Reviewing Kombucha, the Famously-Fermented Fizzy Drink

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Bia Shok

Kombucha is a probiotic-rich beverage that provides many health benefits including enhancing digestive and liver health. The company, Health-Ade Kombucha is a Los Angeles-based company that strives to have the “best tasting and highest quality kombucha,” according to their website.

Emma Haag and Bia Shok

Kombucha is a growing trend that promises multiple health benefits, such as improving the digestive system, preventing infections, aiding weight loss, reducing the risk of heart disease, supporting liver health and even promoting positive mental health. From crazy flavors, kombucha is making a splash in supermarkets everywhere.

Kombucha is a sweetened green or black tea that is fermented by SCOBY, which is a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria according to Medical News Today.

Among teenagers, the viral TikTok video of the “Kombucha girl” brought about a phenomenon, included numerous interpretations on the drink. To confirm if the rising popularity of kombucha is well-deserved, we tried a couple of different brands and flavors.

KeVita:
KeVita has been popular since it was founded in 2009 with their motto stating, “Drinks are pure and organic beverages that support you to your highest potential.”

Although there are not many flavors in-store, the one flavor we were able to try, KeVita’s Master Brew kombucha in the pineapple peach flavor, did not disappoint. The flavor is on the sweeter side and has a clean after taste, making it our personal favorite.

Health-Ade:
From the 16 unique flavors Health-Ade offers, there is likely a flavor that anyone can enjoy.
The Pink Lady Apple Flavor resembled apple cider with more parts vinegar to it. Because of the familiar taste, the drink is fairly approachable for kombucha newbies.

The Pomegranate flavor takes second place out all the kombucha we tried on this list. At first when the drink is still in your mouth, the pomegranate flavor is not very distinguishable from the others, but the tangy and sweet pomegranate taste kicks in after you have swallowed the beverage. Overall, the drink leaves a clean, sweet aftertaste.

Blood-Orange Carrot Ginger has a robust flavor that can be enjoyable. Out of the three ingredients on its label, the carrot is the most apparent. The unfamiliar combination of these three elements might make you doubtful at first, but the balance between the sweetness of the blood-orange, freshness of the carrots and bitterness of the ginger makes the drink enjoyable throughout the entire bottle.

GT’s Living Foods:
Intrigued by the ancient healing properties of kombucha, GT Dave, company founder, claims that he grew the company with the mission to make kombucha accessible to everyone.

However, their Gingerade Kombucha was not the right fit for us. Not only was their Gingerade the most pungent and sour out of all the drinks, but the drink also had apparent chunks of the ingredients at the bottom, making it unappealing to consume. Although GT’s Living Foods kombucha was too strong for us, they did a good job of preserving the unique ginger flavor, making it perfect for those that enjoy that distinct taste.

Their Synergy Trilogy is less sour than the Gingerade, making it more approachable for first-time drinkers. The blend of raspberry and ginger does not particularly emphasize any one of the ingredients but rather balances out to create a fruity, refreshing beverage. While the Gingerade is more of a hard-core kombucha, the Synergy Trilogy is more of a watered-down version, making it an easy drink.

Based off the kombucha we tried, kombucha’s popularity is deserved for the most part. With the numerous amount of health benefits, kombucha also tastes tolerable or pleasant with the right choices of flavors and brands. Though some may believe that kombucha is not worth the hype, it deserves the popularity and recognition it receives.