Honest Kombucha

Product Type:Tea: Kombucha; Container: 16 oz bottle
BevNET Review: While there’s definitely some decent berry flavor to this product, we found it somewhat hard to find the hibiscus. Still, as far as kombucha drinks go, this one is quite drinkable, with a tolerable level of fermented flavor and the berry flavor doing a nice job of balancing things out. The product is lightly carbonated (natural carbonation from fermentation), which accentuates the bite of the product and gives the product a slightly crisp finish. It’s also got some sweetness to it (sugar aids in fermentation), but only 7g of sugar per serving and, on a related note, only 70 calories per bottle. While it’s hard to say how well this product “works,” we’re definitely appreciative of Honest’s balanced approach to this product, allowing other, more pleasant (and unfermented) flavors to make their way into the mix. This makes the product substantially more drinkable than the competition, thus creating a larger potential customer base for Honest Kombucha than some of the more extreme offerings out there. Packaging also has a leg up on the other brands, taking the familiar Honest brand and applying it to a well designed proprietary glass bottle. The front panel has makes good use of space, with text and visual elements appealing to the eye and easy to quickly pan and read. However, we’re not really sure what the circle that’s next to the flavor name is supposed to be, but it does add a nice color accent to the design. Overall, a very nice job by Honest.Reviewed on: 11/16/2009

Product Type:Tea: Kombucha; Container: 16 oz bottle
BevNET Review: With their Peach Mango flavored Honest Kombucha, Honest has done a great job of translating the popular juice cocktail flavor into a kombucha drink. Of course, there’s a decent amount of fermented flavor to the mix, but the peach and mango flavors add a refreshing (and natural tasting) dimension to the product that you won’t find in any competing product. In many ways, it’s not that far off from what you’d probably get from mixing an Honest Ade Orange Mango with unsweetened kombucha. The familiar juice flavor is likely to be a key selling point for this product, especially compared to some of the other, more fermented tasting products out there. Plus, it’s likely to give this product some added mainstream appeal, which is something that kombucha has been unable to do to date. We’re also big fans of the product’s packaging, which starts off nicely with a proprietary 16 oz. glass bottle. The product’s label looks all grown up in comparison to some of Honest’s tea label designs, while raised “HONEST” lettering, clean label design, and an oversized black plastic cap give the product a polished look: we’d love to see Honest make this their default glass bottle for their entire line. Overall, a very enjoyable (and almost mainstream) effort that’s sure to help kombucha reach some new customers who were previously scared off by the overly fermented flavor. Reviewed on: 11/16/2009

Product Type:Tea: Kombucha; Container: 16 oz bottle
BevNET Review: Of all the kombucha drinks that we’ve sampled, this one is definitely our favorite, both from a taste and packaging point of view. Using a “live, organic, and raw” formulation, the product has the traditional slightly fermented flavor that you’ll find in all kombuchas, along with a light amount of carbonation (a byproduct of fermentation). Otherwise, there’s a slight tea note to the product, as well as a healthy amount of lemon and ginger. The added lemon and ginger are what make it a great tasting product, with the sour lemon flavor and spice of the ginger helping to add balance to the flavor of the kombucha. Functionally, you get the benefits of probiotics, although we certainly cannot tell you how this product compares against the competition. From a packaging point of view, Honest has created a very nice looking proprietary 16 oz. glass bottle. The product has raised “HONEST” lettering on both sides, with a large black closure on top. The label design is clean and appealing, with an almost abstract looking image placed in the center of the label. Otherwise, it’s very easy to read, with a lot of thought clearly going into where to place each text element. They’ve also placed the Fair Trade and USDA Organic logos on the front, which is certainly a plus. Overall, Honest’s Lemon Ginger Kombucha is the best tasting and one of the best looking entries we’ve seen in this category to date.Reviewed on: 11/16/2009