I Tried 9 Kombucha Brands & One Hit All the Right Notes

A healthier alternative to other sugary drinks, kombucha has surged in popularity in modern times, though the beverage itself dates back thousands of years.

The ancient recipe blends tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast to create a bubbly, fermented beverage that comes loaded with health benefits. Just like other fermented foods, such as yogurt, miso, and kimchi, kombucha contains probiotics that help maintain a healthy gut and aid digestion. It can also decrease bloating and provide an extra boost of energy.

Although its history goes back to ancient China, the modern resurgence of this functional beverage in America began in the 1990s, popularized by the rise of GT's Living Foods—a brand that now controls over half the U.S. market, according to Michelin Guide.

Nowadays, kombucha is produced by numerous brands in numerous flavors. Some restaurants and breweries even make their own kombucha on premises. According to Statista, kombucha remains one of the nation's top-selling fermented drinks and is expected to reach over $1 billion in sales in 2024.

So, whether you're looking to jump on the booch wagon or simply looking for a healthier alternative to your daily soft drink or nightly beer, you'll have plenty of options.

I recently tried nine popular brands, choosing the most enticing flavor I could find, in search of the top-tasting kombucha available nationwide. Here's how each brand fared, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the overall best.

Rowdy Mermaid Organic Alpine Lavendar Kombucha

This brand was founded in 2012 with a mission to craft a kombucha with less sugar and less of an acidic and vinegary flavor. I grabbed the brand's alpine lavender flavor, made with both black and green tea, cane sugar, lavender, and elderflower. A can cost me $3.69.

The look: This is the lightest and clearest kombucha of the bunch. There's no cloudiness and very minimal bubbles visible. It's an extremely light yellow.

The taste: Like sparkling lavender water, but not in a great way. It's very watery, with slight floral notes, making the carbonation stand out a bit too much, resulting in a not-so-pleasant combination. There's just not enough flavor here to make this compelling.

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Nature's Promise Organic Raspberry Lemon Ginger Kombucha

Nature's Promise is a better-for-you brand available at Ahold-owned grocery chains, including Hannaford, Peapod, Food Lion, Giant, and Stop & Shop. Its products come no artificial flavors, preservatives, synthetic colors, or high-fructose corn syrup. A bottle of kombucha cost $2.79.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: This was a pale pinkish color when poured out of the bottle (in the bottle it appeared a darker pink color) and was translucent but slightly clouded. There weren't many visible bubbles. In the bottle, you could see a lot of sediment at the bottom.

The taste: Before even drinking this, I could smell it when I brought the glass to my lips. It reeked of yeast, but also it smelled a bit plasticky. The flavor wasn't as bad as its scent, but it still tasted a bit like it had sat in a plastic bottle for too long—which is strange because it's packaged in a glass bottle. It was very smooth with barely any detectable carbonation. And while it did taste fruit-forward, besides a very tiny hint of ginger, I wouldn't be able to guess that this was raspberry lemon-flavored in particular. It wasn't bad overall, but compared to all of the other kombuchas I tried, it wasn't my favorite.

GT's Trilogy Kombucha

GT's is one of the older kombucha brands on the market and its popular Trilogy flavor is described as "tart raspberry highlighted by bright squeezes of lemon and a bold bite of fresh-pressed ginger." At the time of bottling, GT's  kombucha claimed to have nine billion living probiotics in a bottle. This bottle cost me a whopping $7.99.

The look: This was a beautiful raspberry-like color. It was very slightly cloudy, with a very thin layer around the edges of the cup of bubbles.

The taste: This is a lot. You can smell a vinegar-like scent when you go for your first sip, and right away, it has a bit of that vinegar and ginger taste, along with a big dose of carbonation. I also found it quite sweet. To me, this would do in a pinch, but I likely wouldn't buy it if other options were available. There was nothing especially off-putting about this one, but when offered a choice, I'd reach for the others. However, fans of ginger beer might dig this one.

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Whole Foods 365 Organic Guava Hibiscus Kombucha

The Whole Foods 365 brand churns out a lot of high-quality products, so when I noticed that the store had its own line of kombucha, I was excited to give it a go. There's not much info online to be found about it, but it did have the highest sugar content of any of the kombuchas I tried. A bottle cost $2.69.

The look: When I poured this kombucha from the bottle into a glass, it looked like a soft drink in the way it got very frothy and bubbly in the cup right away. It's a clear peachy color that is reminiscent of a rosé wine. There are some bubbles around the rim of the cup, as well.

The taste: This almost tastes like a sparkling apple juice. It's a bit sweet, but not too sweet that it's too much and I wouldn't pick up on the fact that it has either guava or hibiscus in it. It is very effervescent and almost like a fruit soda. Overall, it was fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase this again.

Health-Ade Pomegranate Kombucha

At the time of bottling, Health-Ade's kombucha claimed to have one billion probiotics per bottle. That's double the daily amount recommended by the World Health Organization—meaning you can get two servings per bottle and more bang for your buck. The brand uses a blend of black and green tea to make its kombucha. A bottle cost me $6.09 in New York City.

The look: This kombucha had a very bright red color that was pretty translucent and not cloudy at all.

The taste: Pleasant and lightly effervescent. It didn't taste overly sweet, which I can find off-putting, and it wasn't overloaded with carbonation. The pomegranate flavor was definitely present and I think Health-Ade hit the right balance of flavor here. If there was too much pomegranate, it could be a bit too sugary and artificial tasting, but the producers showed some restraint. I would definitely buy this again.

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Bear's Fruit Blueberry Lavender Kombucha

I've long been a fan of Bear's Fruit kombucha so I was excited to pick some up for this taste test. The blueberry lavender is one of my favorite flavors. One of the things I like about this brand is that it makes just the right size containers, topping off at 12 ounces. A can cost me $4.79.

The look: This is a dark cranberry red color and slightly cloudy. There are some bubbles around the rim and you can see tiny bubbles rising to the surface while it sits.

The taste: This one is very carbonated but in a nice way. It almost has a ginger-like taste. You can taste very subtle notes of lavender, and there's a slight hint of tartness, almost like cranberry more than blueberry. This one is really good but a little on the sweeter side.

Brew Dr. Cherry Limeade Kombucha

I had never come across this brand before, but I was drawn to the colorful packaging right away. The company was founded back in 2006 and a bottle cost me $6.09.

The look: When poured into a cup, this kombucha displayed a light pinkish-reddish color and was pretty translucent when compared to some of its cloudier competitors. There was a subtle ring of bubbles around the outer rim of the cup similar to GT's kombucha.

The taste: This is a refreshingly light sip that I'd love to down on a hot summer's day. There's just a hint of the cherry flavor it promises, which is nice because it doesn't taste very sweet. In fact, the lime is a tad difficult to detect, and the resulting combo is less sweet and more floral in quality. Despite the presence of bubbles in the cup, there was a very light effervescence, which made this go down rather smoothly (and quickly). I'd love to get my hands on some of the brand's other flavors.

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Kevita Raspberry Lemon Kombucha

Kevita was created back in 2008 by a nutritionist and its products are certified organic, non-GMO, and kosher. Each blend contains the brand's proprietary fermented cultures. A bottle cost me $7.39.

The look: This kombucha was a pretty light pinkish-orangish color and slightly cloudy in appearance. It looked very smooth.

The taste: Really pleasant! The combo of raspberry and lemon provided a slightly sweet and puckerish taste, but it's subtle and enjoyable. There's just a hint of lemon and the flavors don't taste artificial. It is slightly effervescent and not too bubbly. I really enjoyed this one.

Better Booch Mango Delight Kombucha

This Los Angeles-born kombucha brand touts all the amazing benefits of kombucha and even includes pre-, pro-, and post-biotic cultures to give your gut all the good stuff. A can of this booch cost me $2.99.

The look: I was expecting something that looked like the bright orange color of mango, but when I poured this out of the can, it was a very clear translucent light yellow and slightly cloudy. When I held it up to the light, I could see some very tiny bubbles of carbonation.

The taste: This has a lovely, slightly bubbly mouthfeel–not too overpowering, but just enough to add some pizazz into the drink. You can also taste the mango flavor but it's subtle and doesn't taste artificial. This is such a delightful drink that hits all the right notes. I'll definitely be back to try the brand's other flavor offerings.