East Coast brews

Baba’s Bucha Purple Rain

Named after the Pennsylvania-based founder’s great-grandmother “Baba,” who often brewed kombucha for its health-promoting properties, Baba’s Brew Purple Rain is a jammy, floral blend of organic blueberries, ginger, hibiscus and a touch of butterfly pea flower to tint this bubbly beverage a subtle blue tone. The newly updated packaging is pretty snazzy, too. SRP: $4.99

Tribucha Café Con Bucha

Part coffee and part kombucha, this bubbly beverage has a roasty, toasty flavor that reminds us of a light, flavorful coffee. It’s a blend of green and black teas, coffee, cacao nibs, elderberries, cinnamon chips, ashwagandha root, dandelion and more. We love this North Carolina-based brand for its interesting kombucha flavors and trippy packaging graphics. SRP: $2.90-$3.90

Buchi Kombucha Earth

Like an ultrahealthy approach to root beer, this tasty kombucha from the Asheville, North Carolina-based brand Buchi features an earthy blend of healthful ingredients including dandelion, burdock root and chicory. Herbal add-ins such as holy basil, stinging nettle and rhodiola boost this kombucha brand’s functional powers. A touch of organic maple syrup tempers kombucha’s sour taste, making Buchi palatable for even non-booch drinkers. SRP: $3.49

Related:Boosting booch: Introduce kombucha to your customers

Mother Kombucha Hopped Passion Fruit

Brewed in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, we dig how the brand name “Mother Kombucha” alludes to the drink’s signature SCOBY, which is sometimes referred to as “the mother.” This slightly bitter USDA Organic kombucha is brewed with fair trade green tea and a medley of flavorful hops, hibiscus and amla, with passionfruit extract for a bright finish. SRP: $3.99

Pilot Kombucha Turmeric Aloe

This Brooklyn-based kombucha brand pumps out superinteresting kombucha flavors that are sure to make a splash in your cold case. Think Celery Juniper or Apple Cider Chai. This yellow-tinted SKU is similarly exciting with its blend of organic ginger, orange peel, dried organic turmeric and whole-leaf aloe juice for a fun, functional sip. SRP: $6.50

Central contenders

Lake State Kombucha Ginger

Talk about a brand with a strong sense of place! Brewed in Minnetonka, Minnesota, this spicy-sweet kombucha contains a simple but powerful blend of organic green and black teas and ginger extract—that’s it! The resulting brew is ultrasmooth with minimal sourness and just a whiff of effervescence to appeal to a wide range of consumers. SRP: $3.29

Elixir Kombucha Gonzofruit

This flavor moniker is inspired by the infamous writer Hunter S. Thompson, who hailed from Elixir Kombucha’s hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. (Yes, there is locally brewed kombucha in Kentucky, ya’ll!) This SKU is a citrusy, bright blend of organic grapefruit juice, organic hibiscus flower and organic orange peel—a stellar combo that left us wanting more, and perhaps a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas. SRP: $3.89

Upstart Kombucha Rose Bud

A refreshing, delicately flavored booch, we love to sip this beverage after a long trail run or hike—there’s something about Upstart’s lightly sparkling texture that hydrates well. This flavor aims for maximum floral punch: it’s comprised of organic vegan cane sugar, organic rosebuds, organic white tea and a rose tea blend. We love this Rocky Mountain-based brew! SRP: $4

Rowdy Mermaid Rowdy Belly

It may seem strange that a kombucha brand called Rowdy Mermaid comes from landlocked Colorado. But questioning from whence this rambunctious siren came isn’t top of mind. Rather, we’re focused on guzzling this lovely organic blend containing green and black teas and tummy-calming add-ins such as ginger, turmeric, fenugreek, lemongrass and more. SRP: $5

Kombuchade Lavender Lemonade

This Chicago-based kombucha is packaged in a tall, elegant glass bottle that hints at the high-quality ingredients inside. Positioned as a performance beverage to better speak to active shoppers, this Lavender Lemonade flavor features a blend of organic tea varieties including ruby oolong, green, rooibos, yerba mate and herbs such as lavender, lemon balm and butterfly pea powder. The result is a floral, citrusy kombucha with just the right amount of tang. SRP: $4.99

Western front-runners

Brew Dr. Kombucha Love

Brewed in Portland, Oregon, Brew Dr. Kombucha is born out of the kitchen of Townshend’s Tea Co., a teahouse that prioritized sourcing responsibly grown tea and sustainable business practices. The brand recently started bottling its kombucha in aluminum cans grouped in four-packs to encourage shoppers to consume kombucha on the go, such as when hiking or at a BBQ. The Love flavor contains a floral blend of lavender, chamomile, damiana and rose. SRP: $11.99 per four-pack

Humm Kombucha Raspberry Hops

Based in Bend, Oregon, Humm’s claim to fame is democratizing kombucha by making the flavor profile more palatable for everyone—even for those who have never sampled the beverage before. Humm’s newest flavor, Raspberry Hops, blends the fruitiness of raspberries with the bitter, floral flavor of dry hops to craft an interesting, addictive drink. Bonus: Each serving contains just 25 calories and a reasonable 5 grams of sugar. SRP: $3.29- $3.69

Wild Tonic Raspberry Goji Rose

Based in Cottonwood, Arizona, Wild Tonic is unique because it’s a “jun” kombucha—a type of kombucha fermented not with cane sugar, but with honey, which elicits a lighter, less sour taste than traditional kombucha. This floral flavor is infused with USDA Organic raspberry juice, goji juice and rose essence. Wild Tonic also has a line of alcohol kombuchas that contain either 5.6 percent or 7.6 percent alcohol per serving. SRP: $4.99-$6.99

GT’s Kombucha Pure Love

If you stock kombucha, chances are you already carry several SKUs of GT’s Kombucha—and for good reason. Founder GT Dave has been brewing, bottling and selling kombucha since the 1990s, when the term “kombucha” barely resonated with even dedicated natural foodies. This limited-edition flavor, called Pure Love, is available until March 31, 2019, and is a fruity, floral blend that contains blood orange, dried rosebuds and rose petals, hibiscus and more. SRP: $3.99

Revive Kombucha Turmeric Ginger Citrus

Sonoma County-based Revive Kombucha is always organic and always deliciously formulated. This new Turmeric Ginger Citrus flavor contains a delightfully balanced blend of ginger, orange, lime, lemon, turmeric and black pepper extract—a classic Ayurvedic ingredient often paired with turmeric and ginger. Revive’s relatively recent packaging redesign is a bold, bright image that stands out beautifully in the cold case. SRP: $2.99-$3.49