Keto-Friendly Kombucha: Top Brands With the Lowest Carbs

Kombucha’s compatibility with a keto diet depends on the fermentation process, which involves sugar and affects its carbohydrate content.¹

Although some sugar may remain, the lowest-carb kombucha brands are generally keto-compliant. However, since some still contain carbs, they should be consumed with caution by those following a strict keto diet.

This article will go over the amount of carbs in kombucha and hard (alcoholic) kombucha, rank the top 10 low carb kombucha brands and provide a homemade, keto-approved kombucha ‘recipe.’

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How Many Carbs Are in Kombucha?

Every flavor and brand of Kombucha varies greatly in its amount of carbs due to both ingredients and serving size.

Some of the lowest brands with a standard serving size of 330 ml or 11 ounces may have as little as 5.3 grams of carbs and some of the highest brands in the same size can get up to 16.5 grams of carbs.

Dieters seeking rapid weight loss should seriously consider incorporating the lowest carb Kombucha brands into their regimen to steer clear of unnecessary carbs and the resulting calorie intake.

Kombucha & Its Compatibility With the Keto Diet

Keto dieters can certainly opt for Kombucha as a Keto friendly drink in smaller servings. Those doing a Keto diet will want to keep their carb intake between 20-50 grams in order to stay in ketosis and burn fat.²

While this is one of the most popular weight loss diets for beginners, that restriction means drinks like Kombucha, which depending on the brand and size could have well past the minimum limit of carbs, should be carefully chosen and limited.

Or in other words, some Kombucha brands are more keto than others and the lower carb brands can be enjoyed in small quantities.

Is Hard Kombucha Keto Compliant?

Like all Kombucha, hard Kombucha also boasts probiotics, which is a strain of bacteria that helps promote a healthy gut.³

That being said, because hard Kombucha contains alcohol — running typically between 4.5 and 7 percent — it has more sugar and can even negatively affect gut health despite the probiotics in them.⁴

For those curious about whether Kombucha, especially alcoholic Kombucha, is Keto-friendly, it is important to understand that consuming alcohol can hinder weight loss and should be consumed sparingly while dieting.⁵ If you’re looking for ways to shed weight gained from alcohol consumption, consider incorporating non-alcoholic Kombucha into your routine. It contains a small percentage of alcohol that might help curb cravings.

What Is Kombucha Sweetened With? Does Kombucha Have a High Glycemic Index?

Just like any sweet tea — as Kombucha is made with either green or black tea — sugar is added in the fermentation process from both natural and artificial sweeteners. Typically, during a first fermentation cycle, the sugar content is burned up by a SCOBY, which is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.⁶

Because this can leave the drink tasting rather vinegary, companies tend to do a second fermentation process to add additional flavors or fruits, leaving the drink filled with carbs and sugar.

Because Kombucha differs so much by brand, some versions have a higher glycemic index than others. Typically, any Kombucha brand undergoing a second fermentation process that has higher amounts of sugar and carbs has a higher glycemic index.

This makes it important to look for the lowest carb Kombucha brands.

Are Fermented Foods & Drinks Good for Keto?

Besides the gut health benefits from probiotics, fermented foods and drinks like Kombucha are healthy for Keto dieters, especially when left with natural flavors from only doing one fermentation cycle.

Studies have shown that drinking Kombucha can reduce liver toxicity and decrease toxic chemicals by up to 70%, allowing it to act as a powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant.⁷

Photo by little plant on Unsplash⁸

Combining gut-focused fermented drinks like Kombucha with a starting strength routine can dramatically boost weight loss results and flatten the stomach.

People who should avoid yeast, however, should not consume fermented foods and drinks like Kombucha. A yeast allergy can lead to side effects like an asthma attack.

Additionally, even non-alcoholic Kombucha is left with a small percentage of alcohol, making it risky for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding to consume.

Kombucha & Hard Kombucha Nutritional Facts & Ingredients

For Keto dieters seeking to determine if Kombucha is Keto-friendly, it is imperative to examine the nutritional facts and ingredients in both regular and hard Kombucha.

An average breakdown from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows the below facts for 8 ounces or 240 ml of Kombucha.⁹

Kombucha Nutritional Facts

Again, this is an average across brands since some have slightly different macronutrient profiles.

• Calories = 50.4
• Protein = 0 g
• Total fat = 0 g
• Carbohydrates = 12 g
• Sugars = 11 g
• Sodium = 9.6 mg
• Cholesterol = 0 g

Kombucha Ingredients

These ingredients are what is absolutely required to make kombucha but depending on the brand, there are countless flavorings that may be added.

• Purified water
• Kombucha culture (SCOBY or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
• Fair trade organic tea
• Organic evaporated cane sugar (for fermentation)

While hard Kombucha may have the downside of alcohol content, some of the most popular brands like Flying Embers actually have better nutrition than non-alcoholic versions, making it one of the lowest carb Kombucha brands that dieters should opt for. These facts below are based off a 12 ounce can of Flying Embers Grapefruit Hard Kombucha.

Hard Kombucha Nutritional Facts

Again, this is the macros from an aggregate of brands and the information is sourced from the USDA.

• Calories = 85
• Protein = 0 g
• Total fat = 0 g
• Carbohydrates = 0 g
• Sugars = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Cholesterol = 0 g

Hard Kombucha Ingredients

Hard kombucha has the same ingredients as regular kombucha but is more likely to contain fruit juice and undergoes additional fermentation time.

• Purified water
• Kombucha culture (SCOBY or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
• Fair trade organic tea
• Organic evaporated cane sugar (for fermentation)
• Additional fermentation time

Is Kombucha Good or Bad for You?

Not only does Kombucha boast gut benefits from probiotics and being fermented, but there are added benefits due to some of its other ingredients as well.

Dieters curious about whether Kombucha is Keto-friendly will be pleased to know that, when choosing the right brand and size, Kombucha is very healthy for most people.

Since tea is a main ingredient in Kombucha, this health drink comes with plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants as tea has been used as medicine for centuries. Green tea in particular has been known to increase alertness, relieve the digestive system, increase weight loss, and protect against heart disease and cancer.¹⁰

Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash¹¹

For those seeking effective ways to shed belly fat within a short timeframe, particularly women, it’s advisable to include more green tea in your daily diet regimen.

Further, due to being rich in plant chemicals, drinking black tea has been linked to longevity, including reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke.¹² Drinking Kombucha has also been shown to protect against heart disease. This comes from reducing harmful levels of cholesterol.¹³

Lowest Carb Kombucha Brands

While many commercially made Kombucha brands are tailored more for taste than over better nutrition facts —simply because natural Kombucha can be very bitter and hard for beginner drinkers to get accustomed to —there are plenty brands out there with manageable carbs and sugar.

Keto dieters aiming to determine if Kombucha is Keto-friendly should consider these lowest carb Kombucha brands to stay within their carb limits.

Here are 10 of the best brands of Kombucha from highest number of carbs to lowest. Keep in mind that many contain more than the recommended 8-ounce serving per day that Keto dieters should stick to so as not to reach half their carb count in one sitting.

Additionally, since flavor is subjective we’ve chosen to cover the ingredients and nutritional facts exclusively although anecdotally, Kevita and GT are our favorite brands flavor-wise.

1. Brew Dr. Island Mango Organic Kombucha

You can buy Brew Dr. Kombucha here.

Brew Dr’s Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 14 ounces
• Calories = 80
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 19 g
• Total sugars = 15 g
• Protein = 0 g

Brew Dr.’s Ingredients

• Brewed tea
  • Water
  • Green tea
• Mango Puree
• Cane sugar
• Passionfruit juice
• Ginger juice
• Live Kombucha culture
  • Yeast
  • Bacteria
• Strawberry essence

KeVita Master Brew Kombucha in Pineapple Peach

Enjoy your own KeVita Master Brew Kombucha here.

Kevita’s Master Brew Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 15.2 ounces
• Calories = 60
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 15 mg
• Total carbs = 16 g
• Total sugars = 16 g
• Protein = 0 g

Kevita’s Master Brew Ingredients

• Sparkling water
• Kombucha culture
  • Filtered water
  • Black tea
  • Green tea
  • Natural flavor
• Filtered water
• Cane sugar
• Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856
• Ginger extract
• Pineapple flavor
• Peach flavor
• Black tea
• Black tea essence
• Caffeine
  • Green coffee bean extract
• Green tea
• Purified stevia leaf extract

Health Ade Kombucha Ginger-Lemon

Health Ade Kombucha is available for purchase here.

Health Ade’s Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 16 ounces
• Calories = 70
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 14 g
• Total sugars = 13 g
• Protein = 0 g

Health Ade’s Ingredients

• Organic Kombucha
  • Filtered water
  • Acids from fermentation
    • Acetic
    • Lactic
    • Gluconic
    • Tartaric
  • Cane sugar
  • Live Kombucha cultures
  • Black tea
  • Green tea
  • Carbonation
• Cold-pressed ginger juice
• Cold-pressed lemon juice
• Live active cultures
  • Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856

Koe Organic Kombucha

Get your hands on Koe Organic Kombucha here.

Koe’s Nutritinoal Facts

• Serving size = 16 ounces
• Calories = 25
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 10 mg
• Total carbs = 13 g
• Total sugars = 6 g
• Protein = 0 g

Koe Ingredients

• Purified sparkling water
• Kombucha
  • Water
  • Black tea
  • Sugar
  • Active culture
• Less than 2% of:
  • Erythritol
  • Sugar
  • Strawberry puree
  • Lemon juice concentrate
  • Strawberry juice concentrate
  • Natural flavors
  • Citric acid
  • Ascorbic acid
  • Gum acacia
  • Fruit and vegetable juice for color
  • Probiotics
  • Stevia extract
  • Green tea extract
  • Green coffee bean extract

GT’s Enlightened Synergy Organic & Raw Kombucha

You can find GT’s Enlightened Synergy Organic and Raw Kombucha here.

GT’s Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 16 ounces
• Calories = 50
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 10 mg
• Total carbs = 12 g
• Total sugars = 12 g
• Protein = 0 g

GT’s Ingredients

• GT’s Kombucha
  • Kombucha culture
  • Black tea
  • Green tea
  • Kiwi juice
• Fresh pressed ginger juice

Bear’s Fruit Raw Kombucha Strawberry Jalapeno

Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 12 ounces
• Calories = 50
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 11 g
• Total sugars = 11 g
• Protein = 1 g

Bear’s Fruit Ingredients

• Kombucha
  • Filtered water
  • Fair trade black tea
  • Fair trade sugar
  • Kombucha culture
• Strawberries
• Jalapenos

Get Bear’s Fruit Raw Kombucha for yourself here

Wonder Drink Organic Plant-Based Kombucha in Asian Pear & Ginger

Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 12 ounces
• Calories = 50
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 15 mg
• Total carbs = 11 g
• Total sugars = 8 g
• Protein = 0 g

Wonder Drink Ingredients

• Organic brewed Oolong tea
  • Filtered water
  • Organic Oolong tea
• Organic Kombucha
  • Yeast and bacteria cultured sweetened organic black tea
• Organic cane sugar
• Organic prebiotic corn fiber
• Organic natural flavor
• Natural flavor
• Organic ginger extract
• Organic stevia leaf extract

You can purchase Wonder Drink Organic Kombucha here

Rowdy Mermaid Organic Kombucha Alpine Lavender

You can buy Rowdy Mermaid Organic Kombucha here.

Rowdy’s Mermaid Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 12 ounces
• Calories = 45
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 9 g
• Total sugars = 9 g
• Protein = 0 g

Rowdy’s Mermaid Ingredients

• Brewed tea
  • Filtered water
  • Organic green tea
  • Organic black tea
• Organic cane sugar
• Organic lavender
• Organic elderflower
• Live cultures

Humm Probiotic Kombucha Hopped Grapefruit

Get your own Humm Probiotic Kombucha here.

Humm’s Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 12 ounces
• Calories = 30
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 8 g
• Total sugars = 7 g
• Protein = 0 g

Humm’s Ingredients

• Organic raw carbonated Kombucha
  • Filtered water
  • Organic green tea
  • Organic black tea
  • Organic cane sugar
  • Kombucha cultures
• Organic apple juice
• Organic juice blend
  • Apple juice
  • Pear juice
  • Clarified pineapple juice
  • Grapefruit juice
  • L-malic and citric acids
  • Organic flavors
• Natural flavors
• Probiotic
  • Bacillus subtilis
  • Vitamin B12

Remedy Kombucha Tea Organic Drink

Purchase Remedy Kombucha tea organic drink here.

Remedy’s Nutritional Facts

• Serving size = 8.5 ounces
• Calories = 5
• Total fat = 0 g
• Sodium = 0 mg
• Total carbs = 4 g
• Total sugars = 0 g
• Protein = 0 g

Remedy’s Ingredients

• Organic raw Kombucha
  • Carbonated water
  • Sugar
  • Black tea leaves
  • Green tea leaves
  • Kombucha culture
    • Yeast
    • Bacteria cultures
• Erythritol
• Natural peach flavor
• Natural vanilla flavor
• Stevia extract

How Do I Make Keto Kombucha at Home?

People interested in achieving their ideal physique should explore techniques like positive affirmations and improving gut health through homemade Kombucha. Crafting Kombucha at home can aid in reducing carbohydrate and sugar intake, albeit it might pose certain challenges.

Image by kelseysue2 from Pixabay¹⁴

Some health experts warn that homemade Kombucha can be risky for beginners due to handling raw forms of bacteria that could potentially lead to food-borne illness if not handled properly.¹⁵

The most challenging part is growing SCOBY from scratch since it can become moldy and contaminated easily, which can sometimes be hard to tell. Simply Recipes has broken down step-by-step ways to grow SCOBY, make Kombucha, and even add flavoring.

Luckily, once the SCOBY is made it can be used to make multiple batches of Kombucha.

1. Boil 4 cups of water
2. Add 3 bags of black or green tea
3. Steep for a few minutes
4. Add 1/3 cup of organic cane sugar
5. Steep for another few minutes
6. Remove tea bags
7. Stir to ensure sugar is dissolved
8. Let the tea cool down to room temperature (about 4 hours)
9. Sterilize the jar you plan to make the Kombucha in with boiling water and vinegar and let this cool down and dry completely
10. Add the tea to the sterilized brewing jar
11. Add 2 cups of of store-bought Kombucha to the tea mixture
12. Cover the jar with a tea towel or a washcloth
13. Let sit for 7-10 days and an opaque film should form on the top, also known as SCOBY. Now add flavor using fruit juice, whole fruits, chopped ginger, fresh herbs, or spices
14. Store the jar away from sunlight at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit for another 1-3 weeks, or to your desired taste.

Drinking Kombucha can be very satisfying for those watching their carb intake and seeking additional gut health benefits. Keto dieters should explore the lowest carb Kombucha brands and limit their consumption to 8 ounces.

Frequently Asked Questions