What Is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a probiotic fermented tea drink without caffeine and only trace amounts of alcohol, but it is filled with healthy bacteria that work in our digestive systems to keep us healthy, happy, and vibrant. This delicious elixir is recognized the world over for its energizing, detoxifying, and over-all health-supporting qualities. It’s been around for thousands of years and extensively studied. It’s great for:

• Digestion • Cleansing • Immunity • Weight Loss
• Hormone Regulation • Joints • Healthy Skin
• Mental Functioning • Allergies • and so much more!

What’s Jun?

SOMA Jun is a different group of probiotics that ferment organic green tea and organic raw, local wildflower honey from happy bees. People report that though it’s still energizing, Jun makes them feel a more stable sense of well-being and contentment. In fact, many SOMA drinkers call Jun their “Happy Juice”.

What makes SOMA So Special?

SOMA is brewed in a special way that lets it ferment for several months without making alcohol or vinegar, many times longer than other brands. Not only does SOMA taste great, unlike the vinegary or artificially-carbonated watery juice of other “kombucha”, SOMA is the healthiest Kombucha or Jun on the market.

Why is SOMA the Healthiest Kombucha or Jun on the Market?

Three reasons.

1) SOMA has millions of times more naturally-occurring probiotics and nutrients than any other brand because of our proprietary long-fermentation process.

2) SOMA is the only naturally carbonated kombucha on the market*.

3) Our long fermentation process produces fructose, a fruit sugar that's twice as sweet as white sugar but doesn't spike blood sugar, so SOMA is the only naturally sweet kombucha on the market***. The owner says "I'm super sensitive to sugar and can only have a few sips of other kombuchas before I feel it. But I can drink SOMA all day long, even though it tastes sweet, it's a different kind of sugar. Just like we're learning how different fats can be from each other, there's a lot of variation between sugars too."

What’s Rii™?

Rii™ is made with a special group of probiotics called Tibetan Crystals because of the beautiful crystalline shapes they form. This culture thrives in mineral-rich water so to our pure volcanic glacier water we add raw shilajit, a rare bio-mineral pitch that’s wild-crafted high in the Himalayas. Shilajit - Sanskrit for “life force of mountain” - is a mysterious bio-mineral matrix of over 70 essential organically-bound minerals. “Rii” means “mountain” in Tibetan and SOMA Rii™ is the life force of the Himalayas and we hope it helps you move mountains in your life!

How is SOMA carbonated?

All SOMA products are uniquely naturally-carbonated, the only non-alcoholic kombucha on the market that can make this claim (alcohol in boozy booch kills probiotics). This is possible for the same reasons we can brew for several months without making alcohol or vinegar: our process supports the probiotics and keeps the alcohol-producing yeast and bacteria in check.

Why did my kombucha foam up?

SOMA is best kept cold before opening. When SOMA warms it expands in the bottle and also continues to ferment. Though not as dangerous as a flying champagne cork, this can cause the lid to pop upon opening and foam up. If your booch has been sitting up and warmed we recommend placing in the fridge for a bit.

SOMA is naturally carbonated so is more complicated to control than the unhealthy, artificially carbonated stuff. We think it's worth the taste and health, though!

How do I open the bottle?

The best way to open the bottle is to slowly unscrew the lid before fully opening. If contents start to rise tighten back down and loosen ever so slightly so you hear a faint hiss. Set back in fridge with the slight hiss to let it de-carb for a couple hours and check the carbonation level. Repeat if necessary.

REMEMBER: hiss, not pop!

Not carbonated enough?

All SOMA products are naturally carbonated, so you can leave them out on the counter (closed) for a day or more and they'll get just as fizzy as you like. Then put it in the fridge and it'll stay the same level of fizziness indefinitely. This doesn't help much when you want to drink it right away, we know, but though artificial carbonation is a lot easier to control, it's very bad for the body. And we think it's kinda cool that if your SOMA has lost some effervescence because of being left open, you can put the top back on and it'll fizz right up.

We strive to make every bottle perfectly bubbly 100% of the time, but because of the many places one can find a delicious bottle of SOMA these days, we try to err on the side of less carbonation. The logic is that having to leave it out for a bit is better than foam. Please keep in mind that carbonation doesn't indicate or affect the number of probiotics in the bottle - it's just for fun and flavor.

Why does natural carbonation matter?

Artificial carbonation is toxic to humans for a couple of reasons:

If not the result of fermentation, carbon dioxide is a by-product of industrial ammonia production, a chemical fertilizer used in factory farming. This is what's in other kombucha, soda, and almost all beer (even if it's called "organic").
Artificially carbonated beverages require much more CO2 to produce the same amount of fizz than a naturally-carbonated drink like SOMA. Artificial carbonation turns into carbonic acid in the body, which irritates the digestive system.

How can I tell the difference between natural and artificial carbonation?

Test time!

Take a sip of SOMA and hold it in your mouth for ten seconds. Then, try again with another brand of kombucha.

Did the other brand of kombucha start burning your mouth? That's the carbonic acid, and the rest of your digestive system is much more sensitive to it than your mouth.

Your stomach cures the irritation the only way it can: it dilutes the carbonic acid with an antacid, sodium bicarbonate. This may cause even more acids to be produced as the stomach tries to find pH balance and (in people who consume a large amount of artificially-carbonated beverages over a long period of time) a vicious cycle leading to indigestion, acid relfux, GERD, ulcers, and stomach cancer.

The blood, now high in acidity and low on sodium from making the antacid, replenishes its supply from the bones and muscles. If it didn't do this, muscular and brain function would be severely impaired from excess tissue acidosis.

In the meantime, the brain pulls more glucose from the blood to be able to keep functioning, dropping blood sugar levels and increasing sugar cravings. This may explain why eating disorders, metabolic diseases, diabetes, and obesity are common among artificially-carbonated soda drinkers, according to a study published in the September '13 issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

So! Natural carbonation not only feels better, it tastes better too!

How long does SOMA last?

SOMA is preserved through fermentation, so it can last forever. Its strong probiotic culture protect it from other bugs coming in (the same way it protects you).

How do I store SOMA?

SOMA will continue to ferment at room temperature, developing flavor as well as carbonation. Once it's as fizzy as you like, put it in the fridge and fermentation will slow way down. We've aged SOMA Cherry Chai out of the fridge for a couple of years before (accidentally) and it was awesome, but it's possible for the pressure to build to the point that the bottle will explode. So make sure to open it every day or so to check the carbonation level.