Gutsy Kombucha

I honestly didn’t realize that Gutsy had added new flavours to their Adapt line until I saw this one at the grocery store yesterday, but I had to try it since Gutsy is my favourite local kombucha brand by a landslide…

The mango here is pretty typical of what I’ve tried with other mango flavoured kombuchas – it’s kind of sweet and kind of tangy with sort of just a general tropical vibe to it. Certainly very unoffensive, and I think pretty accessible. The best part to me, which may be the worst part to some, was that I actually could distinctly taste the fresher, green notes of basil/tulsi in the finish of the drink. I’m definitely a lover of basil teas so it always makes me mad when companies try to “hide” the tulsi in their products because they’re just trying to capitalize on funcion. Embrace the taste! It works so well with the mango, too!

Now, is that the opinion I think the majority of people buying this drink are going to have? Probably not. However, Gutsy has always leaned really heavily into showcasing the more herbaceous flavours of the ingredients they use: fennel, skullcap, cardamom, raspberry leaf. So, maybe, their prime customer base is a bit more accepting than the average person. Maybe.

This one is part of Gutsy’s ‘no added sugar’ line!

I’m fickle when it comes to ginger, but I do like gingerale and ginger beer so I figured I’d give this a shot. It was actually very good, and very much like a gingerbeer. Actually, arguably closer to gingerbeer than to kombucha, were it not for the slight vinegar-y undertone. Sip ends with one heck of a spicy kick, though!

Finally saw this kombucha in a cafe the other day, so I was able to try it and check it off my list. I liked this one more than Gutsy’s other adaptogenic profile, but I still think their main line up is better. For me, this was just far too much tart hibiscus with almost no passionfruit at all. I did like that I could taste a little basil, which is one of the non titular ingredients in the RTD, but I still felt like the profile was pretty one dimensional overall.

My mom generally hates kombucha because she doesn’t like vinegar-y tasting things, but I generally encourage her to at least try a sip of every kombucha I buy while we’re visiting. This was the very first one she’s ever liked, so I guess they’re doing something right for at least some consumers!

(It’s just unfortunate she can’t get this brand back home in Saskatchewan)

Gutsy is probably my favourite local Kombucha brand so when they recently released two new adaptogenic inspired flavours I was definitely intrigued! So far, in the wilds of the grocery store I’ve actually only been able to track down this flavour – but I do intend to try both eventually…

I have to say, this did taste much more overwhelmingly like just a zesty orange kombucha to me than and orange and turmeric one, but I think I’m in the end actually happier about that? Turmeric can taste pretty earthy and muddy, and so I worry that if it actually had been distinct that it would have detracted from how fresh tasting this was. That’s not to say there wasn’t ANY spice notes present though! There’s actually a considerable amount of spices included here aside from turmeric and though note of them could beat out the flavour of the orange for dominance I did feel like I got a bit of semi-earthy and kind of “tickle-y” ginger notes in the backend of the sip along with the faintest hint of cinnamon.

I much, much prefer many of the other “staple” flavours that Gutsy carries (like the Hibiscus Fennel or Cardamom Rhodiola) but I thought that this was pretty palatable and summery for an adaptogenic focused RTD!

Fresh. Fruity. Floral. Tangy. Herbacous.

I mean, I feel like this is one of those drinks that kind of has all the flavours!? Except spice, I suppose. Anyway; it’s not my favourite from Gutsy but it’s pretty high on the list and when it hits it hits hard. I find hops so challenging to describe, but this is really lovely and great representation of the flavour.

I think I’ve been putting off writing this tasting note for far too long. Mostly I’ve been kind of dreading it because I feel like I don’t have anything to add to the flavour comparison because to me it really just tasted like hops with the more sweet leaning kombucha vinger taste that is common for all of Gutsy’s assortment. It was light and refreshing and I enjoyed it (though not as much as some of their others) but I just don’t have much experience describing the nuances of hops…

So this is the note.

Another kombucha snagged while on vacation this past week. I’m a big fan of this brand but I’ve only ever tried kombucha from their main line up that focuses on botanicals. For a straight tea, I was very pleasantly surprised by how almost juicy and fruity this tasted – not much like a black tea at all but with a pleasant red fruit note throughout and an almost honeyish kind of finish.

It was also surprisingly sweet. I think I had, in the moment, misread “no sugar” as “unsweetened” which isn’t quite the same thing and now that I’ve looked at the ingredients properly to write this tasting note I do see that there’s stevia in the kombucha. I don’t personally mind that – it didn’t taste offense at all and I’m not anti stevia in taste so much as I am on the principal of liking control of how I sweeten my tea. However, when it comes to RTDs I have a lot more leniency and forgiveness when it comes to presweetening. I view RTDs as more of an “on the go” drink and in those cases I practically never have sweetener on me. Bottom line, this tasted good! I’d buy it again, but that’s not surprising since I feel that way about most kombucha from Gutsy.

Back from vacation tomorrow – I’m glad to be back but also stressed about it. I don’t feel quite as rested as I thought I would, and I know I have an INSANE amount of emails to sort through tomorrow. However, it’ll be nice to get back to doing what I love once that small stressful bump has passed.

This was easily my favourite of the three new (to me) flavours!

I found the raspberry so perfectly balanced with this natural kiss of fresh sweetness that reminded me of picking raspberry straight off the bush at my grandma’s house. The little bit of tartness worked well with the tang and natural acidity/vinegar quality of the kombucha itself and all of that was balanced by a crisp, sweet and cooling mint note that drew out the sweetness of the berry and made that flavour rise to the top of each sip. Also impressively, this didn’t taste like astragalus at all – which is good because that can be a strong and unpleasant flavour.

The Cardamom & Rhodiola is my favourite flavour from Gutsy, but I think this one gives the Hibiscus & Fennel as real fight for the second place spot in my kombucha loving heart. I would definitely buy this again – it was so refreshing and well balanced.

This was my least favourite of the three new flavours, though it wasn’t unpleasant.

Actually, I liked it a lot with my first few sips – it was so flavourful and tropical with a distinct and authentic passionfruit taste that I really haven’t experienced in a lot of RTD/Kombucha before. It caught me off guard, in a pleasant way. However, this is one of those cases where something just builds over the course of having a full can to a point where it gets to be a little too much. In this case, that really passionfruit note was very acidic and sour and I felt my tongue starting to feel a little bit raw by the end of the can.

I would maybe have this again, but it would certainly be more of a “sipping” kombucha.

Can’t help but wonder if they’ve change the recipe for this as it’s quite a bit different (and more unpleasant) than I remember it tasting. Like a funky ginger beer, but not in a good way. Tastes kind of muddy and too earthy. Sort of raw, like fresh pressed ginger. I’ll finish it, but… meh.

I used to buy my Gutsy Kombucha from a weekly local food delivery box I was signed up for, but since they changed their delivery options during the pandemic I haven’t been able to get regular access to this kombucha brand – my favourite in the city. So, I was tickle dpink to see them in a local grocery story recently – and with three new (to me, at least) flavours!

I, of course, bought a can of each flavour.

This was right in the middle of the three new flavours for me. It, essentially, just tasted like a ginger beer but a little less of a hot heat to it. More than, say, a “gingerale” though. It’s a little simple, perhaps? I didn’t expect it to have a raspberry taste because raspberry bush isn’t the same as the fruit, but I guess I expected there to be a little more going on than just ginger. Not sure what could have been better though, since I think this is just a combo of personal preference and a mismatch of expectations. I’d drink it again though, for sure.

I just finished cooking dinner and washing a whole bunch of dishes and teaware, and throughout that I ended up sipping on a can of this kombucha. It was a different context than I usually drink this tea in – a bit more slowed down, in a lot of ways? I feel like I kind of appreciated it a little more. In particular the more tangy fruit punch-like hibiscus notes with their lingering taste of black licorice from the fennel. Since I was so much more paced drinking this I really got to experience just how much that flavour “clung” to the palate after each sip and it was very nice.

More delicious kombucha slurped back during my morning commute. I try to have a mug of tea or tea session at home every day before heading into the office, but some days are more hectic than others so having some canned or bottled kombucha in the fridge that I can just grab in a pinch is perfect – and as y’all know this is a favourite.

Bright, jammy red fruit notes and tart hibiscus with the perfect level of bubbles and fizz before finishing with that sweet, licorice-like fennel note.

Welp, this was the last of the cans I got in my most recent restock. Crushed it in what felt like seconds. I’ll probably wait a while before I restock again, just so I don’t make myself sick of the flavour. Such a nice balance of bright tart berry-like notes with that deeper, coating licorice taste. Always a favourite.

Just logging to keep tally, but this was part of the big “restock” I did recently. I’m flying though those cans of kombucha though…

Been a while since I last had this, but I bought a ton of cans the last time I went grocery shopping so I’m probably set for at least a little while. In fact, I literally just finish the last swig of one and I’m currently living in that little moment of bliss where the tart, berry-like hibiscus and sweet fennel are lingering on my palate. Almost makes me want to immediately open another can. Almost.

Almost forgot that I grabbed one of these with my lunch order today! Not anything new to add for it as it’s a very predictable tasting kombucha – just a favourite that made a great lunch addition.

To be honest, this kombucha is starting to give the Cardamom & Rhodiola a run for it’s money as my favourite. I feel like I practically chugged this, and the combination of tart berry-like hibiscus with the sweet and coating fennel is perfection.

We’ve been eating out at a lot of restaurants and cafes this week since that wasn’t something my mom really got to do last time she was here. At that time, most restaurants still had restrictions because of Covid-19 so we just got a lot of delivery…

One of the cafes we went to earlier in the week had Gutsy kombucha so of course I had to grab one. It’s a way better alternative to, like, an apple juice or a coffee. This is my second favourite of their normal line up, and they didn’t have the Cardamom one I enjoy so it was a great back up selection. Sweet and sort of licorice-y from the fennel but with such a joyous brightness from the juicy and tart hibiscus. Really summery and refreshing, and just great to sip on!

One of my favourite kombuchas offered by any of the companies here in Montreal! It was a refreshing tea to sip on later in the evening when I needed to cool down on one of the many days where my apartment felt a little more like a sauna. Tart hibiscus and sweet black licorice-like fennel undertones. I’ve written about it before and the kombucha itself hasn’t changed – it’s just a favourite of mine.

A restaurant that I like recently started carrying this brand of Kombucha which got me way too excited because I haven’t had it in like… over a year now!?

I ordered this one and the Cardamom flavour they carry because those are hands down the best ones and it was just the PERFECT thing to sip on last night late at night when I was tired/overheated and just wanted something cold and refreshing. It’s tangy and tart with a berry type of hibiscus note but then the deep black licorice like sweetness of the fennel kicks into the body of the sip and that’s such a unique and delicious flavour for a kombucha, and perfectly offsets the tart hibiscus.

I feel like Mastress Alita would love this kombucha profile.

I keep ordering this in my weekly Lufa delivery box because it’s so refreshing and easily drinkable – it’s easily become my favourite Kombucha of the moment. I low-key want to get a cute instagram photo of it because the can design is equally beautiful, but I never manage to hold onto the can long enough to get a photo – it’s always consumed the same day I receive it…

Had to have it again!

Interestingly, I didn’t feel like I noticed the fennel as much this time – though don’t mistake that for meaning it wasn’t there. It was just so very, very striking my first tasting and this time I think I was just better prepared for how strong that note would taste. I love this kombucha a lot though, it’s a flavour idea I’d love to someday recreate if I dip my toes into the world of making kombucha.