The Nitty Gritty

It’s in the ingredients!

At Herbs of Life we use ONLY the finest whole food ingredients. We don’t use extracts, essences or concentrates for our flavours. Our freshly juiced fruits and spices are added at the beginning of the ferment, so you’re not only getting the goodness of Kombucha tea, but fermented fruits and spices too! Fermented Ginger can be used as a remedy for pain & inflammation, nausea and other stomach related issues and cold & flu symptoms to name a few. Unlike other Kombucha companies, we add nothing after fermenting/pre bottling. It’s all in the brew!

We use pure Blue Mountain Spring water, which contains none of the additives found in tap water. Clean, fresh water is vital to the health of our SCOBYs. Contaminates such as chlorine can damage them and affect the quality of the brew. Using this water give our Kombucha a unique soft taste. We’ve heard many times that ours taste by far the best (and we tend to agree!)

Traditional brewing? That means sugar!

Kombucha has been brewed for thousands of years by the ancient Chinese, and you guessed it, they used sugar! We use unrefined, organic raw cane sugar to retain as many minerals and nutrients (iron, magnesium, potassium & calcium) for our SCOBYs to thrive and pass the benefits down to you. The SCOBY turns the sugar into amino acids, and thousands of gut loving bacteria and there is very little sugar remaining in the final brew. We use no sweeteners, additives or nastiness for not only the health of our hard working SCOBYs but for you as well!

Sweetener & sugar alcohols are not our friends!

Erythritol, Xylitol and other commonly used Kombucha sugar alcohols and sweeteners may be low calorie but are they good for us? These highly refined (although marketed as “all natural”) sweeteners are derived from sources such as corn syrup and can wreak havoc on our digestive systems, especially those with compromised guts. Erythritol & Xylitol is known to cause bloating, cramping, diarrhoea and excess gas. Our body doesn’t recognise these high processed ingredients and can confuse us into feeling unsatisfied and even more hungry! We believe that what we put into our bodies should be of benefit to them, not to fool them!

Organic, unprocessed stevia is a fine option as far as sweeteners go, however it is not fermentable, and the type of stevia commonly used in kombucha is highly processed white powder that is far removed from the natural state. If stevia is listed in your Kombucha’s ingredients, it has been added as a sweetener after fermentation. If correct brewing methods and ingredients were followed, added sweetness should not be needed.

Herbs of Life kombucha doesn't contain any sweeteners, we use real organic sugar because that is what the SCOBY needs and thrives on as a food source, there is very little left in the final product - 1.2g/100ml. Kombucha has been brewed this way for thousands of years! Without a correct food source, the SCOBY will starve. If it ain't cane sugar, it ain't REAL Kombucha!

So how do we know if our kombucha is the real deal? Here’s some things to look out for!

Due to a lack of no government body regulation for the production and sale of Kombucha, we urge you to always check and read labels thoroughly. It’s always good practice to be aware of exactly what goes into our food and bodies. Check for correct brewing methods, REAL whole food traditional ingredients such as sugar & whole fruits (Avoid extracts, powders, concentrates & sweeteners).

We discovered that some brands create a vinegar, dilute it, add flavourings and sweeteners to improve taste, force carbonate, then bottle. Stevia, Erythritol, & Xylitol immediately indicate this. SO AVOID BUYING THESE BRANDS FOR HEATLH SAKE.

Check the packaging! Kombucha needs to be brewed and stored correctly! Aluminium should never come in contact with Kombucha! Kombucha is cleansing and detoxifying as well as acidic in nature and can corrode and leach from whatever it is stored in. Glass is by far the safest way to store Kombucha.

REMEMBER:

* real kombucha is living and a mother SCOBY will grow from the bottle.

* real kombucha is kept in the fridge not ambient shelf.

* real kombucha does not contain sweeteners. e.g. erythritol & or stevia/steviol.

* real kombucha is always in glass bottles! never cans and never plastic.

* real kombucha will always be low sugar from fermentation. i.e. between 1% - 3%.

​So there you have it, now go out in the world and get yourself a bottle of the real deal!