Kombucha Wonder Drink: Original

This is a can of Sparkling Kombucha that was given to me by our friend/adviser/test subject Adam. He spied this at a discount store where strange and wonderful things are to be found, particularly bizarre food items. For 60 cents, how could he say no?

First, I know some are going to ask, 'what the hell is kombucha?' I'll tell you. Just be quiet a moment. It sounds like one of these exotic fruits that grow deep in the Amazonian or Thai jungles, plucked precariously from giant trees by nearly naked natives. It's not. Kombucha is actually a fermented tea created by a bacterial yeast culture, and it has been imbibed by Asians and Russkies for millenia. So it's a super-fungus that brews its own tea! 'Wait, what?' Yeah.

After pouring the light greenish fizzy fluid into a cup, I took a big whiff, and instantly caught the scent of fermentation. There was also a hint of the juniper berries used. Being kind of a fan of fermented beverages, I took a sip to test the flavor. Ferment-y, with some tea flavor. Not really catching the smaller ingredients. It's a little odd, but not totally unpalatable. I would have to try their other flavors, because I can't really see myself drinking this to enjoy it, despite the many claims to its positive effects. I also wish it wasn't carbonated.

Wonder Drink LLC is an independent company out of Portland with line of 8 kombucha centered beverages, and touts the multiple positive effects of drinking kombucha, which seems to be gaining popularity around the world, and you can even make it at home, if you can get a hold of the culture.

Ingredients: Infusion of (water, organic kombucha concentrate, organic green tea, organic juniper berries, organic spearmint leaves, organic lemon myrtle leaves), organic cane juice, carbonation.

A little too fizzy and odd to enjoy on the porch with a book, but maybe with my next body-cleansing session.

Score: 2.5 out of 5.

-- WiseGuise