Kombucha is a popular probiotic beverage made with live and active cultures that are said to support gut health. With so many brands and flavors available, it can be hard to know which one to choose. I picked up the Brew Dr. Kombucha variety pack from Costco and tried all the flavors, read on to find out my thoughts on this brand!
Location in Store
This is located in the refrigerated section at Costco near the Stok Cold Brew Coffee and the Starbucks Caramel Macchiatto Coffee Enhancer. The item number is 1518966.
Taste
The box comes with three different flavors of kombucha. Clear Mind is a blend of rosemary, mint, sage, and green tea. Island Mango combines mango, passion fruit, and green tea. Blackberry Trails features blackberry, ginger, and green tea. I tried all three flavors and took notes on each. All of them have the familiar kombucha taste and fizziness you’d expect if you’ve had kombucha before.
Clear Mind
This one is tangy and refreshing. I can pick up the rosemary and sage slightly, though I don’t think I’d identify them in a blind taste test. It’s crisp, fizzy, and light on flavor, yet surprisingly still tastes a bit sweet considering the ingredients.
Island Mango
This flavor is less vinegary and tangy. The mango comes through more strongly than the passion fruit. It has a pleasant mango flavor, though there’s a slight aftertaste I don’t love. Overall, it’s sweet but not overly so, making it a refreshing option.
Blackberry Trails
This one is mild and not very flavorful. The blackberry and ginger are subtle, with the fizz and a hint of vinegar standing out more. Like the mango, it has a slight aftertaste. Still, this ended up being my favorite of the three.
Cost
The box includes six 414-milliliter bottles of kombucha—two of each flavor—for $15.99 Canadian. That works out to about $2.67 per bottle, which is very reasonable compared to buying a single bottle at a grocery store or farmers market, where prices usually start around four dollars.
Convenience
The packaging advises keeping the kombucha refrigerated, as the bottles may explode if left out. The best-before date is about ten months from the purchase date.
Health Benefits of Kombucha
Kombucha is rich in probiotics from the fermentation process, which support gut health. It’s known to help reduce gut inflammation and improve the microbiome. The tea also provides antioxidants, which may support gut and heart health, strengthen the immune system, and lower inflammation.
Nutrition
Calories
Clear Mind contains 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 0 milligrams of sodium. Island Mango contains 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 0 milligrams of sodium.
The Blackberry Trails flavor contains 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein and sodium. Kombucha isn’t especially low in sugar or carbohydrates, but it is low in calories—and the bottles are a generous size!
Ingredients
The ingredient list varies depending on the flavor. All three contain green tea and live kombucha culture. Clear Mind includes green tea, rosemary, peppermint, sage, and dandelion root.
The Island Mango flavor contains passion fruit juice, mango purée, ginger juice, and strawberry essence. I didn’t notice any strawberry flavor, so I was surprised to see it listed as an ingredient!
The Blackberry Trails flavor contains blueberry juice, blackberry purée, ginger juice, and strawberry essence. I like that it includes blueberry juice, since blueberries are rich in antioxidants!
Scoring
Taste: 7.5/10
Cost: 6/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 8/10
Overall
Give them a try!
If you’ve had kombucha before and know you enjoy it, I think you’ll like the flavors in the Brew Dr Kombucha variety pack from Costco.
Have you tried the Costco Brew Dr Kombucha What did you think of it?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
