Kombucha Wonder Drink (KWD)

Ok, just added this one. I’ve seen cans and bottles of Kombucha around the stores for years now but this is my first time trying one. So I’m gonna do this right.
Smell in can is… kinda like vinegar? Like a wine-y vinegar? I don’t know how to describe that. (Off to a great start). It’s somewhat sharp and pungent, but not completely unpleasant.
Can has been chilled to fridge temps. Taste is… wow that is ODD. It definitely has that vinegar taste to it that I smelled. But at the same time I’m getting fruitiness as well. It’s not completely horrible, but I’ve never had Kombucha before and after this don’t think I will again. The tea I can tell is very acidic, and tastes that way too. It’s kinda like drinking… how do I put this…. fruity paint thinner? I don’t think I really like this that much. It’s really not my cuppa at ALL. It’s a weird mix of sweet and sour that simply does not appeal to me. Well, at least I can say I’ve tried Kombucha. And now I know, it isn’t my thing. It is what it is.

Quickie review.

Saw a coffee shop was carrying this, and it’s a brand I didn’t recognize so I asked the barista if he’d tried it/which his favourite was and he pointed out this one. I didn’t really get any currant from it, but it did taste a lot like cherry. Sour cherries; like vinegar/normal kombucha sourness but also just like tart and sour choke cherries.

It was kind of gross.

Booch! I started getting into kombucha a few months ago due to the purported health benefits. A quick note, Kombucha Wonder Drink is pasturized, killing all of the good bacteria, so if you’re interested in the probiotic element of kombucha, this is not the one for you. Try to track down some GT, it’s much better.

I make my own booch now, but this was my first foray into the field, since it is the only brand my organic delivery service carries. I did not like it at all. I’ve tried just about all of their flavors and they’re all bad. There’s just an overwhelming bitterness and harshness to them that makes me avoid this brand.

If you’re looking for a starter kombucha to make your own SCOBY, this also sucks. I let my brew for a month and saw no change whatsoever. I set out GT and had a baby SCOBY in less than a week. She’s not brewing strong in my continuous brewer, my baby jellyfish is a momma jellyfish!

I’m also HIGHLY amused at my own changes. When Happy Kombucha from DavidsTea came out, I couldn’t bring myself to drink it because a fermented tea with bacteria in it sounded so gross, and now I have at least 16 ounces a day.

But yes, if you’re going to try kombucha, don’t try this. If you’ve had it in the past, I promise, it doesn’t have to taste like straight up vinegar, it can be so, so yummy. Try GT.

I haven’t had kombucha in a long time, so I decided to stop after work today to grab one. I’ve had this flavor before and enjoyed it a lot. I think the sweetness of the pear works really well with the taste of fermented tea, and it smooths out the sharpness of the ginger. It’s a bottle of fizzy, fruity, happy buzz. I think oolong tea works the best with the SCOBY process, because it’s already such a complex tea type. You can mix almost anything with it once it’s fermented and it will taste good.

I haven’t been very healthy lately with my eating habits. In between hunting for a “real” job and finally spending time with my boyfriend after I graduated from my college, which was hours away from where he lives, my diet just hasn’t been a priority. As a result, my pants are a little tight these days. I want to do something about that before my eating gets too out-of-control, and I’m thinking tea is going to figure heavily into my new regimen. I started with kombucha today because I know it’s good for the digestion and full of all kinds of other goodies.

Kombucha and ginger were a match made in heaven! I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The fresh pear note in the aftertaste was extremely refreshing.

I liked this kombucha much better than the other one I tried! This one is made from green tea and has lemon in it, so it’s much lighter and sweeter. It tastes like bottled iced tea with a hint of fizz, and the vinegar-y kombucha taste only surfaces in the aftertaste.

Good for a treat, but oh man, it was bloody expensive.

Definitely good for relaxing… I feel very calm now.

Glad I didn’t give up on you, kombucha!

Major BackLog

I realized that I have tried this a while ago. I finally worked up the nerve to try it since I had been reading a lot about Kombucha. Yuck! It tasted foul. Tangy in a bad way. I took a sip and then dumped the rest out.

Life is too short to force yourself to drink tea you don’t like.

Backlog:

I received a can of Kombucha in one of my Knoshboxes and it took me a while to try it because … to be honest, I was a little afraid of Kombucha. The whole idea of Kombucha … it sounds like it’s made a lot like vinegar is made, and while I do like a splash of vinegar on my salads or on my green beans, that doesn’t mean that I’m in to drinking vinegar. Although … I have to admit that I didn’t hate the vinegar flavored tea that I tried before.

First Impression of this drink: It was weird.
Second Impression: it’s tart and lemon-y.
Third Impression: not a lot of tea flavor.

It’s not horrible, but it’s not something that I see myself wanting to drink on a regular basis either. I might pick up a bottle or can of kombucha on occasion … then again … I might not.

Ooh, I remember trying this in April! I was visiting a friend and grabbed a bottle of this to go with my deli sandwich. I really liked it. I’ve had a few bottle kombucha drinks and this one didn’t disappoint: fizzy, sweet, but with a bite to it. It feels like a “grown up” drink to me. It’s not super sweet juice or soda, or a beer (not up my alley) – just light, tasty and refreshing.

this is definitely an experience. there’s no getting around it: kombucha tastes like vinegar. period. it doesn’t “hint” at vinegar or “taste slightly” of vinegar, it’s just straight up vinegar. at first, it’s definitely a turn off, not because it tastes bad, but more because vinegar is not something we taste so concentrated. once the initial shock of vinegar is gone, it’s actually not too bad. it is very refreshing and not like anything you’ve ever tasted. the vinegar is in the aftertaste, but the first taste is very delicious. i found for me it was easier to gulp it straight down so i could still enjoy the refreshing taste while minimizing the vinegar :)

My last experience with kombucha wasn’t so hot, but I wanted to give it another chance. This one still smells like beer and tastes a bit like it too, though it’s mixed with something reminiscent of pear cider (the hard stuff). The carbonation ‘bites’ the tongue and leaves a rather sweet fruity aftertaste. I’m also not convinced that there’s no alcohol in this drink as this is a fermented tea and alcohol is a natural by-product of the fermentation process.

It’s…not bad, though I think kombucha might be an aquired taste. Still I’d drink this again.

Hmm. This is so light it’s nearly seltzer water. I can’t taste tea or lemon. I guess this would be a good kombucha for someone who hates the taste or effervessence but I feel cheated out of a good fizz.

My experience with canned teas has been horrifying, to put it nicely. This was a great surprise. Kombucha is meant to be contained and works with small bottles, so by extension small cans, I suppose. This was certainly light.

Woah – smells like beer! I’ve never had Kombucha tea before so I expected it to taste similar to an oolong. Actually it tastes more like an alcoholic cooler in my opinion – this is a fermented tea, but it was being sold with all the normal, non-alcoholic drinks so I didn’t think there would be any significant alcohol involved. Huh.

It has a fruity flavour that makes me think of plums combined with something a bit yeasty. It’s an odd mix of sweet and sour and it leaves a strange taste on my tongue.

I’m not sure what I think of this drink except maybe ‘weird’. Really weird.