Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Nexba kombucha. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this kombucha.

For this review we have taste-tested the apple, pear and ginger version.

Nexba kombucha is available in UK and Australian supermarkets.

Ingredients of Nexba kombucha

Nexba is a sugar-free, low-calorie kombucha which means that it relies on natural flavourings and sweeteners for taste.

Regular readers will know that I don’t love sweeteners - whether they are natural or artificial. This is because artificial sweeteners have been shown to negatively affect gut microbe composition - and so it could be that natural sweeteners also have a negative affect on your gut. But more research is needed. In any case, I’d prefer to avoid sweeteners altogether to be on the safe side. This is a personal choice though and essentially a trade off between some sugar (which is not good) and natural sweeteners (which may or may not be shown to be unhealthy in future).

Now, back to Nexba, here’s the ingredients: Purified Sparkling Water, Naturally Fermented Kombucha (Purified water, oolong tea, sugars, kombucha cultures), Goodsweet Blend (erythritol, stevia), citric acid, natural flavour, probiotic culture (bacillus coagulans).

As you can see, there’s no actual apple, pear or ginger in there (eg juice or puree) - there’s just these natural flavourings added. This allows the drink to be very low calorie, but at the expense of flavour and authenticity.

Benefits of Nexba kombucha

This kombucha comes with some key health benefits.

Probiotics

The main benefit of this kombucha is the probiotics (ie live healthy bacteria) it contains.

Unlike many other kombuchas, this one gives an indication of the amount of bacteria (ie colony forming units) it has. It contains over 150 million CFUs per 100ml.

Although, like many other kombuchas, there is only one strain present which is bacillus coagulans. This is in contrast to homemade kombucha which usually has a far more diverse range of probiotic strains.

Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.

Postbiotics

Postbiotics are essentially things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Learn more about postbiotics.

Low in calories

This kombucha has zero sugar and only 2 calories per 100ml - making it exceptionally healthy in this regard.

Oolong tea

This kombucha contain oolong tea which is essentially a semi-oxidised tea which is halfway between green tea and black tea.

Oolong tea contains polyphenols which are strong antioxidants which may help protect against cancer.

Oolong tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine which can help with relaxation.

Studies have shown oolong tea may also:

improve heart health
support weight loss
improve brain function
improve bone health

Appearance

This kombucha is almost clear with a slight yellow tinge.

Flavour

The aroma is very strongly of pear - almost too strong. It makes the drink seem artificial to be honest (even though the added flavourings are natural).

The taste is generic apple and pear - with no real depth. The ginger doesn’t really come through at all - which is not surprising as no proper ginger ingredient was used - just added natural flavouring.

Personally, I find it too sweet.

But the carbonation is at a good level and not too extreme like competitors can be.

Overall the taste is not bad, it’s just a bit bland, lacking depth and overly sweet. It doesn’t compare to a real-ingredient kombucha (ie one which has some sugar and uses actual ingredients like juice).

Update: By the end of the bottle I was finding the taste rather unpleasant - too sweet and seemingly artificial.

Cost of Nexba kombucha

In the UK, this 1 litre bottle sells for £3 in Sainsbury’s or potentially cheaper in bulk on Amazon UK.

In Australia, it sells for $6.35 in Coles. Also find it on Amazon Australia.

Find on Amazon UK

Summary

2.5 stars out of 5.

A low-calorie kombucha which won’t set your tastebuds alight. One to choose if you’d like to prioritise zero sugar above flavour.

Pros

very low calorie
source of probiotics

Cons

bland flavour compared to real-ingredient kombuchas
contains sweeteners (if that bothers you)

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Hellopath gut health tests - the UK’s most comprehensive gut health test. It tests over 100 biomarkers, checks your digestion and immune response, analyses leaky gut and provides a report on your microbiome
M&S x ZOE gut shot - this is both the best kefir and best gut shot in the UK in our opinion. It has 14 different strains of beneficial bacteria, prebiotics, fruits, ginger and lemon - all which have been shown to be good for the gut.

Nexba kombucha review

Ingredients of Nexba kombucha