Can I drink kombucha when pregnant or breastfeeding?
We do not give medical advice, so here are the facts: Rudy's Kombucha is unpasteurised, contains a living culture, carries a trace of alcohol under 0.5% ABV, and contains caffeine from green tea. Whether that fits your pregnancy or breastfeeding is a question for your doctor or midwife.
Rudy's Kombucha is unpasteurised and still contains a living culture.
It carries a trace of alcohol, under 0.5% ABV, and caffeine from green tea.
We do not publish a measured caffeine figure. Ask your doctor or midwife.
The four facts that matter
It is unpasteurised, so it has not been heat-processed. It contains living cultures of bacteria and yeast. Fermentation leaves a trace of alcohol, which stays under 0.5% ABV. And the base is green tea, which carries caffeine that we have not measured.
Why we stop there
Pregnancy and breastfeeding guidance on unpasteurised products, on trace alcohol and on caffeine is set by health authorities and varies between them, and it depends on you rather than on the can. Your doctor or midwife has your history in front of them. We do not, so we give you the composition and let them advise.
Hard Kombucha
Hard Kombucha is 4.5% ABV. It is an alcoholic drink, sold to adults 18 and over (20 and over in Sweden and Lithuania).
Can children drink kombucha?
Rudy's Kombucha is sold without an age limit, because it is a non-alcoholic drink under 0.5% ABV. It is unpasteurised, tart, lightly fizzy and contains caffeine from green tea. Parents decide; if you want guidance for a particular child, ask your doctor. Hard Kombucha is 18+ (20+ in Sweden and Lithuania) and never for children.
No age restriction applies to ordinary Rudy's Kombucha; it is a non-alcoholic drink.
It is unpasteurised, contains living cultures, carries a trace of alcohol and contains caffeine.
Hard Kombucha at 4.5% ABV is for adults 18 and over (20 and over in Sweden and Lithuania), full stop.
What the law does
Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian law classify a drink as alcoholic above 1.2 per cent by volume, and beer above 0.5 per cent. Under 0.5% ABV, Rudy's Kombucha sits below both, so no age limit attaches to buying it.
What the can contains
Unpasteurised kombucha with a living culture, a trace of alcohol under 0.5% ABV, caffeine from green tea that we have not measured, and between 0.8 and 2.4 g of sugars per 100 ml. Those are the facts a parent would want. What to do with them for a specific child is a conversation with your doctor, not with us.
Hard Kombucha
The Hard range is a separate, alcoholic product at 4.5% ABV, sold to adults 18 and over only (20 and over in Sweden and Lithuania).
Can I drink kombucha if I am allergic to yeast?
Kombucha is fermented by a culture of bacteria and yeast, so yeast is part of how it is made and traces stay in the can. Yeast is not one of the 14 allergens EU law requires on a label, so it will not appear in an allergen line. If you react to yeast, ask your doctor.
Yeast is intrinsic to kombucha: it is half of the SCOBY that does the fermenting.
Because the drink is unpasteurised, the culture is still present in the can.
Yeast is not one of the 14 EU declarable allergens, so no allergen line will name it.
Why yeast is in there
A SCOBY is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. The yeast converts sugar; the bacteria convert what the yeast makes. Take the yeast out and you no longer have kombucha. Rudy's does not pasteurise, so the culture is still in the can when you open it.
What the label will and will not tell you
Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 lists 14 substances that must be declared as allergens, from cereals containing gluten to sulphites. Yeast is not on that list, so its absence from an allergen line tells you nothing either way. The ingredient list is the place to look, and it names the kombucha culture directly.
What to do about it
We are not going to give you a verdict on your own reaction. Bring the ingredient list to your doctor: water, kombucha culture (water, green tea, SCOBY), fruit juice or puree, plant fibres, sweeteners.
Latvia - likums Par akcīzes nodokli, 3. pants: beer above 0.5 per cent by volume, fermented beverages above 1.2 per cent by volume: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/81066-par-akcizes-nodokli
