Written by Annemarie D'Alessandro, July 20th 2020

Recently, kombucha has been popping up all over the place with many grocery stores now dedicating a whole section to it. It has become so popular that people have begun brewing and bottling hard versions to sell in liquor stores. But what exactly is kombucha and what makes it so unique?

Kombucha is fermented black or green tea that usually contains probiotics from the fermenting process. When making kombucha, the black or green tea is first brewed and sweetened before the fermenting process begins. For fermentation, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) is added and the mixture will sit for about a week up to a whole month. During fermentation, the yeast begins to consume the sugar and then produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. The carbon dioxide makes the drink naturally a little fizzy, and the alcohol is mostly removed later in the process before bottling.

If selling the kombucha in grocery stores the alcohol by volume must remain below 0.5%, so many batches of kombucha will have to undergo a distillation process before bottling. In terms of storage, you’ll most likely see kombucha stored in dark blue or brown glass bottles. The coloring is designed to keep any sunlight out, as the rays can induce oxidation and actually change the flavor of the drink! Some brands are also leaning more towards using aluminum cans which is great because the cans are more portable, they keep the sunlight out, and they’re more recyclable than glass. Most kombuchas also must remain refrigerated because if the mixture gets too warm, the active yeast and good bacteria will die off.

So now that we know how kombucha is made and bottled, what makes regular kombucha into hard kombucha? Well, hard kombucha will simply start out the exact same way as regular kombucha. The only difference is that hard kombucha will go through a second fermenting process where more sugar and yeast is added, and the mixture often sits in a fermentation tank for up to two weeks. The second fermentation can bring the alcohol content up to almost 9 percent!

Since live bacteria and yeast are added during the fermentation process, kombucha has also been found to have many health benefits. Some of the added bacteria are categorized as lactic acid bacteria which can have probiotic functions when ingested to help with digestion, inflammation, and sometimes weight loss. The fermentation process also produces acetic acid, usually found in high amounts in vinegar, which can kill off bad bacteria in your gut and allow the good bacteria to thrive. Kombucha that is made from green tea can also have more benefits which include increasing the number of calories you burn, reducing belly fat, improving HDL and LDL cholesterol levels, controlling blood sugar, and reducing your risk of some cancers! Green tea kombucha also tends to have higher levels of polyphenols which are bioactive compounds that will function like antioxidants to get rid of free radicals in your gut and protect your cells.

Right now you might be thinking, “Alcohol with health benefits? It must be too good to be true.” And unfortunately, you’d be right. In hard kombucha, not all of the health benefits of regular kombucha can be maintained because of the higher alcohol levels. With a higher ABV, the drink will maintain some bacteria, yeast, and acids, but the live probiotics will be rendered inactive so hard kombucha won’t be as good for your gut as the regular kind. Plus, any health benefits are not blatantly advertised on bottles of hard kombucha because the FDA does not allow that kind of promotion for alcoholic drinks. Some bottles may instead make vague claims that may imply something like drinking the hard kombucha won’t give you a hangover (which has not been proven scientifically). And either way, alcohol is not good for you no matter how it is produced or how you consume it.

Overall, kombucha is an interesting drink that would be worth giving a try. You’ll be able to taste the tea and fruit in a more bold way than any other alcohol, and the light fizziness will give it a playful mouthfeel. Stop in to see our selection and as always, please drink responsibly!