Real Talk: How I Feel About Store Bought Kombucha

[@TheTinkerersWife]

Gt is here in my local area and are very cool about sharing their process. I use their bottles for second ferments, so when I'm out of home view I buy that brand and like the flavor. They also have plain kombucha, which can be difficult to find otherwise.

[@LLcoolBarber]

I’ve been spoiled with homemade batches from a friend; now that I make my own I decided to try store bought for the first time. I was a little underwhelmed on finding a couple flavors that were good. I’ll probably stay with homemade batches. It just tastes so much better!!! Thanks for your help! Great channel and love my Logbook!

[@ksenryo]

I just tried store-bought kombucha for the first time yesterday. My wife wanted to compare it to what I brew. The kombucha was underwhelming, to say the least. To me, it tasted like ginger-flavored soda. There was no depth to it. I'm glad I started brewing my own from the get-go, and it was the first I tried. I don't think I would bother otherwise.

[@IEqualBetterThanYou]

Hey there! I just wanted to drop my 2 cents in on the pasteurization thing. Back in 2010 the FDA cracked down on a bunch of “non alcoholic” kombucha brands whose products were found to contain more than the acceptable .5%abv. This happens due to the anaerobic fermentation environment during transport and shelving. In order to prevent alcohol being produced in the bottles, many brands chose to begin pasteurizing their product to avoid fines from the government. I know you touched on alcohol content a little bit, but we’re baffled as to why these brands pasteurize their product. Also, you can text the alcohol content if your brew at home with a cheap hydrometer, if necessary. Happy brewing!

[@MsLindy57]

Someone gave me a scoby. I have no clue what to do but I’ve been watching your videos. My next step is the 1st fermentation. Keeping my fingers crossed. I did buy your book and will be using it as my resource along with your videos and keeping a log of what I’m doing. Thank you!

[@eleanoraddy4683]

I got your Logbook for my birthday and I'm really enjoying it and have utilised it for every brew since👍❤️

[@Arek.Arkadiusz]

The annoying thing is that sometimes the product is pasteurized even though the bottles don't say so. I like to visit website of the brewer to see if they give more information about the process. In many cases they just state that they use a high temperature, which is not a good thing in kombucha - it prettty much kills the bacteria and yeast, so it kills most of the health benefits of drinking it.

[@fabioconsonni3232]

Kombucha has a very good flavour, so I think that the attempt of those who pasturize kombucha is to create a new "space" in the market. I was offered my first can of kombucha by a barman in London and from there I got into the thing, until I started brewing myself. So, from a healthy point of view, welcome pastyrized kombucha if it introduces the full kombucha in someone's life. I also have grew up my scoby from a storebought unpasturized bottle, thanks to this channel

[@jbwjr54]

You got it goin’ on girl! Thanks for the info!

[@cheyneturbyfill4727]

My favorite semi-local brewer is Buchi out of waynesville NC, particularly their “fire” kombucha which is a ginger cayenne blend. Nyum nyum nyum

[@mrswendyrob]

Humm blackberry is my favorite, but I haven’t made my own yet (first batch is 24 hours into first ferment. So excited!).

[@ivanamurphy6917]

What fruit/herbs did you flavor your 2nd ferment?

[@RedGreen1]

Pasteurization of commercial kombucha is more likely about killing the bacteria/yeast to insure no more fermentation takes place and the packaged product has a long shelf life, especially for bottles that will be stored at room temperature. Bottle bombs are scary and shipping/distribution at scale is complicated. -Not a professional just a home beer brewer...

[@charlibravo371]

Also to prevent the increase in alcohols. If it surpasses the minimum naturally occuring alcohols then they get smacked with major fines.

[@tonyaevans8381]

I definitely prefer my own brew, but I agree with your top two choices as well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. Love your videos.

[@divine34j]

First time I bought kombucha was the GTSs from Costco. I was grossed out at first bottle. Then I craved it and every morning I eould enjoy a full bottle on my empty stomack. I can not even describe all the benefits I got from it. My gut was changed, my acne cleared out completely. For 9 months I had it every day. Now 6 years later I'm playing with my own kombucha, trying to make it at home and hopefully get to reproduce exactly that same gingery taste.

[@everythingallin4905]

Seems like a lot of extra work having multiple brewing vessels vs running a continuous brewer with a single scoby. For store bought I like Healthade.

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@LinDa-vx3ly]

I’ve noticed specific flavors of Karma Kombucha more often than not taste like bad yeast. They refused to conduct a quality check after I told them there was something wrong.

[@BadgerBabyBoy]

I’m pretty sure all big brand store bought kombucha is pasteurised which I guess would mean if you tried to use it as a starter it wouldn’t work?

[@truthinentertainment1028]

All I know is that if you buy the regular, unflavored, GT's kombucha you can use that to grow your own scoby and starter tea combined with tea that you brewed yourself (use less brewed tea than you would if you were making a big batch because you are just trying to make a scoby and starter tea to start out with). There are videos on KZbin showing this process. It is a cheaper option, but is not a faster way to start brewing kombucha if maybe you ordered a scoby and starter tea off Amazon. It all depends on whether you want to save money and don't care to wait a little longer or you want to hurry up and start making kombucha right away. Both are viable options.

[@kombuchakorral1575]

Hi 🙂 If you or your viewers ever wonder which commercial kombuchas are the best...I've reviewed almost all brands. 🙂

[@normalizedaudio2481]

Buy it for the bottles. Brewers probably buy more.

[@missyleonis]

Gts is a good brand that has sediment in the bottom. I add stevia to my komboocha second ferments so it's nice and sweet like a soda without added sugar. I do this because I have insulin resistance and so it's for my own health. The cultures in probiotics like komboocha help treat a autoimmune disease I have that is the root cause of my insukin resistance, so kinda need the komboocha. It's not the only probiitic I use, just the one with tge widest range of cultures.

[@everythingallin4905]

Try milk kefir if you want probiotics. Much more potent then kombucha and easier to make

[@missyleonis]

@@everythingallin4905 I make home made high fat Belgian culture yogurt that I eat regularly. Komboocha is just one of the probiotics I consume. I make a few different drinks, and lots of fermented veggies. I sometimes make cutured butter and home made sour cream too. Haven't figured out cheese making yet, but sometimes buy raw cheese. I also do fermented eggs too. And yeah, I know kefier is a really good probiotic option. I do know it tends to have even more cultures than komboocha, so thnx

[@Kaiyan0420]

Pasteurisation to kill the bacteria and yeast is to make sure it stay consistent. As the yeast will continue to ferment the beverage, and when the bottle of kombucha has to be sent overseas or long distance, when the time it was opened, it might be already too aggressive, so to kill them, makes it stable and safe. The fermentation process mainly for the carbonization and contribute to sugar. Ofc some actually pump CO2 for the carbonization. Hope it explains well. Cheers.