Kombucha Wonder Drink
Kombucha Wonder Drink is a lightly carbonated “infusion” of water, organic kombucha concentrate, green tea and fruit juice – sold in energy-drink style cans. The company was founded by Steve Lee, who became entranced with kombucha during a visit to Russia. Kombucha, also known as the “Manchurian Mushroom,” is a symbiotic culture of yeasts and bacteria, that’s used to ferment tea. The fermented tea is then consumed fresh, as a tonic and “good-for-what-ails-you” folk medicine.
The canned drinks come in three flavors: Original, Peach Mango and Cherry Cassis.
Manufacturer’s Description: Wonder Drink’ s new 12-oz cans come in three stunning flavors: Original, Cherry Cassis and Peach Mango. All are made with organic green tea.
- The Original: Discover the sparkling botanical profile of our Original. Spearmint, juniper berries and lemon myrtle give a refreshing edge to kombucha. Ginger ale, tonic water and herbal teas have found their kombucha counterpart!
- The Cherry Cassis: With all-natural cherry and black currant juices, the Cherry Cassis is the tart sparkling Wonder that quenches your thirst. Its lush ruby red color makes it the jewel of any party.
- The Peach Mango: Enjoy the bubbly taste of wellness brought by the Peach Mango! This is a sunny drink that is appreciated by people of all ages.
Product Label:
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Serving Size 1 Can (12 fl. oz) Calories 80 Calories from Fat 0 Total Fat 0g |
Sodium 0mg Total Carbohydrate 18g Sugars 17g Protein 0g |
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Contents: Water, Organic Kombucha Concentrate, Organic Green Tea, Organic Cane Juice, Black Current Juice Concentrate, Cherry Juice Concentrate, Carbonation |
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Comments: I picked up a couple of cans of the Peach Mango and Cherry Cassis (above) in the health food section of my local Fred Meyer. A co-worker of my husband once quizzed us on Kombucha, so I was naturally curious – it was really a sort of impulse buy.
Neither drink was particularly sweet: they were both tart and mildly fizzy. Chilled, the Mango-Peach tasted like a peach-flavored version of the hard cider we used to buy locally when we lived in Oregon. The Cherry Cassis was similar – except with a sour cherry flavor. The taste took a little getting used to…the first taste of each one came as a bit of a surprise, but it grew on me after the first few sips.
Even now, I’m not quite sure that I liked either one, but they’re not bad either…they were rather refreshing, actually.
It’s a little tough to credit the Kombucha mystique when it’s served up filtered, pasteurized and “cut” with other ingredients. The Kombucha used in Russian folk medicine is pretty raw stuff: you ferment the gelatinous culture in tea, pluck it off (and transfer to a new batch), strain out the chunks, and chug it down. Basically, you’re getting a brew of organic acids, live microorganisms, along w/fragments (hyphae, etc.). This would certainly account for the immune stimulating properties associated with the stuff, as well as provide some vites and polyphenols from the tea. Assuming you don’t poison yourself by doing it incorrectly, it could be reasonably healthful.
Are there any benefits to consuming clean, sterile, processed Kombucha? The company claims the benefits of Kombucha are due to the acids formed during the fermentation process – which are retained through the concentration/sterilization process. I suspect there’s more to it than that, however – but the company makes no specific health claims beyond describing “The Kombucha Effect,” (which may, or may not, be associated with the commercial product) so we can leave it at that.
[usrlist “Taste:3.0” “Quality:4.5” “Efficacy:3.0” “Value:3.0″ avg=”true”]
