Kombucha is made through a fermentation process of tea with the help of bacteria and yeast (yum!). Well there is alcohol in kombucha, though it’s usually in such trace amounts that you wouldn’t feel intoxication effects. And now you’re wondering…can kombucha get me drunk? Or maybe you downed that bottle of home brew and it has you feeling a certain kind of way.

Perhaps you noticed the message, “contains trace amounts of alcohol” on the bottle. But that would mean taxes and label approval and dealing with a maze of government regulations.Kombucha, the popular fermented tea, has a boozy little secret…it contains alcohol! But is there enough alcohol in kombucha to get you drunk? How much alcohol is in kombucha? And is there a way to measure the alcohol content of your home brewed kombucha? We’re answering it all here in this comprehensive guide! 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. 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 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 (pronounced com-BOOCH-a or com-BOOK-a) 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, Wash., about 30 minutes outside of Seattle and misses her 'Booch.' They're scouring stores, starting Facebook groups such as 'Dude, where's my kombucha?' and lamenting online.Īnne Sommer misses drinking kombucha each day at 5 p.m., while her husband had wine.

That's upsetting fans, who enjoy the sweet-but-sour taste and shell out more than $3 for a bottle. have removed the most popular form, raw kombucha, from stores, saying they won't restock until they know more. Distributors and retailers like Whole Foods Inc.

Since last month, the government has been testing kombucha to determine if it should be labeled like beer or wine. And it doesn't hurt when stars like Lindsay Lohan are photographed drinking kombucha. But it has gained popularity in the past few years in the U.S., partly because of claimed health benefits, though there's little science behind them. The drink dates back thousands of years and across cultures, though its actual country of origin is unclear.

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