Cheat sheet

Taste it like you mean it

Wine has had its vocabulary for centuries; kombucha gets one page. How to taste a can properly, the words for what you find, what to serve beside it, and four ways to dress it up - no spirits required.

The method

How to taste kombucha

  1. Look

    Pour it into a glass and hold it up. The colour tells you which fruit went in, pale straw to deep berry. A light haze, or a pale strand, is the culture travelling with the liquid - unpasteurised kombucha is allowed to look alive.

  2. Nose

    Three things to find: tea, fruit, ferment. The green tea reads leafy and dry. The fruit is whatever the label names, mango to rhubarb. The ferment sits behind both - a faint, cidery sharpness that says the culture did its work.

  3. Sip

    Notice the order things arrive. Sweetness lands first, and in ours it lands quietly. Fruit or herb takes the middle. The sour edge and the tea's tannin close the sip. The Sweet and Character labels on every product page map onto exactly this order.

  4. Finish

    Count what lingers once the glass is down. A dry, short finish asks for the next sip; a fruitier one stays a while. If the sourness hangs on pleasantly, you have found the reason wine people nod at kombucha.

The words

Say what you taste

Bright
Fresh, sharp, awake. The opposite of flat - in flavour, not just in fizz.
Sour edge
The clean, citrusy turn at the end of a sip. On our shelf it is a filter you can click.
Tannin
The gentle dryness green tea leaves on your tongue. Same family as wine, smaller voice.
Body
How full the liquid feels in the mouth. Puree-led cans pour rounder than juice-led ones.
Dry
Not sweet, and not trying to be. Where the ferment finished its work.
Fruit-led
The fruit does the talking and the tea keeps the rhythm. Most of our shelf lives here.
Herbal
A leaf out front - basil, mint, fireweed, matcha. Quieter than fruit, longer to say goodbye.
Funk
The ferment's own voice: cidery, a little wild. In a brewed kombucha it is a note, not the song.
Finish
Everything you can still taste once the glass is down.
Balance
When the sweetness, the fruit and the sour edge stop competing. The thing we tune for.

The serve

Cold, poured, and on time

Temperature

Cold, straight from the fridge. The label only asks for storage at +2 to +25 °C, so the fridge is our preference rather than a rule - but a cold can holds its sparkle better and foams less on opening. Give it a few hours.

The glass

A stemmed glass, and no shame in reaching for the wine glass. It narrows above the liquid, so the tea, the fruit and the ferment collect where your nose is going. A tumbler works; the stem just flatters the drink. Clearly an opinion, firmly held.

When to open which can

Every flavour on the shelf carries its own drink-it moments, read live from the product data. Pick the hour; these cans have volunteered.

The table

What to eat with which can

Our pairings, not laws. Each line starts from the can's own Sweet and Character calls - printed under the name - and heads for the plate we would put beside it.

  • Mango & Passion Fruit

    Balanced · Fruit-led

    Pairs with Grilled chicken skewers, a green Thai curry, soft tacos.

    Full-bodied tropical fruit stands up to spice without pouring sugar on the fire.

  • Pineapple & Peach

    Sweet · Fruit-led

    Pairs with Pancakes, waffles, the milder end of a cheese board.

    The ripest can on the shelf - let it play dessert.

  • Coconut & Pineapple

    Sweet · Fruit-led

    Pairs with Prawn skewers, coconut rice, anything off a beach barbecue.

    Round, creamy tropical sweetness that loves char and salt.

  • Raspberry & Basil

    Balanced · Herbal

    Pairs with Burrata, tomato salad, grilled peach.

    The basil ties the glass to the plate; the raspberry cuts the cream.

  • Rhubarb

    Balanced · Sour edge

    Pairs with Roast pork, pâté, a buttery pastry.

    Sweet-and-sour rhubarb does what a pickle does, more politely.

  • Lemon & Ginger

    Barely sweet · Sour edge

    Pairs with Sushi, ramen, anything fried.

    The driest, sharpest can on the shelf cuts through fat like the lemon it nearly is.

  • Mandarin & Yuzu

    Sweet · Sour edge

    Pairs with Dumplings, glazed salmon, a chilli stir-fry.

    Citrus sweetness with a sharp turn - the shelf's own sweet-and-sour.

  • Pear & Fireweed by Madara Meiere

    Balanced · Herbal

    Pairs with Afternoon cake, oat biscuits, a mild blue cheese.

    Quiet pear and meadow tea want quiet company.

  • Matcha & Passion Fruit

    Barely sweet · Herbal

    Pairs with Poke bowls, avocado toast, a green salad.

    Grassy matcha reads as savoury and sits with food the way green tea always has.

  • Cold Brew Coffee & Orange

    Barely sweet · Herbal

    Pairs with Dark chocolate, brunch pastries, tiramisu.

    Coffee and orange was already a dessert pairing; this can just carbonated it.

  • Dragon Fruit Mojito

    Balanced · Herbal

    Pairs with Tacos, ceviche, salted crisps.

    Lime and mint are party food's oldest friends.

  • HARD Passion Fruit

    Barely sweet · Fruit-led

    Hard kombucha · 4.5% ABV · adults 18+

    Pairs with A burger, grilled halloumi, salty snacks.

    Dry and tropical - pour it the way you would a dry cider.

  • HARD Guava

    Barely sweet · Fruit-led

    Hard kombucha · 4.5% ABV · adults 18+

    Pairs with Tacos al pastor, jerk chicken, aged cheddar.

    Guava's perfume over a dry finish plays the white-wine role.

  • HARD Mandarin & Yuzu

    Barely sweet · Sour edge

    Hard kombucha · 4.5% ABV · adults 18+

    Pairs with Fried chicken, tempura, oysters if you are feeling brave.

    Sharp citrus and bubbles - the classic answer to batter and brine.

The glass

Four serves, no spirits

Kombucha is the mixer here, and nothing stronger goes in: juice, herbs, ice, tonic. Each serve is built on one flavour and takes about two minutes.

  • The Sundowner

    Mango & Passion Fruit

    Ingredients

    • 1 can Mango & Passion Fruit, well chilled
    • Crushed ice
    • 2 lime wedges
    • A sprig of mint

    Method

    1. Fill a tall glass with crushed ice and squeeze both lime wedges over it.
    2. Pour the can in slowly, down the side of the glass.
    3. Slap the mint once, drop it in.

  • Garden Spritz

    Raspberry & Basil

    Ingredients

    • 1 can Raspberry & Basil
    • Ice cubes
    • Tonic water
    • Fresh basil leaves
    • 1 lemon wheel

    Method

    1. Build over ice: two parts kombucha to one part tonic.
    2. Add the lemon wheel and a couple of basil leaves.
    3. Stir once, no more.

  • Kuldīga Cooler

    Lemon & Ginger

    Ingredients

    • 1 can Lemon & Ginger
    • Ice cubes
    • Ribbons of cucumber
    • Soda water

    Method

    1. Line the glass with cucumber ribbons and fill it with ice.
    2. Pour the can, then top with a splash of soda.
    3. Drink it before it dilutes - it will not take long.

  • Coffee Tonic, Reversed

    Cold Brew Coffee & Orange

    Ingredients

    • 1 can Cold Brew Coffee & Orange
    • Ice cubes
    • Tonic water
    • A strip of orange zest

    Method

    1. Fill the glass to the top with ice.
    2. Pour two parts kombucha to one part tonic.
    3. Twist the zest over the surface, then drop it in.