Over six years ago, on February 27, 2014, to be exact, I discussed a few kombuchas that I'd tried. Well, since that time kombucha has become a bit more popular in the U.S. Therefore, I thought I'd give some new ones a try, and see how they were. The three I selected were the tart cherry kind from KeVita, the pomegranate one from Health-Ade, and the pomegranate lemonade kind from humm (they seem to usually spell it this way, without capitalizing the "h," so I'll follow suit).
Since I went through this in that former post, I'll try not to repeat too much. Essentially, kombucha is tea that has been fermented using a cocktail of bacteria and yeast. Its time of origin is disputed--some say it's over 2000 years old, others claim only a 100 or 200 years old. Its place of origin is also controversial--some historians think it was China, others Japan, and still others Russia or other parts of Eastern Europe. Continuing this theme, even the derivation of the name isn't conclusively known. The most popular theory is that its from the Japanese words for "kelp" and "tea"--"konbu" and "ocha," respectively. The humm company website threw out another theory, that it was named after a Korean doctor, Dr. Kombu, and that the "cha" was an (unspecified) Asian word for tea. But moving on, kombucha was traditionally made at home. Commercial versions have only been available since the late 1990's. In the U.S., one company reigns supreme--Millenium Products, who provided one of the ones I tried back in 2014. Of America's recent annual sales of $400,000,000, Millenium accounted for $350,000,000. The huge beverage companies are taking notice, too--PepsiCo bought up KeVita in 2016.
The humm company was started by Jamie Danek and Michelle Mitchell in 2009, out in the state of Oregon. They make many different flavors of kombucha, mostly using various fruits. Two of the more unusual ones are cucumber lime mint, and raspberry hops. They also market a zero sugar line. On their website they mention that unlike most kombucha makers, they started marketing their drinks to supermarkets and gas stations, instead of the more typical health food stores. So I guess humm is the kombucha for regular folks, and not just crunchy hippie types. They're also reportedly quite into being good to their employees, who they view as family. Finally, humm is the official kombucha of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Health-Ade was founded by Diana Trout, her husband Justin, and their close friend Vanessa Dew, in California in 2012. Like humm they make many different kinds of kombucha, utilizing all sorts of flavors, mostly from fruit. Pink lady apple, cayenne cleanse, jalopeno/kiwi/cucumber, and holiday cheer (ginger/allspice/chocolate et. al.) are some of the more interesting and odd ones. According to their company website, they're also quite proud of making small batch, glass-fermented, artisanal kombucha--free of gluten and GMOs, and certified vegan, and R.A.W (which I learned stands for raw, alive and whole--plants and milk, eggs, and honey that have been humanely harvested). In an article about them, they admitted that as of August 2018, their company was not profitable. For their sake hopefully that's changed.
KeVita began in California in 2009, founded by the former organic wine make Bill Moses and a holistic nutritionist Chakra Earthsong. (And call me cynical, but I think that Ms. Earthsong might have changed her name somewhere along the line.) Aside from various flavors of kombucha, they also make sparkling probiotic drinks (water kefir), and apple cider vinegar (see February 16, 2019 post). They're also non-GMO, organic, and Kosher.
1) humm pomegranate lemonade kombucha: Came in a 14 ounce (415 mL) bottle. Had an astringent, sour odor and reddish color. Very lemon-y and citrus-y. I didn't taste the pomegranate that much. Okay, I guess. Not great, certainly. Got worse as I kept drinking it. Vinegary.
2) Heath-Ade pomegranate kombucha: This bottle was 473 mL (16 ounces). Also had a reddish color, but with a more subtle smell. This one was slightly better than the humm kind, but still very vinegar-y, and not great. While drinking this one I thought, "Do people really like kombucha as a drink, or is it just to get the probiotics and alleged health benefits?"
3) KeVita master brew kombucha, tart cherry flavor: Was a 15.2 ounce/450 mL serving, in a glass bottle once more. Had a dull brownish-pink hue, and an astringent odor. Probably the best of the bunch, by a little. The tart cherry flavor melded with the vinegar flavor a bit better. Still mediocre at best.
I should also mention that in 2018 I had some kombucha that was home made by some friends (hi Pat and Allison). I thought theirs was pretty decent, and like the 2014 kinds, didn't have an discernible negative health effects. Alas, I can't say the same for this recent trio. I had some significant abdominal pain, gas, and even diarrhea after I tried them. I sampled some of each all on the same day, so I couldn't determine which one was the culprit. It's possible that the root cause was something else I consumed that day, but since these things were typical fare that I've had many times, it seems more likely it was the kombucha(s). So, because of this bad experience, I'm probably not going to be revisiting kombuchas anytime soon, or at all. Finally, as I mentioned in the 2014 post, if you do decide to make your own kombucha, make sure you know what you're doing, as improperly made or stored kombucha can make you sick. And despite what you may read on the internet, to date there's no sound scientific evidence that drinking kombucha can treat or cure any serious diseases or conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, etc.
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