The Next Trend After Matcha: Kombucha

The next trend after Matcha: Kombucha

In 2016, the Matcha craze hit hard on almost all major retail products—from health foods, to pastries, to skincare, to Starbucks drinks, and even vibrators. For the whole year, green was the new black, and everyone wanted to be part of this mega trend.

Moving on to 2018, a new cousin of Matcha has arrived in town, and its name is Kombucha.

What is Kombucha?

Fundamentally, Kombucha is a fermented probiotic beverage made from black tea (sometimes also green tea) and sugar derived from various sources, such as cane sugar, flowers, fruits, and honey. Due to the fermentation process, Kombucha is thus said to contain a high level of enzymes, acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and bacteria, which can be very beneficial to our digestive, metabolic, and immune systems.

Origins

Unlike Matcha’s straightforward Japanese heritage, Kombucha’s origin is more ambiguous and also masked with legends and myths. While most studies claim that it has its roots in ancient China, Kombucha also made its appearance in Korean and Japanese history, with an occasional cameo in Russian and Mongolian history. From being dubbed the “Immortal Health Elixir” by the Chinese, to becoming an essential immune-boosting staple among Genghis Khan’s army, its benefits could be very much inferred and seemed to be embraced by many.

Benefits

A quick Google search will show you a long list of the benefits from consuming Kombucha. Personally, the more realistic ones seem to better digestion, improve bowel movements, clear skin, higher metabolic rate, and facilitate body detoxification. Certain supposed benefits—such as lower stress, more energy, cancer prevention, improve eyesight, reduce gray hair—may still be possible, albeit harder to prove the direct causation. On the other end, there are also some downright hilarious “benefits,” such as the ability to cure herpes, shrink prostates, and expand libido.

Controversy

The fermented tea’s health benefits certainly make it appealing, but for regular people like us, it is most likely that we would not be able to brew the Kombucha in a totally controlled and sanitary environment. Contamination is a common issue in making fermented food and, in severe cases, it might even lead to death. Even brewing it in ceramic pots will make it poisonous, as the acids in the tea can potentially diffuse the lead from the glaze, thus contaminating the drink with toxins.

Since alcohol is naturally created from the fermentation process, there are also concerns over Kombucha’s alcohol content. Years ago, Whole Foods pulled its Kombucha drinks off the shelves after realizing that some of the Kombucha might continue to ferment even after bottling, and thus producing more alcohol than intended.

The Kombucha Invasion in Skincare

Despite the controversies, the Kombucha rage has no signs of slowing down and is only gaining momentum in various markets. Besides coming in the original beverage form, you could also find it as a featured ingredient in an increasing number of skincare products lately. This comes as no surprise, as having to already contain antioxidants and various vitamins in its original form, Kombucha is almost destined to venture into the skincare world

A personal favorite at the moment is Fresh’s newest launch—the Black Tea Kombucha Treatment Essence. Apparently the co-founder has been obsessed with Kombucha for quite a while now, and had turned to his labs to devise a formula that would be ideal for skincare properties. One good tweak they have made on the Kombucha is to remove the alcohol content, which certainly does not make sense to apply onto one’s face. Not sure if it is indeed the Kombucha at work or the nature of treatment essence, but it does deliver on its claim to “increase luminosity and soften the look of fine lines” during my first week of usage.

Or maybe it’s due to my personal bias for anything Kombucha.

The thing is, are YOU onboard on this Kombucha trend?