Better Booch Premium Kombucha Tea

Cha is a new line of USDA Organic sparkling teas from LA-based kombucha marketer Better Booch. Kombucha companies continue to expand outside the category as they search for growth and today we’re taking a look at one of the latest brands to do so.

Cha contra in four flavors: Hibiscus Ginger Lime (mood elevating), Tropical Green Tea (clarity + peace), Yerba Mate Berry (immunity + energy) and Tangerine White Tea (vitality).  Each 12 ounce can contains 10 calories and 2 grams of added sugar from agave plus stevia to further sweeten the drinks. Agave inulin is the prebiotic of choice and the products contain 1 gram of dietary fiber per can. 

From a taste perspective, all four flavors of Cha are light, crisp, and have just a hint of sweetness. The tea flavors are also mild in comparison to their unadulterated versions, but we think there’s plenty of flavor for the sparkling format that they’ve chosen.  Finally, a note of fruit flavor helps add extra depth to the drinks and also narrows the gap between these products and other mid-calorie sparkling beverages that it will likely be  competing with (most of which are fruit flavored).

All four flavors are enjoyable and the differences between them are somewhat nuanced. As the drinks are made with some unique ingredients (such as dried pineapple in the Tropical Green Tea and lemon peel in the Hibiscus Ginger Lime) these nuances are actually quite interesting. Fortunately none of the drinks have noticeable stevia flavor or aftertaste to get in the way of things. We’d be hard pressed to pick out a favorite and all four are, in our opinion, on equal footing when it comes to flavor. 

As for the branding, Cha has a nice modern looking aesthetic that definitely catches the eye. The Cha logo, which is simple illustrated black lettering in all caps, sits at the bottom of the front panel while the core graphic element, a conceptual shape that’s unique in both shape and color for each flavor, sits in the center and serves as the background for the flavor name.  To the right of this is a circular callout for the drink’s sugar content with “sparkling prebiotic tea” wrapping around the circle. Finally, at the top of the can is a functional callout that’s also unique to each flavor.

While it all looks good there are a few things about the design that leave some room for improvement in terms of it being a functional package design. For starters, we’d like to see “sparkling prebiotic tea” have a more prominent callout. It’s easy to miss and the last thing that the eye goes to when scanning the front of the can.  The most obvious place for it is the top of the front panel where the function callout sits.  Second, putting the logo at the bottom might lead to it being obscured in cooler shelves. Putting it in the center or higher up would certainly fix this.

One final bit of feedback is to list the caffeine content for the drinks.  We assume the Yerba Mate Berry has the highest caffeine content while the Hibiscus Ginger Lime likely has none.  It seems like an obvious thing to include and something that consumers will definitely ask about.

Ultimately, we really like Better Booch’s Cha and the initial four flavors that they’ve created. It’s a bit more true to their roots compared with many of the non-kombucha offerings that we’re seeing from the kombucha category and Cha is very much enjoyable in its own right.  

Since we last saw Better Booch back in early 2018, the California-based company has been busy with a host of improvements, including a package redesign, new flavors and a new round of funding. Today, we’re taking a look at the revised and expanded line, which is a step up from its previous efforts.

While Better Booch is still offering products in glass, its 16 oz. can feels like the format that’s going to be the foundation for the company moving forward. We say this based not only on the current market, which has more and more can-based entries, but also on the overall look of what they’ve created.

The canned lineup includes seven flavors: Morning Glory, Citrus Sunrise, Golden Pear, Ginger Boost, Rose Bliss, Cherry Retreat and the most recent addition, Hola Horchata. All are USDA Organic certified and contain 50 calories and 10 grams of sugars per 16 oz. can.

Aside from Morning Glory, the SKU names are pretty self-explanatory in terms of their flavoring and, as reflected by the modest amount of calories and sugar per can, all of the flavors are light and crisp. 

All of the varieties are enjoyable and well-crafted, but the more basic flavors are the standouts and will likely be the most marketable. These include Ginger Boost, Citrus Sunrise, Cherry Retreat, Morning Glory and Golden Pear. The other two SKUs, Rose Bliss and Hola Horchata, are good, but these will likely require a larger leap of faith for the consumer and, therefore, will be tougher to sell.

Taking a look at Better Booch’s packaging, we think they have done a nice job of creating something that’s hip, modern and clean. The two-tone can design, which is about one-third white and two-thirds accent color to denote flavor, is vibrant and pops visually, especially when sitting alongside the other flavors. 

From there, you’ll find the Better Booch logo running vertically with each of the two words facing inwards towards the other. This is slightly hard to read at first, but it’s a novel approach. Below that, you’ll find a hierarchically arranged list of callouts for “premium small craft,” kombucha, the flavor name and a short list of hero ingredients for the particular flavor. Overall, we like what they’ve created.

And yet, Better Booch could probably be more focused with a slimmer line with fewer SKUs. The liquid and variety that they have created in the other five flavors should be more than enough for the brand to go far and wide.

Better Booch is a Los Angeles-based brand of kombucha that has been around for a couple of years and, prior to the recent introduction of these products, had been offered exclusively in glass bottled.

Now, they are expanding their kombucha offerings to include 16 oz. cans. In recent years, cans have, thanks to the craft beer industry, regained their footing as a package that can be used for premium beverages. And Better Booch is one of a handful of kombucha companies that is hoping some of that magic will apply to their category, too.

Moving to a can also impacts the actual drinking experience. We find drinking from the wide opening of the 16 oz.can preferable to the more narrow opening of the bottle. It also makes the product more gulpable -- liquid seems to come out of the can more rapidly.

We sampled four flavors for this review: Golden Pear, Ginger Boost, Morning Glory, and Citrus Sunrise. The products are labeled as having 25 calories and 5g of sugar per 8 oz. serving (two servings per can, despite it not being resealable) and all four of the products have flavors that bear resemblance to RTD tea flavors. That said, Citrus Sunrise, which blends grapefruit, sage, and pu-erh tea, and Morning Glory, a blend of peach herbal tea and black tea, were our two favorites. But really, we wouldn’t turn up our nose at any of these.

Getting back to the packaging, we have a couple of thoughts on what they’ve created. First, we’re not fans of the sleeve wrap label, although we hope it is something that is only temporary (a printed can would look cleaner and go on straight). Second, we feel as though the size of the can is a bit large. While 16 oz. is the norm for kombucha in glass, bottles are resealable and this product is not. A 12 oz. can would be preferable -- and perhaps might allow the brand to strike a slightly lower price point.

In the end, this is definitely a step forward for Better Booch. It gives the brand both meaningful differentiation from the competition and does it in a packaging format that does feel more mainstream than their glass offering.