What’s the deal with Kombucha? You know it’s supposed to be good for you because it has “probiotics”…which may help your digestion? But you’re not really sure? Should you drink kombucha? You’re sure it’s good for you – at least ten of your friends / people you follow on instagram have said it’s the wonder drink. And there’s so much hype. You can get it in pretty much any hipster / farm-to-table or even fast-casual, health-focused restaurant nowadays. There are even Buzzfeed quizzes to find out your Spirit Kombucha.

So you decide to drop between $3-5 (or more!) on this fancy looking, super trendy drink.

The first couple sips are like a fizzy, fancy vinegar drink that you’re kind of immediately regretting buying. “Why did I spend money on this again?? It tastes kind of like a not-sweet soda, and there’s this weird thing floating around on the inside, and it’s definitely not sweet like I was expecting…thank god I got the fruity flavor my friend recommended, god forbid I got anything more bitter like that ginger one everyone is raving about…”

And then, a few sips (or bottles) later…you kinda get into it.

In today’s post we’ll be talking about Kombucha 101, I’m answering all your questions about Kombucha that I took from Instagram – the benefits, who should and shouldn’t drink it, how to find a quality brand, and I did a massive taste test of as many booch brands I could get my hands on. Scroll to the bottom for check that out!

First off: Kombucha 101. What is Kombucha?

Fermented tea made with a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) that ferments for about two weeks before adding fruit juice, sugar, or other flavors to make the hundreds of flavors that you can now find in grocery stores. It’s commonly confused with a mushroom, because the SCOBY takes on a pancake/mushroom type-shape in the fermenting container.

Sugar. Is. Necessary to brew kombucha. You cannot make kombucha without it – the sugar is necessary to help the scoby grow and to kickstart the fermentation process, because the probiotics (bacteria) that are growing during the fermentation process are fed by the sugar. More on sugar later.

About those bacteria. The lactobacillus bacteria and yeast convert the sugar added in the brewing process into lactic acid and ethyl alcohol. Next, acetic acid bacteria convert the alcohol into vinegar. This is why kombucha has a slightly vinegar taste, and if you home-brew kombucha and let it sit for too long, it can taste very vinegar-y.

There is also a tiny bit of residual alcohol in kombucha. What? Booze? Yep. Just like beer, kombucha is a fermented drink – which, if left to ferment longer than many store-bought brands, can contain up to 3% alcohol. Most brands will contain under 0.3% to 0.5% ABV per bottle.

What are the benefits?

The health benefits of booch are largely due to the probiotic content, from strands like lactobacillus (also found in yogurt). Kombucha is a fermented food – meaning it contains probiotic bacteria, which are beneficial for gut health, can help boost your immune system via the microbiome, improve gastrointestinal health, and many other benefits related to improving the diversity and balance of the microbiome.

Since kombucha is brewed from tea, it also contains many of the beneficial compounds that are derived from tea – like polyphenols and antioxidants which can help fight free radical damage to our cells, and l-theanine in green tea, which is an amino acid that has a calming effect. Fermentation also slightly boosts the polyphenol effect in tea. Kombucha also contains caffeine. The amount will differ based on the type of tea that was used to brew the kombucha. Booch brewed with black tea will have the most amount of caffeine (up to about 25-35g/serving), green tea a little less, and white tea almost none.

Certain brands also contain species like Gluconacetobacter, Acetobacter, Saccharomyces Boulardii, a spore-based organism that has been proven to fight GI distress like traveler’s diarrhea and yeast infections, and Bacillus coagulans, which research has shown can also help with digestion. Kombucha boasts some antibacterial properties due to the presence of these organisms – the good can help stamp out the ‘bad’, disease or symptom-causing bacteria.

BUT. Kombucha is NOT a cure-all to every disease and health condition known to man, as a lot of the headlines will have you believe. It will not cure all your problems. And, if you’re looking for the therapeutic benefits of billions of strands of probiotics, you won’t find it in kombucha – which has a very low probiotic content compared to most probiotic supplements. Still, it is beneficial for the reasons listed above, and can be a good “gateway” / real food way to get some probiotics rather than taking supplements. More important than kombucha in getting these other health benefits is a diverse, nutrient-dense diet with lots of vegetables and fruit, whose fiber can help feed those good gut bacteria and promote good health.

What about sugar?

First off, everyone needs to stop being so afraid of sugar all the time. Sugar is not the devil as the media has led us to believe. Sure, an excess of sugar in the diet, especially certain types of sugar, can be inflammatory and aggravate certain health conditions (especially ones like Type I and Type II Diabetes). For many people reading this post, you may already eat a diet primarily focused on real foods – which means you may eat some food that has naturally occurring sugar, and some sweets and treats, but nothing like the standard american diet. Even if you *do* eat SAD, it’s not the sugar content in kombucha that you should be focusing on to create a more health-promoting, nutrient-dense lifestyle. It’s the other stuff you’ve got going on. ANYWAY.

Sugar, like I mentioned above, is necessary to brew kombucha. You cannot make kombucha without it. Sugar is the food for the probiotics in the kombucha – which is the entire reason most people drink kombucha in the first place. Without sugar in the brewing process, the bacteria cannot ferment, creating the desired probiotics. The bacteria mostly gobbles up the sugar that is used in the fermentation process, which is why most brands choose to add fruit juice or other sugars to sweeten the drink before it hits shelves. Some brands add tons of unnecessary sugars, in addition to fruit juice, to sweeten their booch so much it almosts tastes like soda.

I’d recommend looking for a brand that uses natural fruit juice, and maybe one other sweetener, to their booch. Avoid brands that use many different sugars (I’ve seen brands that use fruit juice, cane sugar, erythritol, stevia, and other sugars, all in one bottle!). It’s more about the ingredients list, rather than the nutrition facts.

Should you drink kombucha?

So, to answer this question, I wanted to go through a bunch of different (fantastic) questions you guys brought up. Because although the booch is a really beneficial health drink, 1) you may not like it, in which case, i’m never going to tell you that you SHOULD be drinking something that you don’t like! And 2) it’s not actually the best idea for people with certain gut conditions like bacterial overgrowth, imbalance, candida, etc. But we’ll get to that.

If you have a healthy immune system, adding a few good gut bugs, via drinking kombucha, to your microbiome may do you some good. You could see improvements in your bowel movements (or lack thereof), in mood (due to the diversity of the gut microbiome, which has a very strong connection to neurotransmitters that regulate mood), in your overall immune health. Since kombucha is an acidic drink, with a little bit of vinegar, it may also stimulate your body’s natural production of stomach acid (similar to taking apple cider vinegar before meals), which helps your body digest protein better.

How much should you drink daily? I wouldn’t recommend more than one bottle a day. But honestly, it will probably take you a while to get up to that much. I typically drink about 4-6 oz a day if I’m on a kombucha kick, or about ⅓ to ½ a bottle. It’s best to start out small if you are new to probiotics, because introducing a bunch of gut bugs at once (even if they are good gut bugs) could result in a little gas and bloating while your stomach is getting used to the new guys. You could start as small as a few sips a day, and then work your way up from there.

Who should not drink kombucha? And why?

However, if you have an imbalance of bacteria, a compromised immune system, an overgrowth of certain kinds of bacteria that are causing negative health effects, a yeast overgrowth, etc., you may be adding fuel to the fire and actually making your symptoms worse.

If you experience any of these health conditions, you should be careful with, or avoid, kombucha:

• GERD
• Yeast overgrowth or Candida
• SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
• Pregnancy
• Rosacea

In GERD – kombucha is a very acidic drink, and does have a vinegar component. If you have ulcers or high stomach acid, this could add fuel to the fire – drinking kombucha could potentially trigger reflux, heartburn, or make ulcers worse. If you are experiencing symptoms of GERD because you have low stomach acid, not high, kombucha may be helpful. See a nutritionist, RD, or doctor to determine if your stomach acid is high or low.

In the cases of yeast overgrowth, Candida, and SIBO, kombucha should be temporarily avoided because the affected individuals could benefit from avoiding all fermented foods right now in their healing journey. If you have an overgrowth of bacteria, adding more bacteria via probiotics, even good bacteria, is not going to help your situation – and could actually make your bloating worse. Other fermented foods include: kefir, fermented pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kvass, and other pickled vegetables

Kombucha can produce mild bloating, but if you experience extreme bloating while drinking kombucha or with other fermented foods, it might be time to talk to a nutritionist about getting tested for a potential bacterial or yeast imbalance in the gut.

It’s also important to be careful with kombucha consumption during pregnancy. It’s up to you, but you might not want to drink it at all. A few things to consider – kombucha is a raw food. It is not pasteurized, so many doctors would recommend you avoid kombucha the same way you are advised to stay away from raw foods during pregnancy. You especially want to avoid home brew kombucha, because there is even less control over the potential for contamination with ‘bad’ bacteria from your kitchen. Kombucha also contains a small amount of alcohol and caffeine – and if you are avoiding either of those during pregnancy, you may also want to avoid kombucha.

I had a few readers write in and say kombucha causes their Rosacea to flare. A lot of studies say that one of the treatments to help Rosacea and other skin conditions go down is by introducing probiotics to the gut via fermented foods like kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, etc. However, this is good to keep in mind, and kombucha definitely isn’t a cure-all – so if you start to notice symptoms, even if they go against research studies, you need to pay attention to your body and what works best for you!

How do I pick a good brand?

Are all brands equal? What does the ingredient list look like for the ‘healthiest’ kombucha? What to avoid?

NO. All kombucha brands are not equal. The best ones will be – those that are convenient and affordable to you, have a real food ingredients list without excessive added sugar, and that taste good! As far as I’m concerned, there is no one “healthiest” brand of kombucha. There are a ton of great ones, and my favorites are the ones that use real fruit juice as a sweetener with minimal additional sugar. I’m drinking a kombucha, not a soda! If I want a soda, I’ll go buy a soda. But I don’t want to be drinking a soda with my breakfast.

A few tips on picking a great brand of Kombucha:

• Support local if you can!
• A brand with a sustainability focus – my favorite local brand is Blue Ridge Kombucha (available in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the US), which has a huge focus on sustainability and recycling in their business model. They’ve saved almost 1,000,000 million bottles so far in their recycling program, you can take the bottles you’ve bought back to the store and fill them back up on draft (yes, like you would with beer).
• Great flavors with real fruit juice
• Here’s what to avoid: unnecessary fillers and added sugars that are used to make kombucha taste like soda.

Kombucha Brands Taste Testing & Review

I tasted a LOT of kombucha brands here and I’ve tasted many more outside of this little experiment. So I’ll let you know a little about the brand, how sweet it is, the amount of bite it has, and my overall rating, all on scale from 1-10.

Blue Ridge Bucha

I LOVE this brand. They are my favorite local brand and favorite overall brand of kombucha too! Their flavors are super inventive (KombuCHAI, Bluegrass, Black Raspberry, Elderflower Sunrise, and the OG Ginger), and every one I’ve tried has been amazing.

All Blue Ridge Flavors
Sweetness: 5-6/10
Bite: 5/10
Overall: 10/10

Suja Kombucha

Suja is a national juice brand that recently expanded to include a kombucha line. I was pleasantly surprised by the mixed berries flavor, but the green apple was WAY too sweet for me and just tasted like artificial apple juice.

Green Apple flavor
Sweetness: 10/10
Bite: 1/10
Overall: 3/10

Mixed Berries flavor
Sweetness: 6/10
Bite: 3/10
Overall: 8/10

GTS Kombucha

A national brand that can be found pretty much anywhere Kombucha can be found. They have TONS of different flavors, from the Original, Multi-Green, and Gingerade and Trilogy (my two favorite) to Watermelon Bliss, Strawberry Serenade, etc. GTS uses only all-natural fruit juice to sweeten their booch, so it’s my top pick for a national brand that also has the most availability.

Gingerade
Sweetness: 3/10 (just for the Gingerade, but I love it this way!)
Bite: 8/10
Overall: 10/10

Trilogy (the rainbow bottle)
Sweetness: 5/10
Bite: 5/10
Overall: 10/10

Watermelon Bliss
Sweetness: 9/10
Bite: 5/10
Overall: 4/10

If you’re looking for a not-sweet, super ginger kombucha, Gingerade is the BEST. I love all the GTS flavors except the Watermelon, which some people rave about, but it was just too sweet for me, and tasted like a watermelon jolly rancher.

Humm Kombucha

This is a newer brand to me, and I could only find it in a few stores. I really enjoyed the Strawberry Lemonade flavor and would love to try other flavors too!

Strawberry Lemonade
Sweetness: 6/10
Bite: 4/10
Overall: 6/10

Health Ade

I really like this brand. I’ve met them multiple times at Expo East and West, and they are always so nice! I like their variety of flavors, and their holiday flavors are great as well. I definitely like the Pink Lady Apple the best!

Ginger-Lemon
Sweetness: 4/10
Bite: 6/10
Overall: 4/10 – not a big fan.

Pink Lady Apple
Sweetness: 5/10
Bite: 6/10
Overall: 7/10 – just enough sweetness and bite. Really like it, though it’s not my absolute favorite.

Cayenne Cleanse
Sweetness: 1/10 – barely sweet at all.
Bite: 10/10 – not only is there a big bite, but there is also cayenne pepper in there!
Overall: 2/10 – wasn’t a big fan.

Kevita Master Brew

I’m not a huge fan of the Kevita probiotic or kombucha drinks. They taste very stevia-heavy to me. So if you like the taste of stevia, they might be perfect for you!

Ginger and Grapefruit Flavors
Sweetness: 7/10
Bite: 6/10
Overall: 5/10 – too stevia heavy for me.

Holy Kombucha

I love this brand! They’re based out of Austin, TX, and unfortunately I can’t find them anywhere on the east coast. I picked up a few bottles at Expo East both years I’ve seen them and when I went to Austin last year. They have really cool flavors like Blood Orange, Hibiscus Sangria, Sambazon, Prickly Pear…dear Holy Kombucha, please come to the east coast!

Sweetness: 6/10
Bite: 6/10
Overall: 10/10

Revive Kombucha

Also a newer brand for me, I wasn’t a huge fan of their ginger-lime flavor. I actually ended up pouring it out because it was not enjoyable (kombucha sacrilege!!)

Ginger Lime
Sweetness: 5/10
Bite: 6/10
Overall: 1/10

Live Soda Kombucha

Well, they do have Soda in the name, so you can guess what they taste like. These taste much more like soda than kombucha, so if that’s your thing, go for it! They are great cocktail or mocktail mixers, but are too sweet for me to drink in the morning like I normally do with Kombucha.

Sweetness: 9/10
Bite: 2/10
Overall: 4/10

The winners! Blue Ridge Bucha (local) and Holy Kombucha (Texas area). GTS for a nationwide brand. 

How do you make your own Kombucha?

I should probably do an entire recipe post on this. But the general idea is – first, you’ve got to get a scoby from somewhere. Ask around or at your local farmer’s market to see if someone can give you a piece of theirs. Once you have your scoby, it’s time to start brewing. You’ll steep a combination of black, green, and white tea (of your choice, but you definitely need black tea) in water, then add sugar. Allow it to cool, then pour it over your scoby. Let that sit for 2 weeks in a cool, dark place to ferment. After it has fermented, you’ll bottle it individually and (optional) add fruit juice or sweetener. Screw on a top, tight. Allow it to sit in the cool, dark place (like Harry Potter’s cupboard) for about another week. Stick it in the fridge and then drink!

PS – there is a LOT of individual variance here, depending on your scoby, the tea you pick, the amount of sugar you add, the climate you live in, the season it currently is, how hot your house is, how long it should ferment…it takes a couple tries to get it right. These factors also all contribute to the amount and types of probiotics that you will find your home-brewed booch.

There are LOTS of disclaimers with brewing kombucha at home. Like the importance of using sterile utensils, keeping the area around where you store the kombucha clean so as to not allow ‘bad’ bugs to grow in addition to the good ones…but I’ll do a blog post on it this summer!

What other topics or health trends would you guys like me to cover and de-bunk? Let me know in the comments! Which Kombucha brands am I missing? I’ll be updating this as I get more recommendations too!

Here are the ones I still have yet to try…

• Brew Dr.
• Buddha’s Brew
• Rowdy Mermaid
• Wild Tonic Jun-Kombucha
• Hex Ferments
• Wild Kombucha
• Kombucha Town
• Counterpart Kombucha
• Trader Joe’s