A couple of weeks ago I received a box full of Good Buzz Kombucha which was pretty exciting! I’ve tried kombucha once before and I did quite enjoy it, so I was keen to give this product a test.
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented tea drink, made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast. It originates from Asia, and because it undergoes bacterial fermentation it is a good source of probiotics. Probiotics are very important for gut health and your immune system, and consuming probiotics regularly is necessary to maintain this.
Ingredients:
The Good Buzz Brewing company only use quality ingredients to produce their kombucha. Green Tea, when used, is certified organic. They use Fairtrade Organic sugar and artesian water from Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life) under the Hutt Valley in Wellington.
Sugar content:
Because this is a fermented product, the sugar content is much lower than other sugar sweetened drinks as the bacteria/yeast consume it. The bacterium, mostly lactobacilli, preserves the brew and will continue to eat the sugars in the bottle. Cold slows this process down.
It contains glucose and fructose which averages about 3.5% or 11g per bottle. Some varieties are slightly higher, some are slightly less.
Taste:
This product was refreshing and easy to drink. It has a unique flavour that’s almost like cider, but not as strong or sweet. It has a very light fizz to it. My favourite flavours were jade dew, which was very fresh and also feijoa, as I do love feijoas! On a hot day after work, it was really enjoyable.
The product has floaty bits, but don’t let this put you off. These are the live bacterial cultures. It’s a small, slightly rubbery disc at the top of the bottle, which does look similar to a skinless grape. This is totally harmless, and it’s a true sign that the drink is in fact ‘living’ and probiotic.
Flavours:
There are 5 flavours available:
Original
Feijoa
Green tea
Jade Dew
Lemon and ginger
My verdict: Good Buzz Brewing Company Kombucha is a tasty sweet drink that has the benefit of containing live probiotic cultures. It’s lower in sugar than many sweetened drinks. Fermented foods are of importance to our diet, so I’d use this product in conjunction with other fermented foods, such as yoghurt is more nutrient dense than kombucha. This is a nice treat with the benefit of being a source of probiotics.
I’ve been wanting to try Kombucha but the floaty bits really do put me off, I guess it’s one of those things you really need to try and not think about it!