BrandiSCollins Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I just picked some up tonight on my first trip to Earth Fare. How do I know it's compliant? They all said they contain "raw organic kombucha" (spring water, organic sugar, organic oolong tea, organic Yerba mate tea). The rest of the ingredients are organic hibiscus, organic ginger root and organic pink grapefruit juice. ??? I'm terrified to drink it. Is it ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carie Skeahan Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Just be sure it doesn't have any added sweeteners. I like to purchase the ones that have 2g sugar per serving. GT Dave's Original, Cranberry, Citrus, Trilogy, Gingerade are my favs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura B Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 It smells sour, but it doesn't taste that way. Just to warn you. It's...different. I had the gingeraide. I liked it, but I drank it over the course of 3 days. When I drank the last of it with the muddy bits I had a tummy ache all afternoon (I drank it in the AM before breakfast), so I would recommend drinking that part before bed. I think it can take a little while for your tummy to get used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I didn't like it - it sat in my fridge for more than week before I screwed up my courage to try it, and I thought it tasted like fizzy vinegar. Bummer, bc I really wanted to like it. I tried GT's Organic Raw "Original" - maybe I should have started with one of the flavored varieties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandiSCollins Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 The part that I'm worried about is that the part that says raw organic kombucha has parenthesis and inside it says organic sugar. I'm assuming this means the sugar used before fermentation and it's ok. But how do I know for sure?? I just need a little something besides water every now and then. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Hi Brandi! If the sugar content in the Nutrition Facts isn't high, and the sugar appears as a parenthetical explanation of Organic Kombucha, you can be confident that the sugar was used for fermentation and not sweetening. Most of the bottles that have been sweetened have upwards of 10g of sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandiSCollins Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 Thanks, Robin! It has 2g, so I think I'm gonna give it a whirl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaine Ross Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I didn't like it - it sat in my fridge for more than week before I screwed up my courage to try it, and I thought it tasted like fizzy vinegar. Bummer, bc I really wanted to like it. I tried GT's Organic Raw "Original" - maybe I should have started with one of the flavored varieties. Ann- The first time I tasted it I compared it someone running a marathon and then sticking their feet in malt liquor, but now I can't get enough. If I get the rare coca cola/sprite craving the kombucha satisfies it and tastes lik a cheat. There is no need to make yourself drink it but if you WANT to like it, give it 5 bottles and i bet you'll love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prchrmom Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 When I first drank it, I thought "fizzy vinegar" too. Now, wel int othe program, it seems mildly sweet and very satisfying. I wouls suggest cutting at first with sparkling water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Hmmm. Maybe I'll give it another shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberrantatavia Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 I really only like the ones with chia seeds, and I think chia is out... I'd love some, the grape flavored one is really good. I'm not sure why I like the chia and not the regular ones, but i do:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg Hamilton Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 The first time I drank it two years ago, I couldn't *believe* that people bottled & actually sold that garbage!! Now I have to limit myself to 2/wk so I don't go bankrupt. I recently found ginger-berry flavor and it's so good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Barksdale Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I've gotten completely addicted to the GT Original. It does taste like vinegar, but there's something about it that I can't stop drinking. Just wish it wasn't $3 a bottle . It's so nice to have something besides water I can drink when everyone else has their beer and soda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealAndra Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 It's really easy to brew your own kombucha. I brew and bottle a gallon and half every 10 days. I anyone is interested in a scoby and some starter tea, just let me know. More info on brewing booch here at Kombucha Kamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberrantatavia Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thank you so much for that link! I've suddenly fallen in love with kombucha and found a source of it in bulk by the ounce. But after going to the website, now I want a home brew setup:) Do you have one or do you just make batches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealAndra Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I brew batches because I have it down to a science. I use 3 half-gallon mason jars and for bottling, I have various Grolsch style flip top beer bottles and leftover vinegar bottles. New scobys grow with every batch so I have a mason jar full of booch acting as a scoby hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Ok, decided to buy the Gingerade flavor and just now tried it. I get it! I'm not a fan of the plain (yet), but the Gingerade flavor is pretty darned good, in an interesting way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Do you guys drink just a little bit at a time, or the whole bottle? I was reading some sites that suggested only 2-4 ounces a day... but it is certainly marketed as the sort of thing you'd just drink out of the bottle like a Snapple or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpinSpin Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 It's really easy to brew your own kombucha. I brew and bottle a gallon and half every 10 days. I anyone is interested in a scoby and some starter tea, just let me know. More info on brewing booch here at Kombucha Kamp. Mee! Me! I love Kombucha! I have been buying a bottle here and there at the market--the GT Gingerade and the Gingerberry--I think that is the one--and I love it! Been wanting to try making some but, hubby was umm what?? Well, hubby and I started the Whole30 on Wednesday and he has a HUGE soda addiction--he is a driver for Coca-cola and so gets soda at a discount and pretty much was living on coffee and soda. He was grousing at me yesterday that he needed something OTHER than WATER to drink, and when I went to the store to grab more veggies (our vegg intake has more than doubled! yea us) and I grabbed him a cosmic cranberry by GT--and he is hooked after one, and is now asking me if we can make kombucha. I would love a bit of starter tea and a scooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhondaNtx Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I buy the 16 oz GTs, blueberry No9 at WF. I add 2-3oz/ once a day in a glass of ice water, kinda a pick-me-up or 'refresher' from filtered water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealAndra Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 When I first started brewing it, I only drank a small amount each day. Too much can have a very laxative effect. But you do build up a tolerance. Now I drink 8-16 ounces per day, mixed with fizzy water. The rest of the day I drink just plain water. SpinSpin, I'm sending you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia Renae Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I've been making my own for months, experimenting with flavors. I make my own SCOBY's too, from scratch (those suckers cost $20 on Amazon!!) SCOBY: Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. A Scoby will also be referred as a mushroom or mother (it makes babies from reusing the original Scoby to make more Kombucha). I use a gallon of water, 1 1/2 cups of organic raw cane sugar and 12-14 oolong tea bags. You can also use green tea, just make sure your tea is plain (black or green) and doesn't have any oils in it (Earl Gray or flavored tea's). For the Scoby's to grow, it basically absorbs the sugar, so you're left with a not so sweet beverage. I like the sour of the original flavor (and perhaps I'm biased, but mine tastes better than store bought). I've make it with clementines, I just added an orange piece per jar (I use use mason jars). The problem with using a whole fruit: while it was in the 3 week sit and wait period, the fruit grew into the Scoby, so I lost a batch of Scoby's, though the drink was tasty. When home brewing, you'll eventually be over run with them and can either give them away or compost them. The batch I started on the 15th should be ready in 3 weeks, BUT this time I made it in 9 mason jars, evenly distributing the tea mixture and adding a few ounces of my last batch of Kombucha to each jar. I should end up with 9 Scoby's, then I can make a complete batch with 3 flats of mason jars...you just cut the Scoby's in half or thirds and that's enough to add the needed probiotics and FIZZ! My trick of the day to making Kombucha: use mason jars and put a coffee filter on top of the 3/4 (a tad over) filled jar, then secure it with the ring, leaving out the *top* off the jar, so your Kombucha stays bug/dust free. No rubber bands, like a lot of sites suggest. They tend to break down with the vinegar content. I have never had a problem, gut or otherwise, with tolerating Kombucha. And it is an excellent way to curb the soda craving's. Oh, and as far as the floaty jelly fish thing in each jar: I fish it out before drinking. If I'm going to eat a ball of slime, I'll eat an oyster, thankyouverymuch. Alicia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberrantatavia Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Ok now you have my attention:) I have a hard time paying for a kit to do it myself, I'd rather go full force and buy the machine.... But if I can make it for a couple of bucks... Then I'm not really out anything if it doesn't work. I make all my own everything from scratch so why not this too, right? I'm researching this online but I might have questions for you once I figure out what the process should be. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 They were selling kombucha by the case at Whole Foods today - $42 or something. And a big sign next to it ... "Contains Alcohol - You Must Be 21 To Purchase". Safeway just sells it next to the Odwalla orange juice and SuperFood drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachael Taylor Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 They were selling kombucha by the case at Whole Foods today - $42 or something. And a big sign next to it ... "Contains Alcohol - You Must Be 21 To Purchase". Safeway just sells it next to the Odwalla orange juice and SuperFood drinks. I've noticed a slight, okay a big, buzzing effect from it. I'm a lightweight hands down, so I get a little woozy feeling from Kombucha. My favorite is the Cranberry or Gingerberry from GT. I can drink an entire bottle to myself in one sitting, which is fine I guess but it does give me a little tummy bloat. Wash it down with some water I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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