Better Booch

Better Booch brews organic kombucha in cans, building its flavors from teas like pu-erh, oolong, sencha and guayusa alongside herbs and botanicals rather than leaning on fruit juice. The range runs from peach black tea and ginger-mint to a pineapple tepache, plus a line of CHA sparkling iced teas. It was started by Trey and Ashleigh Lockerbie, former touring musicians who first brewed kombucha for Trey's sister and began selling at Los Angeles farmers markets. Every batch is now made at the family-owned brewery in Ventura.

• How much caffeine is in each can?

  It depends on the tea used in each flavor, but each serving has roughly 3 to 10 mg, well below a typical cup of black tea.

• Does the kombucha contain alcohol?

  As a fermented drink it may hold trace amounts, but it is non-alcoholic at under 0.5% ABV. It is also unpasteurized to keep the culture alive.

• Does it need to be refrigerated?

  Yes. The live cultures can keep fermenting at room temperature, which can make it foam or taste sour, so keep it cold.

• Why aluminum cans?

  The brand moved from glass to aluminum for recyclability. The cans have a BPA-free food-grade lining so the drink never touches the metal.

• Are artificial or natural flavors used?

  Some flavors use organic natural flavors developed specifically for Better Booch. No synthetic chemicals or artificial flavors are used.