diff --git a/network-mapper/README.md b/network-mapper/README.md
index 0df79d0e..eb2e20a6 100644
--- a/network-mapper/README.md
+++ b/network-mapper/README.md
@@ -27,16 +27,16 @@
 | `sniffer.priorityClassName`| Set priorityClassName.     | `(none)`                 |
 
 ## Kafka watcher parameters
-| Key                             | Description                                                 | Default                        |
-|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
-| `kafkawatcher.enable`           | Enable Kafka watcher deployment (beta).                     | `false`                        |
-| `kafkawatcher.image.repository` | Kafka watcher image repository.                             | `otterize`                     |
-| `kafkawatcher.image.image`      | Kafka watcher image.                                        | `network-mapper-kafka-watcher` |
-| `kafkawatcher.image.tag`        | Kafka watcher image tag.                                    | `latest`                       |
-| `kafkawatcher.pullPolicy`       | Kafka watcher pull policy.                                  | `(none)`                       |
-| `kafkawatcher.pullSecrets`      | Kafka watcher pull secrets.                                 | `(none)`                       |
-| `kafkawatcher.resources`        | Resources override.                                         | `(none)`                       |
-| `kafkawatcher.kafkaServers`     | Kafka servers to watch, specified as `pod.namespace` items. | `(none)`                       |
+| Key                               | Description                                                                                                  | Default                        |
+|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
+| `kafkawatcher.enableK8sWatchMode` | Enable Kafka watcher deployment, which reads Kafka logs using the Kubernetes API, for pods in `kafkaServers` | `false`                        |
+| `kafkawatcher.kafkaServers`       | Kafka servers to watch, formatted as a list of `pod.namespace`. For example, `["kafka-0.kafka"]`             | `(none)`                       |
+| `kafkawatcher.image.repository`   | Kafka watcher image repository.                                                                              | `otterize`                     |
+| `kafkawatcher.image.image`        | Kafka watcher image.                                                                                         | `network-mapper-kafka-watcher` |
+| `kafkawatcher.image.tag`          | Kafka watcher image tag.                                                                                     | `latest`                       |
+| `kafkawatcher.pullPolicy`         | Kafka watcher pull policy.                                                                                   | `(none)`                       |
+| `kafkawatcher.pullSecrets`        | Kafka watcher pull secrets.                                                                                  | `(none)`                       |
+| `kafkawatcher.resources`          | Resources override.                                                                                          | `(none)`                       |
 
 ## Istio watcher parameters
 | Key                             | Description                             | Default                        |
diff --git a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-clusterrole.yaml b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-clusterrole.yaml
index e13566c2..06582c89 100644
--- a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-clusterrole.yaml
+++ b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-clusterrole.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{ if .Values.kafkawatcher.enable }}
+{{ if (default .Values.kafkawatcher.enable .Values.kafkawatcher.enableK8sWatchMode) }}
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRole
 metadata:
diff --git a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-deployment.yaml b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-deployment.yaml
index cdcede80..328af9fb 100644
--- a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-deployment.yaml
+++ b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-deployment.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{ if .Values.kafkawatcher.enable }}
+{{ if (default .Values.kafkawatcher.enable .Values.kafkawatcher.enableK8sWatchMode) }}
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
 metadata:
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ spec:
             - name: OTTERIZE_KAFKA_SERVERS
               value: {{ join " " .Values.kafkawatcher.kafkaServers }}
             {{ end }}
+            - name: OTTERIZE_KAFKA_LOG_READ_MODE
+              value: k8s-logs
             {{ if .Values.global.serviceNameOverrideAnnotationName }}
             - name: OTTERIZE_SERVICE_NAME_OVERRIDE_ANNOTATION
               value: {{ .Values.global.serviceNameOverrideAnnotationName | quote }}
diff --git a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-serviceaccount.yaml b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-serviceaccount.yaml
index 5714ef6d..30b1eccb 100644
--- a/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-serviceaccount.yaml
+++ b/network-mapper/templates/kafka-watcher-serviceaccount.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{ if .Values.kafkawatcher.enable }}
+{{ if (default .Values.kafkawatcher.enable .Values.kafkawatcher.enableK8sWatchMode) }}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: ServiceAccount
 metadata:
diff --git a/network-mapper/values.yaml b/network-mapper/values.yaml
index 55bb9e00..ec5c3206 100644
--- a/network-mapper/values.yaml
+++ b/network-mapper/values.yaml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ sniffer:
   #The options to add tolerations
   # tolerations:
   # - operator: Exists
-  priorityClassName: ""  
+  priorityClassName: ""
   resources: { }
   # We usually recommend not to specify default resources and to leave this as a conscious
   # choice for the user. This also increases chances charts run on environments with little
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ sniffer:
   #   memory: 128Mi
 
 kafkawatcher:
-  enable: false # enable/disable entire installation of the kafka-watcher
+  enableK8sWatchMode: false # enable/disable entire installation of the kafka-watcher
   repository: otterize
   image: network-mapper-kafka-watcher
   pullPolicy:
   pullSecrets:
   resources: { }
-  # Kafka servers to watch, specified as `pod.namespace` items.
+  # Kafka servers to watch, formatted as `pod.namespace`. For example, `kafka-0.kafka`
   kafkaServers: []
   # We usually recommend not to specify default resources and to leave this as a conscious
   # choice for the user. This also increases chances charts run on environments with little