Honest Kombucha Lemon Ginger

After dominating the naturally sweetened ready-to-drink tea market and testing the waters for kids' drinks and yerba mate, it seemed only natural that Honest Beverages expand their product line to include kombucha. Honest Tea's first foray into the realm of kombucha is a line of five flavors of raw kombucha: Apple Jasmine, Berry Hibiscus, Lemon Ginger, Maqui Berry Grapefruit and Apple Jasmine, Peach Mango. Lemon Ginger is amongst my favorites from the group... and a drink worthy of a whopping 4.5 stars.

UPDATE -- Honest Kombucha was discontinued in December, 2010.

Of all the kombucha lines on the market right now, Honest Kombucha has the most mass appeal in its packaging. Sure, it looks a bit like a Coca-Cola ad, but it is visually distinctive and it provides an abundance of information, including:

• Probiotic contents
• Acidic content
• Listing of the bacterial culture strands used to ferment it
• Notes on the trace amounts of caffeine and alcohol
• A Kosher seal
• Notice that it is gluten-free and that there were no GMOs used to make it

In addition to attractive packaging, Lemon Ginger has a pleasing orange color.

The aroma of Lemon Ginger is tart and sweet. The lemon to masks some of kombucha's vinegar notes and the ginger balances the flavor profile with a spicy note. The flavor is refreshingly tart and piquant. It's not too sweet, so fans of Honest Tea's lightly sweetened line, unsweetened teas and classic kombuchas will appreciate it. However, it's also flavorful enough for some soda drinkers to enjoy it, too. The only down side to Lemon Ginger's flavor is a somewhat hollow aftertaste.

Honest Kombucha Lemon Ginger is a strong example of a kombucha that appeals to hardcore kombucha fans and casual kombucha sippers alike. It has the uplifting effects you'd expect from a good kombucha and a flavor that's good enough to enjoy for its own sake. I highly recommend it!

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.