Washington's cottage food program takes a clear position on beverages: they're not allowed. Here's what that means and what your alternatives are.
Unlike some states that allow certain shelf-stable beverages under their cottage food programs, Washington draws a hard line. Chapter 69.22 RCW explicitly excludes beverages from the list of allowed cottage food products. This blanket prohibition applies regardless of whether the beverage would otherwise qualify as nonpotentially hazardous — even a shelf-stable product like a dry tea blend sold as a brewed drink would raise questions, though dry tea leaves and coffee beans sold as dry goods (not as prepared beverages) are allowed under the dry mixes category.
This is one of the more restrictive aspects of Washington's cottage food program. If selling beverages is your goal, you'll need a different licensing path — but the good news is that options exist.
Here's how Washington's cottage food restrictions apply to the most commonly asked-about beverage categories:
Kombucha hits two prohibitions at once: it's a beverage, and it's a fermented food. Even low-alcohol kombucha (under 0.5% ABV) is not permitted. The fermentation process introduces safety variables — inconsistent alcohol content, pH fluctuations, and potential for continued fermentation after bottling — that go beyond what the cottage food program is designed to regulate.
Prohibited as both a beverage and a fermented food under Chapter 69.22 RCW.
Cold brew coffee — brewed and sold as a ready-to-drink liquid — falls under the blanket beverage prohibition. However, whole coffee beans and ground coffee sold as dry goods are allowed under the dry herbs, seasonings, and mixtures category, as long as they're sourced from approved commercial suppliers. You can sell the beans — just not the brewed drink.
Ready-to-drink form is prohibited; dry coffee as a packaged dry good is allowed.
Fruit juice, vegetable juice, and blended juice drinks are all prohibited. Fresh juices are TCS foods that require refrigeration and can harbor dangerous pathogens like E. coli and Cryptosporidium without pasteurization. Even shelf-stable pasteurized juices aren't permitted — the beverage prohibition is categorical.
Prohibited as a beverage; fresh juice is also a TCS food.
Apple cider is specifically named as a prohibited product in Washington's cottage food rules. Fresh-pressed cider is a well-documented source of foodborne illness outbreaks, and even pasteurized cider falls under the beverage prohibition. This applies to both sweet (non-alcoholic) cider and hard (alcoholic) cider.
Explicitly prohibited under cottage food; hard cider requires a separate liquor license.
Lemonade, flavored water, shrubs (drinking vinegars), switchel, horchata, and all other specialty non-alcoholic beverages are prohibited under the blanket ban. It doesn't matter whether they're served hot or cold, carbonated or still — if it's a drinkable liquid, it's not eligible for the cottage food permit.
All drinkable liquids fall under the categorical beverage prohibition.
Syrups — including flavored simple syrups, fruit syrups, and cocktail mixers — are explicitly listed as prohibited under Washington's cottage food rules. Even though syrups aren't beverages themselves, they're categorized alongside beverages and sauces in the prohibited list. High-sugar syrups can also present botulism risks without proper processing.
Explicitly listed as a prohibited cottage food product.
While you can't sell brewed or liquid beverages, Washington's cottage food program does allow dry herb and mixture repackaging. This means you can sell packaged loose-leaf tea blends, whole or ground coffee beans, hot cocoa mixes, powdered drink mixes, and similar dry products — as long as the ingredients are sourced from approved commercial suppliers and the product is sold as a dry good, not a prepared drink.
Beer, wine, spirits, hard cider, mead, and all other alcoholic beverages are completely outside the cottage food program. Producing and selling alcoholic beverages in Washington requires licensing through the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), not WSDA.
The LCB issues different license types depending on what you want to produce: a microbrewery license for beer, a winery license for wine, a craft distillery license for spirits, and so on. Each comes with its own facility requirements, fees, and compliance obligations that are far more complex than the cottage food permit.
If you're interested in producing alcoholic beverages, contact the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board directly for current licensing requirements and application procedures.
If you decide to pursue a WSDA Food Processing Plant License or other commercial license to sell beverages, you'll need to meet bottling and packaging standards that go well beyond cottage food requirements. Here's what to expect:
Find out which license you need for your specific beverage product in Washington — and get a clear roadmap to compliance.
Create Free Account to Use This Tool →Even without beverages, Washington's cottage food program offers plenty of opportunity. List your baked goods, jams, dry mixes, and more on SellFood.
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