People might have felt a happy buzz after drinking the popular health-food store beverage kombucha over the past few years, but that buzz may not have been from the antioxidants.

In mid-June, Whole Foods Market pulled kombucha tea from its shelves after discovering the drinks contained elevated levels of alcohol, which has led many Austinites to make the tea at home.

The tea’s origins can be traced back to ancient China, Russia and Japan. Companies made a name for kombucha in the U.S. in the early 2000s when Whole Foods started carrying kombucha brands such as GT’s Kombucha. Kombucha is a fermented tea with active enzymes, probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. Makers claim the beverage works with the body to restore balance and vitality. There is little published research on the benefits of kombucha, but makers and fans alike say the product heals and energizes.

“There are beneficial acids — gluconic acid, acetic acid,” said Kimberly Lanski, owner of local kombucha business Buddha’s Brew. “They make you alkaline. Most people are too acidic. And they help your body to perform better, to repair yourself, to heal yourself. I’ve had people who have had chemotherapy who said their scars healed faster and kombucha helped them get through chemotherapy.”

After learning that some of the teas have more than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume per bottle, Whole Foods and Central Market have stopped selling all brands of the product.

A Whole Foods representative said that the problem has to do with labeling discrepancies related to elevated alcohol levels in some products. He said that about a month ago many people were coming into the store asking for the product, and that the tea should be back on the shelves at the end of the summer or early fall when the labeling issues are resolved.

“One of the most heartbreaking parts about all of this is how we get phone calls from people who drink our product who are drinking it for genuine health benefits — with their digestion, their immune system ailments, illnesses they’re going through, to get off prescription medicine, to sleep better — all of that,” said G.T. Dave, owner of GT’s Kombucha. “And they are just desperate to get the product. That is painful for us. Everything going on right now is obviously a huge financial burden for us, but that is nowhere near as frustrating to us as the sadness we hear from our consumers.”

Lanski is busy trying to keep up with local sales and distribution since major stores took kombucha off their shelves. Buddha’s Brew, Lanski’s brand of kombucha, may be found at the Barton Creek Farmer’s Market, Wheatsville Co-op, Daily Juice and many other local health-food stores.

“We’re working on stabilizing the kombucha so we’re certain every time that it’s under 0.5 percent,” Lanski said. “None of the kombucha companies knew that their kombucha was over half a percent.”

Although brewers claim the tea has only trace amounts of alcohol — less than 0.5 percent — some bottles were found to have more than that, which qualifies it as an alcoholic beverage by FDA standards.

Some people have turned to making the tea at home. Kombucha begins with a starter culture, like that used for yogurt or sourdough bread. The culture is composed of acetic acid bacteria and various yeasts, and is then added to a mixture of black or green tea and sugar, and left to ferment for one to two weeks. If the beverage is left unpasteurized or “raw,” as many health aficionados prefer, alcohol can develop because the yeast is still alive, converting sugars to alcohol.

“We never discourage people from making it on their own,” Dave said. “The reason I started bottling kombucha is that I discovered very early on that people are unable to make it correctly because they don’t have the time, the resources, the information. Whenever somebody approaches us to make it on their own we’re totally fine with it. We just emphasize the importance of being clean and meticulous when making it.”

Mallory Miller, a recent UT alumna, has been drinking kombucha regularly for a year. She began drinking the tea because she believed it to be a healthy alternative to soda. She has been missing her favorite brand, GT’s Kombucha, since it went off the shelves in June.

“I felt like after I drank one it was very cleansing,” Miller said. “I try to drink one every day or every other day. I felt like it was a total detox — very cleansing. I felt like I had more energy. I’ve been missing it since they’ve taken it out of stores.”

It’s still uncertain when kombucha will return to the shelves of major retailers. Until then, kombucha fans can bide their time by joining kombucha Facebook groups such as “Dude, Where’s My Kombucha?” to “let your ‘Boocha’ lovin’ voice be heard.”

“That’s the silver lining to this. It’s that at the end of the day, we’re not dealing with the recall. We’re not dealing with something with a bottle was contaminated and could therefore cause harm to somebody,” Dave said. “The product is completely safe. It’s everything it’s always been. In addition, although there’s been a lot of rumors and speculation, the people who have stood by us are fans. We’re talking thousands and thousands of e-mails saying, ‘We want it back.’”

Stores pull kombucha tea from shelves

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