The best Irish kombuchas on the market now

It started with a fermentation workshop, which I left armed with my own Scoby (Symbiotic Community of Bacteria and Yeast). This gelatinous substance acts as the starter in brewing kombucha: add it to cool sweet tea, wait a couple of weeks, and you’ll have a dry, tangy, fermented tea full of health-promoting antioxidants, polyphenols and probiotics (live cultures of gut-friendly bacteria and beneficial yeasts).

You can add flavourings for a final few days: blackberry and rosemary, say, or whatever takes your fancy. Sealing the vessel for this last step traps carbon dioxide (a byproduct of fermentation) for a light carbonation. And bingo: your own fizzy drink that is big on flavour and low on sugar and caffeine (as the Scoby consumes most of both).

Eventually, I managed to kill off my hardy Scoby — death by neglect — during a particularly busy spell, and I’ve been meaning to get my hands on another. In the meantime, I have fed my habit with shop-bought booch, which is increasingly well served by some excellent Irish brands, if not quite as easy on the pocket as making your own.

I was delighted to learn then that, besides making some of my favourite commercial booch, All About Kombucha also sells everything you need to make yours at home, from the basic Scoby to the full kit, including kilner jar, swingtop bottles, reusable cotton tea bag and detailed instructions. It’ll even sell you a range of organic tea blends, each with a green tea base to give your Scoby the caffeine boost it needs to start making booch.

All About Kombucha’s organic kombucha is widely available in cafes, health food shops and independent grocers. Its zingy raspberry was my go-to flavour until I tasted the blueberry and mint featured today. It also produces Dunnes Stores Simply Better kombucha in three flavours: Passionfruit + Mint, Cucumber + Lemon and Apple + Rose.

One of my favourite finds at Bloom this year was Prokulture Blood Orange & Turmeric Kombucha. The Kildare-based kombucha brewery is an offshoot of brewpub Lock 13, and a success story from 2020’s round of Grow with Aldi, which supports Irish food and drink entrepreneurs in bringing new products to market. You can taste the full Prokulture range at Lock 13, where its Pink Grapefruit kombucha is a popular mixer for gin.

I’ve also included a coffee liqueur from one of this year’s Grow with Aldi finalists, available while stocks last, and in the running to be restocked as winners later this year.

Drinks of the week

All About Kombucha Organic Blueberry + Mint, 0pc, €3.50 Punchy tasting with a distinctive fermented tang, this Galway-brewed certified organic kombucha is unfiltered and unpasteurised to preserve its complexity. Also available in lemon and ginger, and a deliciously refreshing raspberry flavour, my pick of the range is the blueberry and mint, made with a base of green tea, black tea and blueberry tisane featuring lots of different berries for a juicy-fruited flavour profile. Selected SuperValu, Centra and Maxol stores, health food stores (The Hopsack, Evergreen), allaboutkombucha.ie

Prokulture Blood Orange & Turmeric Kombucha, 0pc, €2.29 (330ml) Prokulture’s certified organic kombuchas are light, refreshing and not as tangy as some. This is my pick of the range, the earthy turmeric spice bringing depth to the delicate sweet citrus fragrance, with some refreshingly sour notes from the hibiscus and rosehip elements. Try spiking with whiskey. Aldi, Refillz Naas, prokulture.com

Niks Tea Organic Cold Brew Cherry Iced Tea, 0pc €2.95 (for eight) Pop a compostable tea bag into filtered or sparkling water for seven to 10 minutes for a flavourful cold brew tisane, thanks to dried carrot, apple and sweet cherry, hibiscus blossoms and earthy herbs and spices. A neat no-added-sugar base for cocktails, mocktails or popsicles, also available in mango flavour. Aldi, nikstea.ie

SynerChi Kombucha Hibiscus + Raspberry, €2.50-€3 (250ml) Ireland’s first commercial kombucha producer has been selling its unpasteurised range for over a decade. Its flavours and sweetness levels tend to be closer to an iced tea style than tangier kombuchas. Its cola-flavoured kombucha is an alternative to heavily sweetened cola brands. Widely available, including health food stores, SuperValu, Tesco

Killowen Distillery Gloria Coffee Liqueur, 20pc, €24.99 Soft aromas of cocoa butter, fudge and coffee are given punch and nuance from the lightly smoky, malty notes of this liqueur’s poitín base, distilled in a direct flame-fired copper pot still. Great on ice, or in cream liqueur cocktails. Depending on sales, it may return to Aldi; or you’ll find it in independents (at twice the price). Aldi