How Much Caffeine is Really in Kombucha?

A Look at the Popular Sparkling Beverage

Kombucha, the sparkling fermented tea, has become a beloved beverage amongst the health-conscious community. This beverage, with its origins stretching back 2,000 years to China, has experienced a modern resurgence due to its numerous health benefits, particularly those linked to digestion and gut health. But there's one question that bubbles up often: what about its caffeine content?

Caffeine: A Natural Stimulant

Caffeine, a natural substance found not only in coffee but also in tea, cacao plants, and some soft drinks, is a renowned alertness booster, featuring heavily in our daily lives. In fact, over half of all American adults consume more than 300 mg of caffeine every day. To give you a snapshot of what this looks like, here's the typical caffeine content in some common items:

•  A cup of brewed coffee: 96 mg
• A cup of decaffeinated coffee: 2 mg
• A cup of tea: 47 mg
• A can of regular cola: 22 mg
• A can of energy drink: 29 mg

Kombucha: A Balance of Energy and Calm

Given that Kombucha is brewed using tea (green, black, white, or oolong), it naturally contains caffeine. However, the caffeine content in Kombucha is relatively minimal, averaging around just 15mg per serving – barely noticeable even to those sensitive to caffeine.

This balance is achieved through the fermentation process, where yeast and bacteria naturally consume the caffeine. The longer the fermentation, the lower the caffeine content. This property of Kombucha makes it a fantastic option for those looking to reduce their daily caffeine intake while still enjoying a little energy boost.

And there's more! Unlike coffee, which can raise anxiety levels, tea – and by extension, Kombucha – has a calming effect on the drinker. This is due to the presence of the amino acid L-theanine, which works against caffeine's stimulative effects, resulting in a calming effect 30-40 minutes after ingestion.

Caffeine Content: Comparing Kombucha Brands

 Let's examine how different Kombucha brands stack up in terms of caffeine content:

• RISE Kombucha: Uses a unique fermentation process to naturally lower caffeine and sugar content. The caffeine content can be as low as 8.63 mg per 207ml serving, depending on the flavor.
• Health-Ade Kombucha: Contains a slightly higher caffeine concentration, with between 8mg-15mg of caffeine per serving.
• KeVita Masterbrew Kombucha: Owned by PepsiCo, KeVita's Kombucha contains a relatively higher caffeine content, averaging around 68 mg per 15.2oz serving.
• GT’s Kombucha: Offers about 4mg to 8mg of caffeine per 8oz serving.
• Brew Dr. Kombucha: Has about 15mg of caffeine per 14oz bottle. 

Worried about the Caffeine Content of Commercial Kombucha? Why Not Make Your Own!

We pride ourselves very much on the quality of tea we import for our consumers. When we were tasked by Gnarbucha Kombucha Company in our hometown of Jacksonville Florida, we used the same quality standards as our base to source the best tea available. 

Our Organic Northern Assam Black tea is inexpensive and make a fantastic tasting tea on its own. We blended this tea with other herbs like rooibos to make a kombucha blend, perfect for making your own komucha brew at home. 

We have many varieties of herbal fruit blends to use as your flavoring. With 0 caffeine on most of our tea blends making up the bulk of your kombucha. you can have a very lightly caffeinated, almost caffeine free beverage with all the probiotics of kombucha made right at home.

Please see our Kombucha Recipe here to start making your kombucha today!