Give a bottle or can of kombucha a go if you're looking to cut back on highly-processed soft drinks or alcohol, and maybe improve your gut health while you're at it! Tasty, refreshing, and low-sugar, this fermented tea-based beverage is naturally carbonated and full of probiotic live cultures thought to have health-boosting benefits for your gut.
Read on for our picks of the 9 best-tasting brews available in the UK on Amazon, and, Waitrose, including organic, unpasteurised and flavoured options. Moreover, we have partnered with Nutritionist Tara Corbett for reviewing and fact-checking the article so that we can deliver the best information to our users.
Quick List - Top Kombucha Drinks
Hip Pop Kombucha
A Small Batch, Authentic Kombucha Made in the UK
mybest UK specialist Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through their nutrition. Tara specialises in helping busy parents specifically improve their eating with ease and without overwhelm, and get back on track so the whole family can benefit.
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Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients to lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through better nutrition. She specialises in helping busy parents improve their diets without overwhelming them with information, and get them back on track so that the whole family can benefit.
Wondering what the heck Kombucha is? While it may be relatively new to many of us in the UK, it’s actually been around for thousands of years. Thought to have originally been consumed in East Asian countries such as Japan and China. Also, get to know about it's health benefits from our sections below!
The type of tea used for the kombucha base will affect the overall flavor of the drink, with the most popular types being green or black tea. There’s much discussion between brewers as to which tea is the best for fermentation, but when it comes to the finished product, the one you pick will depend on personal taste.
Green tea kombucha is described as having a light, grassy flavour with a fresh, effervescent quality. As black tea leaves undergo oxidation, black tea kombucha usually has a slightly stronger and bolder taste than green tea kombucha. Many use a mixture of both green and black tea for a more complex flavour profile.
Some other popular teas you may come across are oolong and darjeeling, each of which have their own unique taste. You can find out which tea is used by checking the ingredients list!
To discover more, check out our picks for the best green teas.
Kombucha can be flavoured with all kinds of different ingredients such as fresh fruits or herbs, which are added during or after the fermentation process. As the natural flavour of kombucha may not be to everyone’s taste, picking a flavoured variation can make it more palatable.
Fruit flavours like passionfruit, raspberry or plum tend to be sweeter, while citrus fruits such as lemon, yuzu and mandarin will complement its already bitter tang. For a spicy kick, try kombucha drinks with ginger or cayenne pepper – the choice is yours!
While not classified as an alcoholic beverage per se, kombucha does contain alcohol due to the fermentation process, which may be an issue for those with certain religious beliefs, dietary restrictions or health requirements.
Just like beer, wine and spirits, different types of kombucha will vary in alcoholic content. Most only contain a trace amount under 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume), meaning that they aren't restricted under UK licensing laws. But, as with any alcohol-containing beverage, it's best to check before you buy.
Pasteurisation is a process whereby a liquid is heated at a high temperature to kill harmful bacteria. In the case of consumables such as cow’s milk, this is done to prevent food-borne diseases like salmonella. However, when kombucha is pasteurised, a large amount of the good bacteria produced during fermentation are killed off, greatly reducing any potential probiotic health benefits.
Commercial grade 'raw' kombucha is generally safe, and the likelihood of coming across any nasty pathogens is low, so if you are interested in the health benefits of probiotic drinks and live cultures, opt for unpasteurised kombucha drinks instead.
For more healthy food options, look at the best healthy snacks and yogurts.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | No. 1 Living Kombucha|Pack of 24 | ![]() | Something Fun and Exciting for Those New to Kombucha | |
2 | Remedy Raw Kombucha Tea|Pack of 24 | ![]() | Satisfy Fizzy Drink Cravings the Healthy Way | |
3 | Real Kombucha |Pack of 12 | ![]() | The Ideal Kombucha Drink for Tea-Totalers | |
4 | Hip Pop Kombucha Organic Kombucha Tea Drink|Pack of 24 | ![]() | A Small Batch, Authentic Kombucha Made in the UK | |
5 | Lo Bros Organic Kombucha |Pack of 4 | ![]() | A Lower Sugar Soft Drink Alternative | |
6 | Genie Living Drinks Kombucha|Pack of 12 | ![]() | A Magical Elixir With Immune-Boosting Vitamin C | |
7 | Loving Foods Kombucha|Pack of 6 | ![]() | A Wildly Delicious Kombucha in a Range of Inventive Flavours | |
8 | Biona Organic Kombucha|Pack of 6 | ![]() | Kombucha With a Mild Caffeine Kick | |
9 | Equinox Organic Kombucha | ![]() | A Bitter Brew Made From Chun-Mee Green Tea | |
10 | The Gutsy Captain Kombucha Tea|Pack of 8 | ![]() | Delicious Naturally Fermented Kombucha Available in a Variety of Flavours |
An accessible kombucha that's easy to like, No.1 Living is made from pure, ethically sourced premium teas, and is a great entryway into the world of kombucha. This range has been created by the hugely successful rugby player Jonny Wilkinson, and each particular flavour profile comes from simple and deliciously natural ingredients.
All the flavours are blended with a base of organic sencha tea, so even if you're not the biggest fan of pure kombucha, we're sure you'll find a can of this that you like. It pairs well with all sorts of meals, but we’re told it goes down a treat when paired with your favourite Indian curry. In our opinion, this kombucha is number 1 by name and number 1 by nature!
If you're a fizzy pop addict looking to curb your soda addiction, Remedy’s Raw Kombucha Tea is definitely your pick! Naturally sugar-free, the raw sugar used in the fermentation process is eaten up by the live cultures by the time it’s ready for consumption.
Carefully sourced, vegan ingredients are used to create four refreshing flavours, available in 250 ml cans. They're both ideal for the fridge and convenient to carry with you on the go, ready for when you fancy a quick sip.
Attention designated drivers and non-drinkers! Are you fed up with the same old soft drinks and non-alcoholic beers? With less than 0.35% ABV per bottle, Real Kombucha offers a great alcohol-free alternative to some UK pub favourites.
Like a good IPA? Try Dry Dragon for its full-bodied yeasty flavour or, if you'd prefer something champagne-like, give the Royal Flush flavour a go. This one is a fruity and floral drink for all of life’s little celebrations.
Winner of the 2019 Great Taste Award, Hip Pop's vegan kombucha is brewed at a state-of-the-art microbrewery in Cheshire. A family run business, their small batch kombucha is fermented for up to three weeks and flavoured with organic fruits and herbs for an authentic taste.
Packaged in beautiful glass bottles, Hip Pop's kombucha not only looks great but tastes delicious and is low in sugar. Available in unique flavours such as strawberry pineapple and ginger yuzu, this is one you definitely need to try!
Got a sweet tooth? Lo Bros Kombucha can help you cut back on your sugar intake without cutting back on flavour! With a meagre 4 g of sugar per 250 ml bottle, it pales in comparison to the whopping 35 g found in your average cola.
Lo Bros have opted for a base of single-estate, organic green and oolong tea. Decidedly more mellow than the classic green and black combo, oolong tea is partially-oxidised, making it a little maltier than green but with less astringency than black varieties.
Legend has it, Genie Kombucha was born out of an interest in probiotics for gut health and a recipe for delicious homemade fruit sodas. Not only are their brews packed full of live cultures, but each drink contains a dose of immune-boosting vitamin C.
Though undeniably delicious on its own, Kombucha can also make an excellent mixer for alcoholic drinks and cocktails. Providing you are of the legal drinking age, of course, next time you fancy a gin and tonic give the slimline a miss and opt for Genie’s Crisp Citrus instead!
Loving Food Kombucha comes in some pretty unusual and inventive flavours, such as Blueberry and Lavender, which is a sweet herbal blend that pairs very well with hearty casseroles and stews.
Or, if cold, wet days have you feeling a bit under the weather, try their lemon and ginger kombucha - it may just help clear a stuffy head and get you back up and running. These are on the fizzier side, so might not be as easy to drink or as refreshing as some other kombuchas, but a bit of fizz might be just what you're looking for.
As well as a blend of green and black tea, Biona Organic Kombucha contains mate leaves. Known as chimarrão or cimarrón, mate tea is a traditional South American drink that’s high in caffeine.
While it won’t replace your morning cup of coffee, it does have a bit of a kick when compared to other kombucha drinks, so watch out if you're sensitive to caffeine! For the perfect mix of sweet and sour, we recommend the Sour Cherry and Mint, although the other flavours are equally as delicious.
Equinox Organic Kombucha is craft brewed using spring water and Chun-Mee green tea, a variety of leaves that originate from the Jiangxi province of China. Chun-Mee is generally more acidic than other green teas, giving the resultant kombucha a distinct tartness that's quite divisive.
You can enjoy the full complexity of Equinox’s Chun-Mee kombucha by sampling their original unflavoured beverage, but if bitter flavours aren’t your thing, you may wish to try this berry flavoured option instead!
For a happy gut and happy mind, try this naturally fermented and unpasteurised kombucha from Europe's biggest kombucha brand, Gutsy Captain. Made with high quality ingredients such as bio certified green tea, this drink is not only organic but also has a number of nutritional benefits.
Delicious and bubbly, this drink is available in a variety of flavours ranging from raspberry, to ginger and lemon. That said, some have noted that some of these flavours are very sweet. Regardless, Gutsy Captain has created a great health drink, full of antioxidants and enzymes, for you to enjoy!
Written and researched by Wren Mann
No. 1: No. 1 Living|Kombucha|Pack of 24
No. 2: Remedy |Raw Kombucha Tea|Pack of 24
No. 3: Real |Kombucha |Pack of 12
No. 4: Hip Pop Kombucha|Organic Kombucha Tea Drink|Pack of 24
No. 5: Lo Bros |Organic Kombucha |Pack of 4
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