It’s popping up on the shelves of health food stores around the country – and it seems to be popular in celebrity circles. What is it, exactly? Is it just a fad or does it really have health benefits?

For those of you who’ve never come across it, kombucha is a drink with a natural fizz that in its plain form tastes a little like cider, but is also available in various fruit and herb flavours. It’s made by brewing tea, adding sugar and a culture of bacteria and yeasts, and letting the mixture ferment for a week or two. The drink is thought to have originated in China a couple of centuries ago.

The health benefits
There are lots of claims about the benefits of kombucha, including that it gives you glowing skin, helps to detoxify your liver, boosts your immune system, alleviates arthritis, helps with weight loss and can even prevent cancer, but the evidence seems to be more anecdotal than scientific. And there have been cautionary reports about allergic reactions, stomach upsets and potential contamination if you make it at home.

@iyoburgers have an awesome deal on till next Friday, every veggie burger ordered (#14 and #15) comes with a #free @brewkombucha The #burgers here are next level- my favourite is to order a side of #kale! #Yoh ! #iyoburgers #breestreet #capetown #ethicalfood #kombucha #probiotics #fermented #whilestockslast @eatoutguide

A photo posted by BREW KOMBUCHA (@brewkombucha) on Aug 4, 2015 at 3:40am PDT

Fans of this “elixir” swear by it, however. Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn claimed it cured his stomach cancer and Gwyneth Paltrow included it in her diet to get in shape for Iron Man 2. We can’t attest to the health benefits of kombucha, but we like that it offers an alternative to sugar-laden soft drinks (the sugar that’s added to the tea before fermentation is converted into organic compounds like gluconic and acetic acid). Try it now Try local brands Theonista, Tea of Life (both are sold at the online organic shop Faithful to Nature) and Brew Kombucha, which is made using rooibos tea (it is available at a host of Cape Town stores and online.

Surf snacks #kombucha #guthealth #surf #sea #nature #naturalenergy #roadtrip #vegan #paleo #healthy #southafrica

A photo posted by Theonista (@theonista) on Sep 3, 2015 at 1:45am PDT

Make it yourself
You can make your own kombucha at home if you don’t mind the effort and don’t want to spend anything from R25 to R40 for 500ml of the stuff. You just need to get your hands on a starter culture called a scoby, which stands for a “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast”. Order a Theonista starter kit online from the organic shop Faithful to Nature.

brew in the waterfall #naturesvalley #roadtrip #southafrica #outdoors

A photo posted by BREW KOMBUCHA (@brewkombucha) on Jan 9, 2015 at 1:05am PST

Strange but true
In the fermentation process of making kombucha, bacteria feed on the sugar nutrients and produce cellulose with long fibres, eventually forming a jelly-like “mat” on the surface of the liquid. And when this dries, it forms a substance that can be anything from paper-thin to thick and leathery. A British fashion designer named Suzanne Lee makes clothing out of it. Watch and listen to a TED talk she gave here.