Best of the brews: Kombucha

Quench your thirst with an organic and tantalising tonic. Here are the five best homegrown kombucha you need to try.

With spring's arrival, it's high-time to give your immune system a well-earned boost.

In a bid to keep you on the wellness wagon right up until the silly season, we've scoured the country to find the best homegrown kombucha you need to try.

For the uninitiated, kombucha is a traditional tonic made using fermented black tea. During the fermentation process, sugar content is consumed by a good bacteria or SCOBY – a 'symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast' – resulting in a finished product that is incredibly low in sugar.

Heralded as a super elixir with numerous health benefits, traditional kombucha boasts a variety of digestion-friendly vitamins, minerals and enzymes, making this wonder drink worth every last sip.

The next time you're tempted to reach for that glass of wine on a Friday night or mid-afternoon cup of coffee, consider a crisp glass of our favourite kombucha instead:

1. Rene's Kombucha, Guarana & Acai

Rene’s unique flavour combination boasts a beautiful fruity taste and a gorgeous ruby red colour. This live probiotic drink is the first of its kind, harnessing natural caffeine sourced from Guarana extract. Its reinvigorating, organic properties help to alleviate stress to stay alert. 

Rene's Kombucha comes in 330ml glass bottles, boasting two standard pours per bottle. The easy screw-tops make Rene's the perfect BYO brew for your next summer barbie. To read more about Rene's, see their website here.

2. Banjo Brews, Blueberry, Elderflower, White Tea and Lemongrass

Formulated to perfection in picturesque Marlborough, Banjo Brews’ inspired flavour combos like blueberry, elderflower and white tea with a hint of lemongrass, are the perfect spring-time cure. This refreshing tonic boasts a punchy antioxidant and a pure, fresh taste. 

The team at Banjos' set out to create a flavour that delivered a big antioxidant hit with a pure and fresh taste. The result is pretty damn delicious. To learn more, see their website here.

3. Daily Organics, Original Kombucha

Daily Organics is a 100 per cent certified organic kombucha brewery, situated in the quiet rural countryside of Matakana. Sourcing only the finest ingredients from around the world and blending them in small batches while using locally-sourced pure artisan water, Daily Organics Original Kombucha is made using a bold blend of black teas, delivering an uncomplicated full body taste with a subtle hint of peachiness. Daily Organics is inspired to bring you the purest, simplest and best tasting kombucha you can buy. To learn more, see their website here.​

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4. Organic Mechanic, Classic Ginger

Organic Mechanic is so much more than a bottle of kombucha. Over the years, this humble brewshop has grown from a stall at the local farmers' market, to a thriving holistic wellbeing community –leading the charge in what it means to live a healthy and empowered lifestyle.

Boost your immune and digestive systems with the grunty Organic Mechanic Kombucha in Classic Ginger. Fiercely protective during the change of season, a little of this ginger goodness goes a long way. Each beautifully brewed batch spurs on a healthy revolution, from the inside out. To learn more, see their website here.

5. Mama's Brew Shop, Warrior

The West Auckland suburb of Helensville and kombucha are hardly synonymous, in fact, the two are rarely used in the same sentence, but for brewers Liv McGregor and Rene Schliebs, this delightfully lit, small town space provided the perfect launch pad for an inspired new business venture – The Kombuchery.

Their first successful endeavour, Mama’s Brew Shop, is a beautiful manifestation of this bright idea. Two mothers joining forces to create an organic wellness product that they’re proud of, and a social entry point for many burgeoning kombucha converts and non-alcoholic drinkers. Boasting two unique flavour combinations, we think the punchier, gruntier ‘Warrior’ is a delightfully refreshing alternative to your morning cuppa. To see more, visit their website here.