If you ever want to drink something that smells like straight vinegar, tastes like the early stages of moonshine, and has something floating in it called “the mother,” than Kombucha was made for you.
I first heard about Kombucha at a fascinating seminar about the small intestines and other various wonders of the human body. And since I just happened to find Kombucha at Wegmans…I figured I would give it a test drive.
Okay…so I didn’t just happen to find it at Wegmans. The description of Kombucha at digestion class (LOLLLLLL digestion class) was so intriguing I immediately careened to the Nature’s Marketplace at Pittsford Wegmans to purchase some.
So why the hell would I want to drink a berry-flavored vinegar water?
Well, for those of you not hippie-dippie enough to have heard of Kombucha before (like me), here’s the 411.
Kombucha is a fermented tea.
And before you get all excited thinking that I’ve discovered a new-age bootleg liquor, it’s not that kind of fermentation. Kombucha is a fermented tea that is full of probiotics.
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “I’m down with probiotics. I get those daily when I have my go-gurt.” Yeah…about that…
Yogurt has extremely low-levels of probiotics. And if it’s not organic, then it’s probably made from conventional dairy, which is full of antibiotics. And what if you don’t like yogurt? But those are topics for another time and place.
Back to the Kombucha. It tasted sort of like…wine that wasn’t quite there yet? Juice that was a bit stale? It definitely didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t have that same yum flavor as a raspberry ginger ale. The BAO Kombucha didn’t have as much floaty-mother stuff as other brands, which was a huge plus. And, it was only 80 calories for the entire bottle.
The downside? Almost $4 for one bottle. And it smelled like vinegar. Which was not appetizing.
I don’t know if I’ll add these into my diet on a regular basis, but I might grab one every once in a while. It’s probably better for me than the saccharin-filled Diet Cokes and Vitamin Water Zeros that I usually grab.
If you want to try Kombucha for yourself, look for it in the natural food or organic section of your grocery store.
And don’t worry. I have no plans to stop shaving my armpits and go totally brown rice anytime soon.
cakerypapery 
not sure I can bring myself to try this after your description! but should I????
Haha, it’s not as scary as it sounds! I will admit–I’m hooked. My favorite is the GT Dave Kombucha in ginger. I’m not swearing off the Diet Cokes yet, but its a good change.