By Caitlin Giddings Photograph by Morgan Rachel Levy
The first time Becca Schepps tried kombucha, she thought a conspiracy might be afoot. The label on the bottle of fermented tea claimed that it was low in sugar and loaded with natural health benefits, but the drink gave her “a buzz of clarity” and tasted like a slightly tart soda. So Schepps, a Type 1 diabetic and Cat 1/2 crit racer (and co-owner of the team LA Sweat) used herself as a guinea pig and tested her blood sugar after downing nearly half a litre of the stuff.
Turns out kombucha’s low sugar-to-flavor ratio was as good as promised – no postdrink insulin injection needed. She started sipping kombucha to rehydrate after races and in the morning before evening crits and eventually took to brewing her own after moving to Colorado in 2013.
The idea of selling her drinks started as a joke. First came the name – Mortal Kombucha – followed quickly by punny flavors like ‘Napalm-egranate’ and ‘Dem Apples’. Last year Schepps began peddling her home ‘booch on Facebook and then in an online store, in addition to working full-time as a creative director and ad copywriter. Mortal Kombucha’s healthier-Red Bull vibe offers an aggro alternative in the local market – where the usual new-agey branding of kombucha promises ‘purification’.
Made through a fermentation process from black tea, sugar, herbs, fruit, and spices, Schepps’s brews come in six flavors and have four grams of sugar or less per 350ml serving. And she’s totally cool about giving away the secret ingredient. “Someone asked me if it’s love,” she says. “No, just hard work!”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT KOMBUCHA
Don’t Smell It First
“It’s a fermented drink,” says Schepps. “You don’t sniff a pickle jar before eating a pickle – you just eat it and it tastes fine!”
It’s Good for Your Gut
Like other cultured foods, kombucha supplies probiotics, which can improve digestive health by promoting the growth of certain bacteria in your gut, says Stacy Sims, an exercise physiologist and the co-developer of nuun’s performance line of drinks. A 2016 review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggested that improving athletes’ gut bacteria diversity could reduce their post-exercise physical and mental stress.
It Might Calm You Down
Kombucha has L-theanines, amino acids that occur naturally in tea. “They stimulate a positive and relaxed feeling that gives you a jitter-free energy boost,” Schepps says.
It’s Not for Everyone
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in USA advises anyone with compromised immune function to avoid kombucha. Many brands, including Mortal Kombucha, aren’t pasteurized. This helps maintain probiotic levels but also makes it less shelf stable. It could allow illness-causing strains of bacteria to grow, so keep your ‘booch refrigerated (or on ice if you’re taking it to a ride or race). Also be aware that the fermentation process results in a minimal alcohol content (under 1 percent, by law).
It Makes a Great Mixer
“One of my fiance’s friends who was completely against the idea of drinking kombucha tried one and said, ‘Oh my God, it tastes like an adult soda,’” says Schepps. “Then he mixed the apple one with tequila and the flower one with gin, which both tasted really good.”
Copyright © 2016 Rodale Inc.