Locally Made Kombucha

Ship Yuzu Kombucha

Brand: Ship

Price: 700 yen

Place of purchase: Local Fair at a shopping mall

Rating:

Based in Saitama Prefecture, Ship Kombucha is made locally, plus the flavors available are very Japanese. There are four regular flavors at the time of writing: original, yuzu, red shiso, and kuwa. I had to ask what kuwa means. The staff knew the English word, which is mulberry. He said the mulberry leaves are also a superfood and that's what's used to make kuwa flavor. I tried the yuzu flavor and it was not too sweet or sour, and had just a little bit of carbornation. It was a special treat as it's been years since I could drink kombucha. The brand has a lot of English on the label and marketing materials, making it easy to recognize.

The biggest reason I wouldn't get this all the time is the price. Kombucha in Japan, if I can find it, is usually expensive, and it's not cheap in the US either. The brand markets their kombucha as a healthy alcohol alternative, which is great and makes a lot of sense for their pricing. I'm not sure what the price is in shops that carry their kombucha, including on tap. There is not a huge distrobution at this time, so I'd have to go into the city to buy a bottle also. Another thing is that there was no marking about the volume in the bottle. I had to measure while refilling to get a sense of it, and one bottle is around 300ml. The flavor I chose was yuzu, but it was very subtle or unrecognizable. I would have liked a stronger yuzu flavor without getting sweeter.