Celestial Seasonings Kombucha Energy: Pomegranate Xtreme

Labeled as the “XTREME” formulation, the Pomegranate variety of Celstial Seasonings’ Kombucha Energy Shot has 50 percent more caffeine (150mg total) than the other varieties. The increased caffeine adds a bit of burn to the flavor and also accentuates the stevia aftertaste. Otherwise, we taste sugar, tea, and a slight amount of pomegranate flavor. Unfortunately, the finish is rather medicinal and there’s no sign of kombucha in the flavor. The latter is the bigger issue for us -- we don’t think that consumers will buy a product like this when you can’t taste the kombucha (and what you can taste tastes just like a regular old energy shot). Visually, the front part of the label is clean and well done as far as energy shots go, but the energy branding (as well as the word “XTREME”) are things that do not go with kombucha or Celestial Seasonings at all. That said, this product feels like something that’s trying to combine two categories that probably don’t go that well together. Overall, we think that this concept -- and the product that they’ve created -- need a lot of work.