Kombucha
Kombucha is an ancient beverage that is made by fermenting tea. It's an unpasteurized fermented food similar to yogurt or kimchi, and has been cultured by communities as a folk tradition for thousands of years. Kombucha includes raw nutrients, digestive enzymes and beneficial bacteria, that can support overall well-being.
Kombucha is made by adding a culture (SCOBY – a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) to sweetened brewed tea and allowing it to ferment. Buchi follows the natural, traditional process of open-air fermentation.
By definition, fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic matter through the action of enzymes. To put it simply, it is helpful yeast and bacteria eating caffeine and sugar to make probiotics.
SCOBY stands for a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, and looks like a flat, pale, floating mushroom. Its texture is rubbery and a little squishy. It’s just as weird as it sounds, and equally amazing! The SCOBY forms across the surface of the kombucha during fermentation.
No. Kombucha got the nickname "mushroom tea" because of the pancake-like culture (called a SCOBY – A Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) which forms across the surface of the brew during fermentation, but there aren't actually mushrooms in kombucha.
All kombucha is made with sugar. Sugar is what fuels fermentation, and most is absorbed during the fermentation process. Buchi believes in using simple, whole ingredients to make the most well-rounded, delicious, and quality kombucha.
Buchi is 100% gluten-free. As far as allergens go, the FDA classifies coconut water as a tree nut in the Big 8. Our Water and Seed Kombucha, as well as our Strawberry Coconut Kefir Soda contain coconut water. All our equipment is sanitized after production to ensure no cross-contamination.
Nope! Buchi kombucha consistently tests under the .5% ABV set by regulatory agencies for what constitutes an alcoholic beverage. We test each batch throughout fermentation and are in compliance with existing laws
Yes! Buchi Kombucha is raw and unpasteurized. Much of the benefit of drinking kombucha comes from its digestive enzymes and live and active cultures. We would never consider pasteurizing (heating to death) all of those wonderful naturally occurring live and active cultures. In fact, Buchi Kombucha is so live and active that you can use the kombucha in your bottle to make your own.
One thing worth noting is that some brands do pasteurize their kombucha, which makes it less expensive to transport and store. Though it would make our distribution cheaper and our shelf-life longer, pasteurized kombucha is not the real deal. We like it to be 100% live and active, and bet you feel the same way!
Since we are not doctors we can't give any official medical advice. We can share, however, that both of the Buchi Mamas (our founders, Jeannine and Sarah), frequently drank kombucha throughout pregnancy and nursing. We recommend making this decision on a personal level after doing your own research and speaking to your healthcare provider.
Simply put - We mostly know how many probiotics are in Buchi Kombucha. We follow the traditional, authentic method for making kombucha, so our probiotics are naturally occurring, which can vary from bottle to bottle. Some kombucha brands add lab-grown probiotics to their kombucha, which allows them to claim a specific number of probiotics on their bottles.
The organic teas we use in our Kombucha do have caffeine, but almost all of it is consumed during fermentation. A bottle of Buchi Kombucha has about the same amount of caffeine as a white tea or decaffeinated Starbucks coffee. While most people deem this a negligible amount, if you have a caffeine sensitivity you might want to start slow with kombucha and see how your body responds.
Yes! Buchi is pleased to have been certified Kosher and pareve by Rabbi Zev Schwarcz at IKC, the International Kosher Council.
We love that you are considering homebrewing! We do sell SCOBYs! They are hidden inside every single bottle of Buchi on the shelf. Because Buchi is unpasteurized and raw, it's 100% live and active, meaning you can use the brew in our bottle to make your own kombucha. We’ve even included the recipe and a detailed how-to homebrew your own kombucha here on our site.
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