Synergy Kombucha Fruit Drink

Is anybody else out there hooked on this stuff?  I fight to keep it down to one bottle a day, but it's tough!  My husband thinks it's completely disgusting because it smells faintly of vinegar and has, well, slimy stuff floating around it, but I just can't get enough of it!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, "Synergy" is a mixture of 95% kombucha and 5% fruit juice.  I get mine at Whole Foods, where they now devote 4 shelves to the stuff.  Kombucha is a fermented tea said to have all kinds of healthy properties because of the fermentation...loads of good bacteria, enzymes, amino acids, antioxidants, it's a natural antibacterial and antifungal, said to help detox your liver and even rumored to cure cancer.    But I drink it because it's just so darn tasty!

Now maybe I'm rationalizing because it's marketed as a "health drink", but it's fairly guiltfree...low cal (70), low sugar (8g) and it has a nice fizz to it like soda (which I gave up ages ago).   For a sweet indulgence, that's not bad!

Am I alone here?

Okay, I haven't tried it, but I'm gonna have to go with your hubby and say it sounds gross. I may have to try it though for all those healthy reasons. How much fat?

0 fat, yellowfrog.  Most of the time I don't even notice the slimy stuff, but yes, definite ewww factor until you get used to it.

Lots of flavors, some sweet, some not so.  I LOVE grape & strawberry, raspberry's ok but a little vinegar-y, plain is lightly lemon flavored, again with a vinegar hint.  Also has flavors that are savory...ginger, and one that's mixed with spirulina (just too green for me). 

The vinegar smell is stronger than the taste, for whatever that's worth! If you're going to try it (what's life without a little adventure now and then?) make sure you try it when it's COLD.  When it gets closer to room temp the vinegar smell and taste gets stronger. 

Hey I FORCED myself to drink this at the enthusiastic encouragement of a friend and found it TERRIBLE tasting but definitely BUZZ producing (after the first half of the bottle).  Now I'm worried cuz I just read on the internet that it can NOT be safely stored and I'm drinking an old bottle I bought at the health food store LAST WEEK so I'm worried...maybe I feel great cuz i'm GONNA DIE from this stuff!  ahhhhh!  But I DO feel pretty great!  Finally a pay off for all that terrible consumption ... hopefully this stuff does grow on me as you up there suggest...

i love Kombucha, the regular green original stuff that you can find in Whole foods. even my 3 year old drinks it.
my only gripe is that it's quite a bit expensive (3 bucks for like 16 oz bottle), and i'm just not willing to invest into making my own (nor does the idea of having this "thing" float in a jar in my kitchen appeal to me).

I looked up the recipe for making one's own batch and it is tooooo complicated for me.  Green original stuff??  I'll have to look for THAT next time.  Right now I'm working on some "Divine Grape" by Synergy.  If it is so dangerous you have to drink it right after you open it (as someone on the internet claims) then why doesn't it warn you about that on the bottle??   Seems to be helping my fatigue syndrome and that is definitely worthwhile as nothing else ever really has (including bikram yoga, etc. etc.)

I've never heard anything about drinking it immediately. Who can keep a bottle open for long though?!

This site talks about how if your liver isn't functioning properly kombucha might be too much for your system to handle and you might have an allergic reaction (maybe that's why you got buzzed?? I've never had that reaction and I've been drinking at least one a day for almost a year now, usually the grape or strawberry flavors...yum...). That site also mentions that if not properly handled that it can go bad but quotes someone from the FDA as saying "you?re more likely to find contamination in a cup of coffee than in a cup of properly prepared kombucha".  The wikipedia page on it mentions it might interfere with certain medications, certainly something to be aware of for those of you out there that are on meds.

As for making it myself, no thanks I'll pay $3 a bottle (10% discount if you get it by the case!). Whole Foods is really picky about the products they carry so I trust the cleanliness and packaging processes of the GT's guys (who make the Synergy brand) over brewing it up myself at home.

Synergy Kombucha tea on sale two for five dollars at Whole Foods off California Street in San Francisco!

I was actually really excited to try Kombucha, I bought a few bottles & unfortunately my b/f threw both of them away. He noticed the "floaties" & thought the drinks were spoiled, he was afraid they would make me sick. He felt really bad when I explained to him that this is what the drink was supposed to look like.


I landed up drinking one a few nights ago & really liked it. It tastes less vinegary than it smells. One thing I did notice however, is that I also felt a major buzz (almost drunk) feeling.  My b/f & I looked at the label & noticed that it could have something like 0.05% alcohol due to the fermentation process.  I really didn't expect it to have that effect on me, but it was exactly the sensation I get when I drink alcohol.  I am so thankful I didn't drink this at work, afterall I am an ICU Nurse & this would have meant major trouble. 

We must be major lightweights!  (Or maybe part of the buzz is the good effects??)  There is NO WAY I could drink an ENTIRE bottle of this a day.  Sipping one a little every day over the course of a week is more my inclination. 

wow girls, I must be some kind of lush! (I do have a glass of wine almost every night...hmmmm). I have at LEAST one bottle a day, sometimes two, but I've never noticed any sort of buzz from it. 

For those new converts, what aesb says is true, it definitely smells more vinegar-y than it tastes, so don't let your nose stop you! My husband took one sniff and said "no way"! LOL.  If you let it get warm, though, that vinegar-y taste gets much stronger, so I like mine nice and cold.  The fruity flavors are great with popcorn, by the way. I'm starting to sneak it into the movie theatre with me!

lol...tracyvision, I have a feeling vick is right....I am a major lightweight. I only drink alcohol maybe once every three months, this probably has something to do with it. 

Suprisingly the floaties didn't really bother me. For some reason I didn't really notice them.  Anyhow, I will probably buy some more, but only have one when I won't be working or driving. haha!

I actually used to make Kombucha, but had to leave my culture behind when I moved and haven't gotten a new one. 

Kombucha is certainly healthy stuff, but not to be taken lightly. What someone said about the liver is true. It is recommended that new users start with a couple of ounces a day to see how it affects them, and slowly work up to avoid a detox reaction.

I've never heard of this stuff before.  I've definitely got to try it.  I really hate the smell of vinegar though...

i have no idea what the stuff is, but from the descriptions on here, it sounds kind of gross. i might tag this thread, then read it when i get cravings...because it sure doesn't make me want to eat!

whatever floats your boat -- i like weird foods that totally gross people out, too... and it grosses me out when i think about the "live and active cultures" in my yogurt, but i still eat it -- maybe i'd like this stuff too!

I'm with you!

The first one I tried I threw away.  I gave it another try and have been hooked.  It's the ultimate afternoon, get me through without a snack -- without caffiene -- drink.

I've also noticed it started out last year in as a few bottles on the shelf and has grown into massive amounts in the health food store. So we can't be the only ones.

And I feel its helped me feel better and trim up.

More Synergy.

Angela

I'm concerned that there may be more alcohol in this than they are owning up to. I have Hep C, and so for me alcohol is quite literally poison. I've been drinking a bottle a day and it definitely gives me a buzz. How can something that gives you a buzz be detoxing? I'm thinking there may be quite a bit of hype involved here.. much as I love the stuff and hate to think so...

I know the 'fizz factor' varies per batch. maybe the alcohol does too. I've never gotten a buzz from it but clearly other people do. anyone know of an easy way to test the amt of alcohol in something??  fermented foods are healthful because of the probiotics in them, maybe that's more beneficial to your liver than the small amt of alcohol in it?

violet, if alcohol is poison, whatever benefits are in it might not be worth the risk to you. consider getting your probiotics another way. I take these because it gets past your stomach (which kills lots of other probiotic products).

Kombuchu, the fermented tea with fruit juice added for flavor. I lilked it, but I coudln't drink it very fast. I've only had one, since my company has a store downtown and I can get anythign for a discount {at cost if I get it at the wharehouse}. Its actually pretty decent for you, though I wouldn't drink very much. It does have trace amounts of alcholol, but very little {like half of one percent per volume - if it were much higher it would be sold as a 21 and over drink, though I'm not sure where the line is drawn}, so if you are extremely sensitive it could have an effect on you. to me it tasted sort of like a wine cooler, probably from the fermenting process.

I"m not sure exactly how it is fermented though I do know it has acidophilus and other probiotics in it, as well as some vitaimins.  Depending on how it is preserved or ohter factors it could have an effect also.   Certain cheap champagns and wines make me have hot flashes {weird but true}.

I haven't had a second one, since the first one. But I might try another one sometime soon.

Oh yes!!! This stuff grows on you.  I am a also a lover of this stuff.  I found it a little over a week ago at Whole Foods (on sale 2/$5).  I do feel the buzz like many of you folks are experiencing.  I am concerned because the buzz feel is not exactly like being drunk.  I take sustained release medication for ADD and med's for Panic Attacks. I don't know if this drink is interfering with the action of these med's.  I started drinking this because of the probiotic's, enzymes, amino acids, antioxidants, and possible cancer prevention properties, plus it was Alkalizing.  I have a very healthy diet and don't think the buzz feeling is from detoxing too rapidly.  Has anyone experienced a really good feeling for a short time after drinking this and then had a really funky blah feeling come on them w/ a headache and weakness (not like your sick and not like being drunk either)?  This stuff also says that it promotes weight loss.  I feel like I've gained weight (bloated) since I began drinking this.  Anyone else experienced this??  It is still good but I don't think I will be buying anymore until I have researched Kombuchau to great lengths.  I'm mainly concerned about the effect on my Med's.  As for those of you who are thinking it sounds gross, it looks just like raw unpasteurized vinegar (which is very good for you also).  Just like any raw living food the living food cultures are going to be there...VISIBLE.   Yogurt has them but it is white and you can't see them.  

I'm open to any input and opinions re: my questions.     

Hi everyone. I just wanted to point out an observation I made regarding the alcohol content in Synergy Kombucha. All of the nutritional information on the label is for HALF a serving, implying two FULL servings per bottle. It is then possible that the "trace" less than 0.5% of alcohol is actually a "trace" less than 1.0% alcohol for the entire bottle. As each individual's reaction to alcohol differs based on tolerance, height, weight, how much (s)he has eaten, how quickly it is consumed, etc., it is possible that the nearly 1.0% alcoholic content of the Kombucha would affect you similarly to the first four sips of a glass of wine or beer.

Just my two cents.