LiveBrew v's Kombucha

What is the difference between LiveBrew and Kombucha?

LiveBrew is a certified organic, microbial consortium (think collaborative ecosystem) of live probiotic Lactobacillus strains and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a rich soup of beneficial organic acids produced by the lactobacilli.

At the end of LiveBrew’s shelf life there are 10⁷(10 million or 10,000,000) Lactobacillus cfu (colony forming units as grown on agar plates in a laboratory) per ml. Put another way, each 100ml dose of LiveBrew contains a minimum of 1 billion beneficial bacteria, live, metabolising and ready to do good all the way through the gut.

Kombucha is, at its best, a pleasant fermented weak tea vinegar (that’s what its name means). There is goodness in acetic acid, i.e., vinegar, and people have been extolling the virtues of cider vinegar for millennia. Some Kombucha have the word “probiotic” on the label as the use of this word is not regulated in New Zealand. One product claims to have Saccharomyces boulardii as a probiotic though the numbers present is not given and the only documented beneficial effect from some strains of this yeast is slightly improved recovery from diarrhoea.

We have been asked if we could sweeten LiveBrew to make it taste more like a soft drink or some of the flavoured kombuchas.

Artificial sweeteners, including Stevia, negatively affect microbial numbers.

LiveBrew can be sweetened with sugar or honey,  at point of consumption.  If added at the time of bottling the sugars are consumed by the bacteria in the bottle and alter the balanced ecology in the bottle.

The best way to adjust the flavour of LiveBrew to your taste is to make your own recipe!

LiveBrew may be diluted with water or mixed with juice, smoothie, or any cool beverage at the time of consumption.

Our favourites include mixing with ginger beer or lemon cordial!