What does kombucha taste like?

Trying new foods is something I’ve always enjoyed. The unique flavors that tantalize taste buds are always something that excites me. So, it was not long before I decided to try kombucha. 

Before trying, I always had a question in mind, ‘what does kombucha taste like?’

However, it was a tricky question because the fizzy drink brings so many flavors to you; it takes a while to get used to the taste.

What Is Kombucha

So, if anyone is wondering what kombucha is, here’s a simple explanation. Try imagining a combination of soda and tea.

Sounds different, right?

Well, kombucha is a fizzy drink that’s made from tea. 

What Does Kombucha Taste Like

Want it straightforward? Kombucha has a sweet and sour taste, but it’s the fizz in there that makes the flavor more interesting. As the bubbles pop in your mouth, it actually helps enhance the taste of the ingredients.

You may expect it to taste like tea, but it has a slight tang to it. 

The flavors are sure to catch you off guard the first time you try it. The same happened to me too.

The first few sips just didn’t feel right, but soon, the flavor grew on me and I actually ended up drinking the whole bottle within seconds. 

Kombucha taste also depends on the additional flavors added in. You can easily compare it to sparkling apple cider but just imagine it a bit sourer. 

It contains tea, but the fermentation process makes sure you don’t taste any of that flavor. Instead, it exposes you to a whole different range of flavors that are simply exciting! 

What Is Kombucha Made Of

The main ingredient is tea and it was hard for me to believe too the first time I tried it. You can use black, green, or even white tea to make it. 

Another important ingredient in there is sugar, which gives it the sweet taste. The sour part of it comes from adding a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria to the mixture. 

Kombucha flavor is nothing like what you’d expect from a beverage made with tea and it’s because of all the other ingredients.   

Is There Alcohol in Kombucha? 

Since the beverage goes through a fermentation process, you can expect to find traces of alcohol in the mix.

However, it contains such a small amount of alcohol. That’s why commercial kombucha drinks are non-alcoholic because their alcohol content is less than 0.5%.

However, if you brew kombucha at home, it is likely to have a higher alcohol content, somewhere around 3% or even higher, which isn’t a health concern. 

How Kombucha Is Made

The best part is that you can make kombucha at home and you wouldn’t need many ingredients to make a batch of your own.

If you’ve tried it and want to enjoy some homebrewed kombucha, here’s how you can do it. 

To start, you’d need to first get some tarter liquid and kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). It’s easily available online or at liquor markets.

You’d also need tea, sugar, and purified water. 

 Making kombucha commercially is quite easy, especially with automated processes. But making it at home also isn’t difficult. 

The first step is to boil the purified water and then to let it cool. Add tea and let it steep for a while. 

The next step is to add more purified water, the starter liquid, and SCOBY. Pour it in a container and cover it with a cloth. It’s important to secure the cloth with a rubber band. 

After a week, the SCOBY will rise to the top or sink at the bottom of the mixture. Just remove it from the container. You can store the beverage in clean bottles and cover them with tight-fitting lids.

Commercial kombucha comes in bottles that use mushroom corks to facilitate the fermentation process and get the great kombucha flavor.

The Bottom Line

Now that you know what kombucha tastes like, make sure you give it a try at least once. I too wasn’t sure about it until I gave it a try and it fair to say that now it’s included in the list of my favorite drinks!