Since it’s inevitable that during fermentation, the breakdown of sugar will result in traces of alcohol, all kombucha contains alcohol. So on top of being delicious, kombucha has proven health benefits. Fermented foods are full of antioxidants and probiotics, which improve immune function and aid in food digestion. During the fermentation process, a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is placed in the sweetened tea mixture, which then converts carbohydrates into organic acids and alcohol. Kombucha is a fermented beverage derived from tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast. "I'm going to be a little bit leery of drinking that with my breakfast.You’ve heard of it, you’ve seen it in stores, but what is it? But if there's too much alcohol, she'll think again. The 41-year-old mother in Long Beach, California, relied on her morning kombucha for energy. "I think we're going to get through this one and hopefully on the other side it's going to be a little less tumultuous," he said.Įlaine Marshall wants her favorite drink back. But owner Will Savitri doesn't know what this means for business. Katalyst Kombucha in Greenfield, Massachusetts, will buy new equipment for $50,000 - 10 percent of the sales he hoped to do this year - to remove alcohol without heat, meaning the drink can remain unpasteurized. But that would mean taxes and label approval and dealing with a maze of government regulations. They can change their formula or production methods to lessen the alcohol, pasteurize their drinks, or market their drinks as alcohol. Neither Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods or United Natural Foods, kombucha's largest distributor, returned calls seeking comment. It's not clear how long the investigation will take because regulators don't know how many companies produce kombucha, spokesman Art Resnick said. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which is testing samples of kombucha brands to determine how it should be labeled, said each brand will be treated differently, depending on its alcohol content. "We're hoping this month, but nothing is definitive," he said. His company plans to resume production with a new version that will keep alcohol levels under the limit, though he declined to say how the company would do that. Dave, CEO of the company that makes category leaders GT's Kombucha and Synergy, said the products should return in weeks. The 37-year-old graphic designer will cut her thrice-weekly habit to once a week. Macoe Swett drove 80 miles (130 kilometers) round-trip to snag 20 bottles based on a Facebook tip. Both have taken their products off shelves and are working on new versions. drinks market.īig brands like Celestial Seasonings and Honest Tea have launched their own raw kombucha brands. That's still barely a drop compared to the $100 billion-a-year U.S. Sales have been doubling each year for at least the past four years and are now worth more than $150 million (euro119 million) a year at retail, according to Beverage Business Insights. Regular beer has about 4 to 5 percent alcohol. Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights, estimates some kombucha brands might have 2 to 3 percent alcohol, based on reports from producers doing independent testing. The more sugar a drink has, the more alcohol can ferment. But alcohol can develop over time in unpasteurized versions because the yeast is still alive, converting sugars to alcohol. Kombucha makers say it leaves production with almost no alcohol. Pasteurized versions - where the yeast and bacteria are heated, much like milk - are still for sale because the process kills the yeast, which make the alcohol. But most prefer to buy it for convenience. Many fans make it at home by acquiring a kombucha "mother," a cloudy mass of bacteria and yeast from another batch. Kombucha contains live bacteria and yeast, similar to yogurt. I just don't like how that feels," she said. She can't find any at home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, about 30 minutes outside of Seattle and misses her "Booch." Anne Sommer misses drinking kombucha each day at 5 p.m., while her husband had wine.
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