The Standard

The Standard

How we decide what real kombucha looks like — and how every Singapore brand is measured against it

Every brand reviewed on KombuchaSG is assessed using the same scorecard. No exceptions. No adjustments for brand size, price point, or marketing claims.

The scorecard is published here — in full, before any brand reviews go live — so that every verdict we deliver is defensible, transparent, and grounded in criteria you can evaluate yourself.

This is The Standard. It exists so that readers can apply it independently, without needing to rely on our reviews.

Why a Scorecard?

Kombucha is one of the most misrepresented categories in the Singapore beverage market.

The word kombucha is unregulated. Any brand can print it on a label regardless of how the drink was actually made. Claims like natural, probiotic, and live cultures are commonplace on shelves — and in Singapore, none of them is governed by a legal definition or a required standard of proof.

This creates a problem for consumers who genuinely care about what they are drinking.

A scorecard solves this by replacing vague impressions with measurable criteria. Instead of asking does this feel like real kombucha, we ask seven specific questions — and the answers are drawn entirely from what is, or is not, on the label.

The 7-Criteria Authenticity Scorecard

Each brand reviewed on KombuchaSG receives a score out of 100. The criteria and their weightings are fixed. They are applied identically to every brand.

1 — SCOBY Origin and Integrity

15 points

The SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) is the biological engine of kombucha. A live, healthy, well-maintained SCOBY — cultivated over time, passed down, or sourced from a documented culture — is the foundation of authentic fermentation.

Some commercially produced drinks labelled as kombucha are made using shortcuts: concentrated acidulants, added vinegar, or starter cultures that produce a kombucha-like flavour without genuine SCOBY-driven fermentation. These approaches can produce a drink that looks and tastes similar but is not the product of true live fermentation.

Full marksSCOBY origin is documented, disclosed, or demonstrably genuine. The brew is produced using an active, maintained live culture.
Reduced marksSCOBY origin is unstated or unverifiable. Vinegar or acidulants appear as ingredient shortcuts.

2 — Carbonation Source

15 points

Authentic kombucha gets its fizz from a second fermentation — the process of sealing the kombucha in bottles with natural flavouring ingredients and allowing the live cultures to continue producing CO₂. This produces a fine, natural carbonation that is integrated into the drink.

Adding carbonated water or sparkling water to a kombucha base is a shortcut that bypasses second fermentation entirely. The carbonation is artificial in origin — a separate industrial process — and the result is a different product.

Full marksNatural second fermentation only. No carbonated water or sparkling water in the ingredient list.
Zero marksCarbonated water or sparkling water appears anywhere in the ingredient list. This is criteria-based, not editorial.

3 — Flavouring Method

15 points

Authentic kombucha is flavoured using whole fruits, botanicals, herbs, flowers, roots, or spices — real ingredients that interact with the live culture during second fermentation, contributing depth, complexity, and natural variation.

Artificial flavours or vague declarations such as flavouring or natural flavouring (without specifying the ingredient) are shortcuts that replace real ingredients with manufactured compounds. They contribute nothing to the fermentation process.

Full marksFlavouring comes from identifiable, whole or real ingredients. Every flavouring agent is named.
Reduced marksArtificial flavouring, flavouring, or unspecified natural flavouring appears in the ingredient list.

4 — Live Cultures at Point of Sale

15 points

Kombucha is a living product. Its health value — and its authenticity — depends on live cultures surviving from the point of production through to the moment of consumption. Pasteurisation kills these cultures. A pasteurised kombucha is not a living product.

Lab-verified CFU (Colony Forming Unit) counts, visible culture activity in the bottle, or confirmed unpasteurised status are all indicators of genuine live culture kombucha.

Full marksProduct is confirmed unpasteurised. Live cultures are verifiable — by lab data, visible culture activity, or a credible, specific brand claim supported by the ingredient list.
Reduced marksProduct is pasteurised, heat-treated, or live culture status is unverifiable from available information.

5 — Sugar Content After Fermentation

15 points

Sugar is an essential input — the SCOBY consumes it during fermentation. The longer and more complete the fermentation, the less residual sugar remains in the final drink. Well-fermented, authentic kombucha typically contains 2–4g of sugar per 100ml.

High residual sugar (above 6g per 100ml) may indicate a shortened fermentation, additional sugar added post-fermentation, or a production process that prioritises sweetness over authenticity.

Full marksResidual sugar is under 4g per 100ml as declared on the nutrition panel.
Reduced marksSugar content exceeds 4g per 100ml, or no nutrition panel is available for assessment.

6 — Ingredient Transparency

15 points

A brand confident in what it puts in the bottle names every ingredient specifically. Black tea, fresh mango, ginger root, filtered water — these are transparent declarations. Natural flavouring, flavour, colour (150d) — these are not.

Ingredient transparency is the clearest single indicator of whether a brand considers its consumers worth informing. It also determines whether any of the other scorecard criteria can be assessed with confidence.

Full marksEvery ingredient is specifically identified. No vague terms. No catch-all declarations.
Reduced marksVague ingredient terms are present. Each vague term limits our ability to score other criteria.

7 — Production Integrity

10 points

Authentic kombucha is inherently a craft product. SCOBY-driven fermentation requires consistent monitoring, controlled conditions, and time — factors that do not scale easily to industrial volumes. Small-batch production, founder-led or craft operations, and traceable sourcing are meaningful indicators of a brand that takes the process seriously.

This criterion carries the lowest weighting because it is the hardest to verify independently. We assess it based on available information: brand transparency about their process, batch sizes, and sourcing.

Full marksProduction is small-batch, traceable, and evidently controlled. The brand discloses meaningful detail about how the kombucha is made.
Reduced marksProduction details are absent or the brand’s scale and process suggest industrial manufacturing with limited transparency.

Score Badges

Every brand reviewed on KombuchaSG receives one of three badges based on their total score.

Score Badge What it means
80 – 100 ✅ Authentic Meets all or most genuine kombucha criteria
50 – 79 🟡 Partially Authentic Some authentic attributes — but notable compromises
0 – 49 🔴 Commercial Grade Significant shortcuts that compromise authenticity

The Red Flags Checklist

These are the shortcuts most commonly found in commercial kombucha products. Each one corresponds to a scorecard criterion. Each one reduces the score — not because of editorial opinion, but because of what it signals about how the drink was made.

🚩
Carbonated water or sparkling water in the ingredient listThe carbonation is not natural. Second fermentation was not the source. This scores zero on the carbonation criterion — no exceptions.
🚩
“Natural flavouring” without a named ingredientIn Singapore, natural flavouring is a legal catch-all declaration. It does not tell you what the flavour actually is, where it came from, or how it was processed. A brand using real ginger, real passionfruit, or real hibiscus has no reason not to say so.
🚩
High residual sugar above 4g per 100mlEither the fermentation was cut short or additional sweeteners were used. Either way, it is not a mark of a well-fermented product.
🚩
“Pasteurised” or heat-treatedPasteurisation extends shelf life by killing the very organisms that make kombucha what it is. A pasteurised kombucha contains no live cultures. Any probiotic claim on a pasteurised product is misleading.
🚩
“Kombucha flavour” or “kombucha extract” in the ingredient listSome drinks use a manufactured kombucha flavour compound rather than brewed kombucha as the base. This produces a kombucha-flavoured drink — not kombucha.
🚩
No nutrition panel or ingredient list availableWe cannot score what we cannot verify. Limited information is treated as limited transparency.

The Ingredients Glossary

A quick reference for common kombucha label ingredients — what they are and what they signal.

SCOBY
The live culture. Its presence — and survival to point of sale — is what makes kombucha kombucha. Should be implied by an unpasteurised product with visible live culture activity.
Kombucha culture / starter culture
A liquid starter used to initiate fermentation. Acceptable if the brew is genuinely fermented. Not acceptable as a substitute for a live, maintained SCOBY.
Carbonated water / sparkling water
Added carbonation. Signals no second fermentation took place. Scores zero on the carbonation criterion.
Natural flavouring
A legal declaration that could mean many things. Without a named source ingredient, it cannot be verified. Reduces the ingredient transparency score.
Artificial flavouring / flavour
Manufactured flavour compounds. Not a real ingredient in any meaningful sense. Reduces both the flavouring method score and the ingredient transparency score.
Citric acid
A common acidulant. May appear in a genuinely fermented kombucha as a processing aid, but should not be the primary source of acidity. If acidity appears to come from citric acid rather than fermentation, that is a signal worth noting.
Colour (150d) / caramel colour
A colouring additive. No role in authentic kombucha. Signals that the product’s appearance is being engineered rather than naturally produced.
Preservatives (e.g. sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate)
Inhibit microbial growth — the very organisms that authentic kombucha depends on. Their presence raises questions about whether live cultures are genuinely present.
Stevia / sucralose / non-sugar sweeteners
The SCOBY cannot ferment these compounds the way it ferments sucrose. Their presence suggests a modified production process.
Brewed tea / fermented tea
The base of authentic kombucha. Should be the first or second ingredient by weight.
Live cultures / probiotics
A front-of-pack claim. Verifiable only if the product is unpasteurised and the claim is supported by specific CFU data or visible culture activity.

How to use this standard yourself

You do not need us to tell you how a brand scores. Take any kombucha from a Singapore shelf, turn it to the back label, and ask these seven questions:

  • Is there any evidence of a genuine SCOBY-based brew — or does the ingredient list suggest shortcuts?

  • Is carbonated water or sparkling water in the ingredient list?

  • Are the flavouring ingredients real and specifically named?

  • Is this product unpasteurised? Are live cultures genuinely present?

  • What is the sugar content per 100ml on the nutrition panel?

  • Is every ingredient specifically identified — or are there vague declarations?

  • What do you know about how and where this was made?

You now have the framework. Every brand review on this site uses it.

The Standard was published before the first brand review on this site went live. That sequence was deliberate. The framework should exist before the verdict — so that every score we publish is grounded in criteria you can evaluate independently.

KombuchaSG is an independent educational platform. We are not affiliated with any kombucha brand. All brand reviews apply the same scorecard criteria without exception.