely lost its connection to things and practices we share, use, and care for together. is focusing on this meaning.
We’ve just begun first visits and conversations in Karlsruhe, where a new super local drink is emerging. The site is the Katzenwedelwiese, a community orchard and meadow leased by ZKM | Centre for Art and Media, and part of its wider art space structure. This unusual connection between a museum and a meadow was initiated by artist Stéphane Verlet-Bottéro as part of the exhibition project .
Since then, the meadow has become a public space - used by ZKM, local residents, and groups for land-based practices, community activities, artistic work, and inter-species learning.
Earlier in March, Kathrin joined the spring pruning and maintenance day as the ideal moment to acknowledge and honour the more-than-human aspects of any drinks making. Drinks made elsewhere were shared, conversations began, and first ideas started to form around how art, economy, and drinks might connect here.
The meetings were organised and woven together by ZKM curator Mira Hirtz following the orchard’s community networks.
There will be more “gemeine” drinks news soon. If you’re in the area, join us on Saturday 11 July for an afternoon of making fermented tea from blackberry leaves with Kitchen Ferm Lab . 🍃
is developed by Kathrin and Shaun from Company Drinks, working with and , contributing to and partnering with .
Thanks for now to Mira Hirtz Alistair Hudson, , .verlet.bottero, Fabian Faylona for the amazing Wimmelbild.
