Caffeine in kombucha

[Jillby22]

When making kombucha from a scoby, it says to use caffeinated tea. Is this necessary or can you use decaf? If not, how much caffeine is left once it is produced? Thanks!

[heatherdeg]

The great debate.  I went hunting for this information when my 3yo was downing kombucha and I worried about giving it to her too late in the day.  From what I could find, this varies by the length of fermentation and even then--there is debate about whether the yeast need it for food (and therefore digest it--potentially leaving none).

The companies that I could find putting out this information on their kombucha noted caffeine in their kombucha. One company was at 5mg/serving (so almost as low as decaf coffee--which is 3-4) and GT's gave a range of 8-14 mg/serving (hot chocolate is at 14).

Maybe someone can post something more precise than that to help us both!

[Jillby22]

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate the info, being new to brewing. My kids also love it, and was concerned about the caffoine and possible alcohol content. If anyone else has any more information, I would love to hear it!