Kombucha Kick

Kombucha: you either love it or you don’t – but if you do, you’ll be stoked to hear that this tingling tonic will continue to tickle taste-buds in 2019. We look at why the world is going crazy with kombucha cravings.

Clean eating is fast becoming fashionable, and consequently fermented foods and beverages are making their well-deserved appearance on our supermarket shelves. Even though its roots go back to two millenniums ago, kombucha began to gain tremendous traction in the world of food and beverage in 2017, seemingly yet another hipster fad seeking attention. But the tart, tangy drink has held its place as a well-liked magical elixir and this year we’re expecting to see several kombucha-infused products; kombucha coffee, cocktails, ice cream… even baked goods are getting a hit of kombucha.

Long story short, kombucha is made by introducing a ‘symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast’, commonly known as SCOBY or ‘mother’, into a solution of brewed black or green tea and sugar. Once the mix ferments, fruit, herbs and spices can then be added for a second fermentation to flavour the drink. It’s totally trendy to brew your own, but there are a ton of creative, tongue-tingling flavours popping up all over the shop.

Full to the brim with ‘live’ bacteria, kombucha is a probiotic-rich beverage praised for its health-promoting effects on the digestive and immune systems. It’s jam-packed with B vitamins, which are essential for energy and other bodily functions like cell growth and metabolism, and it’s relatively low in calories, so you can sit back and swill to your heart’s delight!