It's an age-old ferment, but a new-age fancy. Kombucha, a fermented yeast tea, which dates back 2,000 years, has become quite the `it' drink with fitness buffs in the city - being sold in flavours across several stores. But while most nutritionists and home brewers believe it to be filled with goodness - from detoxifying to immunity boosting -doctors advise caution before consumption, citing reasons from acidity to toxicity.

But whether one chooses to drink or think, the fact is that bottles of the fizzysour kombucha -made by adding a culture of beneficial bacteria and yeast to tea, sugar, and fruit juice -have begun lining the shelves of departmental stores.

In February, Pune-based market research firm Markets and Markets had estimated that the global market for kombucha is poised to grow from the half a billion dollars it was in 2015 to $1.8 billion in 2020....................Read more

Source: The Times of India