Why Kombucha?

Kombucha: a beverage produced by fermenting sweetened tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? (In fact, it is!)

It took me a while to jump on the kombucha bandwagon, but it was rather inevitable that I eventually come to the fermented side. I’m so glad I did!

This stuff has lasting power, dating back to roughly 2,000 years ago and known by the Chinese as the “immortal health elixir.” Its list of anecdotal benefits is impressively long, including preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

I’ve found it to be helpful from a digestion standpoint — the main reason most fellow kombucha lovers I know keep drinking it — thanks to its probiotics. These probiotics come courtesy of the SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) used to ferment the drink.

There’s legitimate science to help back the drink’s famed powers, too. 2014 research by the University of Latvia showed that kombucha “can efficiently act in health preservation and recovery due to four main properties: detoxification, anti-oxidation, energizing potencies, and promotion of boosting immunity.”

Okay, so we’ve established that this is healthy stuff. But how does it taste? True, fermented yeast and bacteria sound less than appealing, and kombucha looks weird — all murky and sometimes strangely colored. But I LOVE the taste (and not in a “it’s-good-for-me-so-I’m-going-to-just-suck-it-up-and-drink-it” kind of way). I legitimately love it.

My go-to kombucha brand is one that’s easy to find in just about any grocery store at this point: GT’s Kombucha. I’ve tried many of their flavors, all of which are tasty, but my hands down favorite is Gingerade. YUM.

When evaluating your kombucha options, reach for brands that contain less sugar. (Here’s a helpful round-up by Eat Clean of 10 kombucha brands to try.)

So far, I’ve stuck to the pre-made brands and haven’t tried brewing kombucha at home (and don’t think I’ll go that route anytime soon). But have any of y’all tried homebrewing? Let me know your thoughts! (For other kombucha lovers, what are your favorite brands?)

Cheers!