Is Kombucha Tea Actually Good For You?

Thanks to its tangy taste and purported health benefits, kombucha keeps rising in popularity. Though the effervescent fermented beverage is still somewhat of a novelty in the United States, it's been around for centuries, originating in China around 220 B.C. (per Forbes). Kombucha was introduced to American consumers in the mid-1990s, when the brand GT's Kombucha first sold their product to local health food stores across Los Angeles. Today, you can find many brands and a wide variety of flavors of kombucha in the refrigerated section of mainstream supermarkets and big box stores.

If you don't already know, kombucha is a fermented and sweetened tea beverage. It's made by introducing a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) into brewed black or green tea, adding sugar, and leaving the mix to ferment for up to a month (via Brew Dr.). Consumed cold, it not only tastes good but it's good for you. It is considered a functional beverage, meaning that it is a non-alcoholic drink that contains vitamins, amino acids, or other nutrients associated with health benefits. When made with green tea, kombucha provides health-giving catechins, that is, antioxidants that fight and may even prevent cell damage, according to WebMD.