Kombucha - Soft Drink for the 21st Century?

Popping the cap off a bottle of Kombucha — or "mushroom tea" as it’s known by some — is a complete sensory experience. There’s the snap, crackle, fizz of carbonated bubbles, the mysterious slimy globules that slow-float like a psychedelic lava lamp throwback, and the sharp vinegary tang that hits the nose like a slap.

While fizzy, vinegary and slimy are not exactly the most tantalizing food descriptors, this trendy tea has a peculiar allure that’s winning devotees nationwide. At Google’s California corporate headquarters, the cafeteria slings upwards of 100 cups of homemade brew a day, and GT Kombucha, one of the most popular bottled brands on the market, reaps annual sales in the millions.

To clarify, Kombucha is not a mushroom at all, but a symbiotic colony of yeast and beneficial bacteria that grows in sugar-sweetened black tea.

Long used by bo-hos and hippies, mushroom tea finally reaching the Google cafeteria, but actually "jumped the bong" when it became corporate several years ago. This concept has a lovely synchronization widely appearing in the news.

Related:
The Hippies Were Right / via

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