Reed's Culture Club Kombucha

Product Type:Tea: Kombucha; Container: 13.5 oz glass
BevNET Review: Reed’s Hibiscus Ginger Grapefruit variety of its “Culture Club” Kombucha line is a flavor that definitely feels like it’s skewing more towards the mainstream consumer than the hardcore kombucha drinker. The added ginger, grapefruit, and hibiscus provide the majority of the flavor for the drink, while the fermented flavor provides the backdrop. It’s not as vinegary as some of the other kombuchas out there, but it’s definitely among the sweeter tasting formulas that we’ve sampled (despite listing only 2g of sugar per 8oz serving). And, like many other products in the space, it’s USDA Organic certified. All in all, we like what they’ve created. On the outside, the 13.5 oz. glass bottle has been given a clear label that has prime placement of the word “kombucha.” The look is fine, but the shelf presence seems to suffer from the lack of contrast between the elements on the label and the color of the liquid. To that end, a clear label might not be the best choice. Beyond that, it’s hard to say how well the brand equity of Reed’s (primarily a soda company -- albeit one with a natural channel emphasis) will translate over to kombucha. Regardless, we think they’ve put their best foot forward with this entry. Reviewed on: 9/13/2012

Product Type:Tea: Kombucha; Container: 13.5 oz glass
BevNET Review: Reed’s Goji Ginger Culture Club Kombucha is a product that feels very much like an extension of what Reed’s has been doing in the ginger beer space. Specifically, it has a rather pronounced ginger flavor, which does a nice job of mellowing out the vinegary flavor of the kombucha. While there is added goji berry, lemon juice, and yerba mate extract, these flavors cannot really be distinguished from the mix. Still, the flavor is enjoyable, so long as you are someone that enjoys the flavor of ginger. To that end, they’ve done a nice job, especially in creating something that should have a relatively mainstream appeal (if such a thing exists for kombucha). Visually, the 13.5 oz. clear glass bottle feels nice in the hand. The clear label looks nice, but seems to have technical issues with being applied on the curved glass (every bottle we have seen has bubbles). Furthermore, their choice of color for the text on the back is difficult to read as it’s very close to the color of the liquid. Otherwise, the product is easily identifiable as a product of Reed’s, which may or may not help this product (will the fact that a soda company is making kombucha make sense?). Overall, we like what’s inside the bottle, but the label could stand to be improved.Reviewed on: 9/13/2012