With a growing trend in health conscious habits amongst West Coasters, there is no surprise that kombucha’s popularity has been, pun intended, mushrooming. But according to Mike Durighello—the CEO of Whalebird Kombucha—you don’t have to be a yogi, a hippie, or health conscious at all to enjoy a bottle of their kombucha. Kombucha, the ancient fizzy, fermented drink that originated in Asia, is a probiotic tea infused with yeast and beneficial bacteria to create fermentation.
The many health benefits of the drink include probiotics that improve gut health and immunity, antioxidants that decrease inflammation, and organic acids that fight against bacterial growth as well as promote detoxification. And if that weren’t enough, many kombucha aficionados, including Mike who drank an average 6 bottles a week while he was a student at UC Santa Cruz, claim that the drink gives them energy boosts, a curbed appetite as well as a strengthened ability to focus.
