Kombucha Breakdown: Fermented Tea and the Benefits of Healthy Bacteria

Posted by Amina AlTai on

We’ve been there: you’re sipping on your favorite flavor of Kombucha and your girlfriend asks: what exactly is that you’re drinking? Our off the cuff answer (rattled quickly) is that it’s a fermented tea which is great for the gut… but what does that really mean?

Kombucha is a fermented drink of black or green tea and sugar that contains a colony of bacteria and yeast. You know you learned it in middle school science, but as a little refresher, fermentation is the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms. A good buzzword to know? Scoby: symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (the floaty stuff).  Scoby is what ferments the tea and protects your beverage from bacteria trying to get in from the outside.

Kombucha is definitely an acquired taste… but if you’re into it, you’ll love it for it’s flavor and the fact that it’s an elixir of good bacteria with some serious health benefits. The antioxidants in this power tea counteract free radicals in your system and aid in the digestive process through the power of probiotics. The jury is still out its full benefits, but we’re all about the mid-afternoon energy it provides us with. It’s the perfect diet soda replacement to add some bubbly action to your life (and one of our favorite ways to get pep in our steps come late afternoon)!

Before you hit your local Whole Foods or health food store to try a few brews, be careful-- not all are created equal. We opt for the flavors that have no more than 4 sugars per 16 oz. The ever-reliable Synergy Original, Gingerade, and Trilogy are some faves, along with Health Ade’s Ginger Lemon and Cayenne Cleanse varieties (that come in a super chic bottle, too). 

Happy sipping! 

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