Caffeine Content

One question often asked is “How much caffeine is in kombucha?”. Given that kombucha is made with black tea which contains a fair amount of caffeine, this is an important question if you generally avoid caffeinated beverages.

There are a lot of different findings in this area that run the gamut from the caffeine is greatly reduced during the fermentation process to it isn’t reduced at all. One source, Dr. David Chappuis in his work The Green Tea Book, found that caffeine content of kombucha reduced by approximately 25% over a two-week brewing time. This could be extrapolated upon to assume that it would continue to decrease through longer brewing.

With many different findings from many different sources, it seems safe to say that there is some caffeine in the final brew, though most sources consider it to be a relatively small amount.

Alcohol Content

Like other fermented foods, kombucha does contain some alcohol as a by-product of the fermentation process. The alcohol content of kombucha is generally considered very low by most standards, especially when traditional brewing practices are kept.

Sugar Content

Kombucha starts as a very sweet tea and, over time through the brewing process, becomes more tart and less sweet. The sugar content can therefore be controlled by the amount of time it is allowed to brew. A longer brew of at least several weeks will contain much less sugar and much more organic acids.

Remember, too, that kombucha brewing is dependent on the temperature at which it cultures. Sugar content will vary with the seasons as well as the length of time it is allowed to culture for. For that reason, tasting the kombucha at various stages of the brew is the most reliable way to discern the sugar content and the length of brew time.