I went back to see if I could find out which Soul Brew flavors my Frau selected back in 2022 when we first encountered their kombucha at Milwaukee's South Shore Farmers Market and found this:
Aren't they pretty?
Teacher's Aid is the third and final flavor I've seen at the Willy Street Co-op and the subject of this post. I recall enjoying the other flavor, Cherry Bomb, and hope it becomes available again. Perhaps it's only available during the summer. Cherry season in Wisconsin is June/July, after all, though I suppose they can be sourced from somewhere out west at other times.
Soul Brew's website is unavailable right now so I cannot find out what other flavors they offer and when they might be available, if not year-round. And so this looks to be my final Soul Brew review, for now.
When I opened my bottle I heard a brief sploosh sound as if a wee depth charge has gone off inside and bubbles came rushing up and out of the mouth. It wasn't like shaking a can of soda and opening it but a more leisurely rush of foam - like how people exit a building during a test of the fire alarm system as opposed to there being a genuine fire. I'd never encountered this with kombucha before. Heck, with any carbonated drink to my recollection. I swear I had treated the bottle gently. I swear!
The brew was a hazy light red and less brown than my photo portrays. There were plenty of bubbles inside. I received a big burst of cinnamon when I put my nose to the glass. This was followed by a nice vinegar tanginess and a small dose of berry which the labels informs me was elderberry.
My tongue received a large dose of fizz on my first sip, which was not surprising considering all of those bubbles I spied with my little eye. Cinnamon came next which was again not surprising as it was so prominent in the aroma. It had a delicious sweet-tart flavor which featured that elderberry along with some tasty floral something - hibiscus, said the label. This wonderful 1-2 of elderberry and hibiscus became more prominent as the tea warmed, though that spicy cinnamon remained at the fore.
The fruity, floral, and even cinnamon flavors quickly dissipated on the finish leaving a nice tang that was accompanied by a fine tannin dryness. As the tea threw off its chill, Soul Brew's distinctive lemon-mint combo added a hint of briskness to my tongue as the liquid made its way down my gullet.
My notes say that the ingredient list didn't have any flavored teas so it appears that the lemon flavor came from lemons and the elderberry goodness came from genuine elderberries. Oddly there was no SCOBY. How do they get a small disc of bacteria and yeast into each bottle? Is there a machine that does that? A SCOBY Inserter, perhaps?
Teacher's Aid was very good. I personally would like to have a little less cinnamon in the recipe to allow the fruit-floral combo to come through a bit more. However, I would still gladly drink this brew again.
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