• What does kombucha taste like?  Slightly sweet and tangy. The intensity of the tartness depends on the length of fermentation. The longer the brew time, the more sour the taste.
• Is kombucha safe to drink? Kombucha is a fermented beverage rich in probiotics. Like many fermented foods, and anything new in your diet, it depends on your overall state of health and your body’s unique needs. People who are are immunocompromised, have health problems, or that are pregnant should consult with their doctor before drinking kombucha.
• How much kombucha is safe to drink? The CDC recommends 4 oz. a day. Listen to your body and increase the amount you consume little by little. If you feel great after drinking 16 ounces of kombucha (like my sister), then that’s the right amount for you. For me, it’s 12 oz. a day. If you experience adverse reactions (which usually means you’ll find yourself in the bathroom with a magazine or two), then cut back. Experiment until you find the right amount for you.
• What are those stringy things floating in my kombucha? Does that mean it’s bad? Your kombucha is perfectly good! Those delicate strands you see are natural byproducts of fermentation. It means your kombucha is alive and well, full of beneficial live bacteria. You’ll also notice what looks like sediment on the bottom of the bottle. That’s also normal and is where the bacteria and yeast settle when bottled. Flip the bottle upside down and give it a good swish before drinking to get all those great probiotics rolling around!
• Is there a lot of sugar in kombucha? Although the ratio of sugar in kombucha seems high (one cup per gallon), the sugar is consumed by the SCOBY and converted into ethanol during the fermentation process. When done fermenting, there will be about 2-6 grams per 8 ounce glass of unflavored Kombucha. By contrast, an 8 ounce glass of orange juice has about 24g of sugar. Natural carrot juices have 13g per 8 ounces.

“When it comes to Kombucha, the small amounts of residual sugar left behind helps make the healthy acids palatable. Without the sugar, there is no fermentation, and without fermentation, there’s no good stuff to feed your body.”

Kombucha Kamp

• Is there alcohol in kombucha? Yes, kombucha does contain some alcohol as a by-product of the fermentation process when the yeast converts sugar to ethanol. However, most kombucha contains trace amounts of alcohol (0.5% or less, the legal limit to be considered non-alcoholic by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture).
• How much caffeine is in kombucha? The jury’s still out on this one, but there seems to be consensus around a drop in caffeine after fermentation. It seems safe to say that there is caffeine in the final brew, though it’s hard to say how much.