Aldi Juice Company kombucha review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Aldi Juice Company kombucha. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this cheaper kombucha.
For this review we have taste-tested the passion fruit version.
This kombucha is available in Aldi stores in the UK.
You might also be interested in reading our article on the best probiotics in the UK if you want to add more healthy microbes to your diet.
Ingredients of Aldi Juice Company kombucha
Aldi Juice Company kombucha is a very low-calorie kombucha which largely relies on natural flavourings and sweeteners for flavour. This places it in a similar category to Remedy and Lo Bros kombucha.
Read more about low-calorie and real-ingredient kombucha in our article on the best kombucha in the UK.
Are sweeteners bad for you?
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. There are other potential side effects of these natural sweeteners, 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).
Read more about the current research done on stevia and erythritol - the two sweeteners in this kombucha.
The specific ingredients are: kombucha (carbonated water, kombucha culture, black tea, green tea, sugar), flavour enhancer (erythritol), apple cider vinegar, flavourings, sweetener (steviol glycosides from stevia) and living cultures.
As you can see there’s no actual passion fruit in this drink (eg, juice, concentrate or puree), just natural flavourings - which makes the name ‘The Juice Company’ seem rather misleading!
Our favourite gut health products in the UK
YourBiology Gut+ probiotic not only offers 10 strains of probiotics, but also includes two types of prebiotics, three digestive enzymes and vitamin D for gut health support. All this means it offers a lot more benefits for gut health and general health than most probiotic supplements do
Healthpath gut health test is 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 clear and understandable report on your microbiome
YourBiology SuperGreens+ is a superfood and greens supplement which makes it very easy to get a huge amount of nutrition - vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibre, polyphenols and more - in one glass. Great for supporting gut health, skin health, energy, mental clarity and immunity.
Read more about the best gut health products in the UK.
Benefits of Aldi Juice Company kombucha
This kombucha offers the usual health benefits of kombucha, along with additional benefits from apple cider vinegar.
Live cultures
This drink includes live cultures, but unfortunately they give no information on which strains are included or the actual amount of them (ie colony forming units). This means we don’t know if this drink includes any probiotics - which are live cultures that have been shown to give us health benefits.
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Postbiotics
In very simple terms, postbiotics are essentially beneficial things microorganisms produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Tea
The black and green tea in this kombucha provide antioxidants in the form of polyphenols. These help protect cells from oxidative stress and some also feed the good bacteria in the gut.
Read more about the evidence-based benefits of green tea and kombucha.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar can help with blood sugar control, weight loss, heart health and more.
Read more about the evidence-based benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Low in calories
This kombucha has only 1 calorie per 100ml - making it very healthy by this measure.
Appearance
As the picture below shows, it has a slightly murky, yellow appearance.
Carbonation
The carbonation is moderate and doesn’t cause any unpleasant burping.
Flavour
The aroma is fairly strongly of passionfruit.
The taste is mainly of sweet passion fruit - but since the taste comes only from flavourings it lacks depth. It has a moderate acidity.
In summary, the flavour is nice enough and somewhat refreshing. But it’s a surface-level passion fruit flavour which seems a bit unnatural, not a rich flavour of passion fruit which you would get if real passion fruit was used.
Cost of Aldi Juice Company kombucha
You can buy a 330ml bottle for £1.69 from Aldi. This is under half the price of premium kombucha.
Is Aldi Juice Company kombucha worth it?
If you are not bothered by this kombucha including natural flavourings and sweeteners and are willing to accept a weaker, slightly unnatural-seeming flavour, then this kombucha presents great value.
This is not the choice though if you want to get an authentic product with a deep flavour that comes with using proper ingredients.
Review summary
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.
Verdict: Aldi Juice Company kombucha is a low-calorie kombucha which doesn’t use real passion fruit, rather natural sweeteners and flavourings. It is cheap though and the taste is not bad.
Pros
health benefits of apple cider vinegar
cheap
very low in calories
flavour is fine enough…
Cons
…but the flavour lacks depth
relies of natural sweeteners and flavourings for flavour
no information on the live cultures included or the amount of them
Now read about the best kombucha in the UK!
Factors we consider in our ratings
The factors we consider when doing a review (and the weightings of each of these) may vary depending on the product we are testing, but here are the key general factors we consider when we settle on a rating for a product.
Health benefits
We find out how the product will be good for your health and outline the benefits for you in simple language. This often involves doing research so you don’t have to. We often link to scientific studies or articles summarising scientific findings so you can dig deeper if you want to.
Things detrimental to health
We want to highlight where a product might include something bad for your health - even if the product might be good for you in another way. This could include such things as pointing out certain additives it contains or high sugar levels.
How it’s made
This will vary depending on the product, but we want to see a quality process for making it and quality ingredients. For example, we want to see a kombucha traditionally fermented with lots of different microbial strains and we want to see a yoghurt made with fresh milk and not milk powders.
Price
While we expect quality products to be more expensive, they still have to be priced within reason. On the other side of things, a product which is priced very competitively will get a ratings boost based on the value it provides.
Flavour
For some products flavour won’t be a factor (eg probiotic tablets), but for others, like yoghurt or kimchi, flavour is a key aspect because these products are made to be enjoyed as well as being healthy! We will try to be as subjective as possible and describe the flavour in detail so you can get an idea of whether you would like it or not.
Our favourite gut health products in the UK
YourBiology Gut+ probiotic not only offers 10 strains of probiotics, but also includes two types of prebiotics, three digestive enzymes and vitamin D for gut health support. All this means it offers a lot more benefits for gut health and general health than most probiotic supplements do
Healthpath gut health test is 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 clear and understandable report on your microbiome
YourBiology SuperGreens+ is a superfood and greens supplement which makes it very easy to get a huge amount of nutrition - vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibre, polyphenols and more - in one glass. Great for supporting gut health, skin health, energy, mental clarity and immunity.
Read more about the best gut health products in the UK.
Your reviewer
This hands-on review was written by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut-health enthusiast, science nerd and passionate kombucha maker of over 10 years!
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