Kombucha has become all the craze these days. From being something completely unknown, it has become increasingly popular in recent years. Have you ever heard of kombucha? New kombucha brands keep popping up in local health stores, and it is touted for several excellent health benefits.
It seems like everybody wants to get their hands on kombucha, including athletes. What possible benefits could this new beverage have for athletes?
We will discuss what kombucha is, its unique taste, how it’s made, and why it is becoming so popular. There is a lot of money to be made by creating your own kombucha beverage brand, and we will also discuss how you can capitalize on this opportunity.
Table of Contents
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is effectively a drink made using fermented tea. It has a slightly sweet and effervescent taste that may take some getting used to but is not bad in any way. Kombucha can have a variety of tastes depending on what the manufacturer decides to infuse the beverage with during the manufacturing process. You can expect everything from different fruit flavors to botanicals that can impart unique flavors in the beverage.
There are several things in a single serving of kombucha. A variety of organic acids, vitamins, live acetic acid, bacteria, and yeast cultures are primarily what you can expect in every kombucha beverage. It can have more ingredients, depending on what the particular flavor is infused with by the manufacturer. Many commercially produced kombucha beverages have added flavors, sugars, or fruit juices that enhance the final flavor of the product.
What Does it Taste Like?
Not many people drink kombucha that is not infused with different flavors. Pure kombucha made using tea, and just the original ingredients, has a slightly sweet taste that comes with hints of sour vinegary notes. By the sound of it, kombucha does not seem like it has a pleasant taste, but it is surprisingly refreshing.
The fermentation process can also impart a varying degree of fizziness to the beverage. Depending on how long the manufacturer fermented the batch of kombucha, you could have a slight-to-moderately fizzy sensation when you drink kombucha. Depending on the length of fermentation, kombucha can also have varying sugar levels.
The longer it is fermented, the lower the sugar content will be. This is because the more time it ferments, the more the yeast and bacteria can convert the sugar into acids. Longer fermented kombucha has a less sweet and sour taste. Kombucha infused with herbs or fruits also takes on the flavor of all the additives.
Typically, manufacturers infuse flavors to improve the flavor, especially when the batch has been fermented for a long time.
How is Kombucha Made?
The specific process each manufacturer follows can be slightly different, but there are a few key processes that are there for making kombucha that every manufacturer follows. The basic principle behind creating the beverage is combining black or green tea with white sugar, starter culture called Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY), and a small amount of unflavored kombucha from a previous batch.
The manufacturer creates this mixture using the ingredients above and leaves it to ferment for several days. The yeast and bacteria in the mixture begins converting all the white sugar into organic acids. While you can drink the kombucha a few days after you leave it for fermentation, many manufacturers ferment it for longer to maximize its benefits.
You can combine it with herbal tea, roots, or juices to add more flavor and make the drink more interesting – or simply choose to have it as it is.
Benefits of Kombucha for Athletes
Some people have started calling kombucha nature’s sports drink because of its potential to help athletes. We will take a closer look at the benefits that the beverage can have for your health. It will help you get a better understanding of why kombucha is excellent for athletes.
It has low sugar content
When creating the mixture that is fermented to make kombucha, manufacturers add a considerable amount of white sugar to the drink. White sugar is a common part of the drink because it catalyzes the fermentation process. The yeast and bacteria responsible for fermentation convert the sugar into organic acids that yield all the health benefits of kombucha.
Depending on how long the batch is fermented, a kombucha serving could have very low sugar content. The exact amount of sugar left in kombucha once it is ready to serve can vary. Because of the varying amount of sugar, manufacturers are now printing the amount of sugar they used to begin the fermentation process. Typically, they use no more than 8oz sugar. The final product will have significantly lower sugar content.
If you are an athlete looking to hydrate yourself without having sugary drinks, kombucha could make a viable alternative for you. Of course, drinking water for hydration is better than any other beverage. Adding kombucha in moderation can help you enjoy its potential health benefits without consuming excess sugar.
Kombucha is full of probiotics
The yeast and bacteria contained in SCOBY lead to a healthy combination of probiotics in kombucha. It means that kombucha can be an ideal way for you to add probiotics to your diet. Probiotics are typically found in foods like yogurt. These probiotics are excellent for your gut health.
Suppose that you are lactose intolerant or have a vegetarian lifestyle. Eating yogurt and other dairy products is out of the question. Fortunately, the probiotic content in kombucha can help you add probiotics that can help you feel healthier.
Additionally, probiotics help you improve digestion and decrease the bad bacteria content in your body.
It may provide support to your immune system
The probiotics in kombucha help decrease the bad bacteria in your body. Additionally, the fermented tea beverage can provide more support to your immune system due to its high Vitamin C content. Adding another source rich in Vitamin C and probiotics to your diet through this beverage can increase your immune system’s ability to fight off harmful bacteria.
You can experience an overall resistance against bacteria that cause inflammatory and various seasonal illnesses. Kombucha also contains different B vitamins, amino acids, and organic acids.
These are all essential components of the drink that can improve your overall metabolic processes and health functions by supporting your immune system.
Kombucha may offer joint relief
There are some kombucha beverages available in the market that contain glucosamine. This is a necessary ingredient in an amino sugar that is attributed to providing relief from joint pain. Glucosamine has long been used in ancient Chinese medicines to help people who are suffering from arthritis.
As an athlete, drinking a moderate amount of kombucha after a lot of physical exertion through workouts, practice, and competing can help you boost your recovery.
Do You Want to Start Making Kombucha for Athletes?
The beverage industry is seeing all kinds of new and interesting products becoming popular. Some new beverages become fads that fade away after some time, but it seems that kombucha is here to stay. As the world becomes more health-conscious, drinks like kombucha will only become more popular.
With all its potential benefits, everyone from athletes to regular people are drinking more and more kombucha to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
The beverage industry is expanding, and several opportunities are rising up. From being a home-brewed beverage, kombucha’s popularity has also made it a widely available commercial beverage. Suppose you are planning to start making kombucha for athletes yourself for its potential in the beverage industry. In that case, you should work with the right partner that can help you set up a scalable operation for making kombucha.
The Drinks Labs is an excellent beverage manufacturer that you can consider partnering with to create your own kombucha brand.