I enjoy kombucha for its flavour mostly (kind of a bubbly not-sour vinegar which reminds me of elderflower wine), and as a health benefit second (lots of benefits, see some of my other kombucha postings), so I was pleased to find a local source for kombucha tea (local meaning made and sold in Toronto - though I hear that it just might be sold soon in Mississauga, that would be great).
I am talking about Fairy's Tonic made in Toronto by a lady named Zoey (whose mother, I read, is Ruth of Ruth's Hemp Foods) and sold in various health food stores in and around Toronto (see her website for a listing of stores, but I bought it at Essence of Life in Kensington Market).
The one I got was the one labelled Digestif with a green label (there are two others - Yellow/Uplift and Red/Revive; the three varieties are a light version, a more concentrated one and a ginger flavour, but I don't know which is which - okay, this isn't the ginger one) which is a straight kombucha made from black tea (ie. with no added flavours or ingredients). It comes in a 500 mL bottle (which I later read is for four servings - here I had drunk half of it in one serving already!). The couple I bought cost $6 each, though you can get it cheaper directly from her ($70 for a case of 12x500 mL, but if you buy it in gallon jugs, it's $38; check the website for current prices).
Normally, I don't care for black tea, and the Wonder Drink ones that I had tried before, and enjoyed, were all made with green tea. But, this one didn't taste of black tea, or what I don't like in black tea, and was quite good and refreshing, probably the best kombucha I had tasted so far. I know Wonder Drink is pasteurized, though I don't know if Fairy's Tonic is (other than her website saying Live and the bottle saying Live Brew; meaning live fermenting organisms).
One of the things I am interested in, is making my own kombucha, and I found out that Zoey sells a homebrewing kit that includes a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) from her own line as well as a 40-minute hands-on workshop to explain the brewing stages (contact Zoey for one-on-one and group prices).
If Zoey is taking requests, I would like to see one similar to the Himalayan Wonder Drink and one with Elderflowers.
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