Camellia Grove

by Camellia Grove Kombucha Co.

Review: Camellia Grove Kombucha

Posted: Apr 15, 2019 at 10:21 AM (Last Updated: Apr 15, 2019 at 11:10 AM)

Covers Products: Black, Green, Oolong, Rooibos

Camellia Grove is a Portland, Ore-based organic kombucha brand. The upstart company currently produces four flavors, each of which uses premium ingredients and is packaged in a 12 oz stubby glass bottle.

The four flavors include Black, Green, Rooibos, and Oolong. As the names suggest, these are tea-forward products, with the difference between each variety being the type of tea that’s used to as the base. Otherwise, water and sugar (10 g per bottle) are the only other ingredients.

From a taste perspective, Camellia Grove’s kombuchas are clean and crisp, with moderate sweetness and a mild fermented flavor. There’s a good amount of tea flavor in each, although the flavor of each tea variety is nuanced.

However, these flavors are a very accurate representation of the style of tea -- the Green variety has a grassy note, Oolong has a slight toastiness, Black is full bodied and savory, and Rooibos has honey and vanilla notes.

Camellia Grove’s package design is well-executed and very polished looking. The 12 oz stubby bottle seems like a good fit for a kombucha and the white label provides some nice contrast to the dark amber glass. The design of the label features the company logo front and center with curved text elements above and below it so that all of the elements form a rough circle. The flavor name sits in this bottom portion and utilizes larger and an accent color to make it easy to pick out quickly.

Ultimately, we’d describe the aesthetic and positioning of the product as something that feels like an offshoot of the tea category. This is an approach that has worked for other players in the kombucha category, so it feels like a reasonable strategy for Camellia Grove to follow as well.

Overall, Camellia Grove is an enjoyable and high quality entry into the kombucha category and one that feels like it ticks all of the right boxes to compete at the upper end of the category.


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