Finally, you can buy a new age product and that will make you look really hip. What is this magical product? Kombucha, of course!
I've discovered Kombucha (sometimes called mushroom tea) as the perfect accompaniment to any event, especially if you want to brag about the claims of healthy probiotics that teem in every bottle of the drink. The upside of drinking this is that it tastes more interesting than water (duh), but it isn’t Diet Coke either. On top of that, it isn't that much of an investment — probably less than your morning coffee.
How might one make Kombucha? Well, budding young hippie, you take some tea, put some bacteria or cultures in it and ferment it until it's about 5 percent alcoholic. Careful, though! If it's more than 5 percent, the FDA could come swooping in. Sometimes, the drink comes with chia seeds. More on that fun little addition later.
The drink, because it is both raw and fermented, tends to be very acidic. Some brands, as I've listed below, will make you feel like you're drinking something that will improve your body. Sometimes, you don’t want to be reminded of the bad choices you made at Postino last night.
To keep away from these mind games, my recommendation is that you get a brand that has chia seeds in it. That usually cuts down on the bitter or raw flavor. Also: don't shake the bottle too hard — it's bubbly and it will fizz all over you. That’s just downright bad karma.
For this assignment, I went to three stores near the Tempe campus: Whole Foods, Safeway and Sprouts. Both Sprouts and Whole Foods have Kombucha in a dedicated section for the fermented tea and in the larger refrigerator section that sells everything from teas to coconut water. Safeway only has a dedicated section in the front of the store, by the fruit.
Interestingly enough, I could not find the drink at Trader Joe's.
I tasted a few brands and sampled the selections at each store.
GT's Kombucha
This brand, out of Los Angeles, is the most prolific of the Kombucha brands. It has four separate lines, according to its website, and a whole other line with chia seeds added. I think the raspberry chia is my favorite and is a steal at Safeway for $2.99. Both Whole Foods and Sprouts price their bottles at anywhere from $3.50 to $4.
Mamma Chia
I really liked Mamma Chia simply because it is a lighter alternative to GT. This retails for $3.29 at Whole Foods and $2.99 at Safeway. This line is one of the smaller ones, but it also sells something called "vitality beverage." In a line that seems straight out of a cult manual, the vitality description reads, "Infused with ancient wisdom and powered by one of the world’s healthiest whole foods, Mamma Chia provides sustained energy to power your soul’s purpose."
KeVita
I tried KeVita's Master Brew, and it was by far the worst brand I tried. Kombucha tends to be acidic, and this one really put it over the top. Don't try it. If you are just so into it, Whole Foods and Safeway retail this drink at $3.50 and $2.89, respectively.
Honorable Mentions: Health-Ade and Reed's.
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