Fruit, juice & botanicals
One bottle of lemon juice can flavor kombucha, soda and an electrolyte mix. Organic, unsweetened picks come first, plus one budget bottle for the drinks where its preservatives won’t get in the way.
What clean means here: USDA Organic, not from concentrate, no preservatives
Most bottled lemon juice contains sulfites and sodium benzoate. They’re there to stop fermentation, so they can stall a kombucha second ferment too. For a squeeze in an electrolyte mix they don’t matter, which is why the budget lemon juice here is listed for soda and electrolytes but not kombucha.
Source: USDA AMS: Organic Basics
Our picks
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Santa Cruz Organic 100% Pure Lemon Juice
$8 · 32 fl oz bottleShop Santa Cruz Organic 100% Pure Lemon Juice on Amazon
Just lemon juice, with no preservatives to stall a kombucha second ferment the way the cheaper bottle can.
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The Ginger People Organic Ginger Juice
$18 · 32 fl oz bottleShop The Ginger People Organic Ginger Juice on Amazon
Ginger juice for a kombucha second ferment or a homemade ginger soda, so you can skip peeling and pressing the root.
A ginger bug needs fresh root (live microbes); the juice is for flavor.
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Frontier Co-op Organic Hibiscus Flowers, Cut & Sifted
$18 · 1 lb bagShop Frontier Co-op Organic Hibiscus Flowers, Cut & Sifted on Amazon
Dried hibiscus flowers by the pound. A couple of grams turns a bottle of kombucha or a glass of soda red and tart, so one bag covers more than two hundred bottles.
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Lakewood Organic Pure Cranberry Juice
$14 · 32 fl oz glass bottleShop Lakewood Organic Pure Cranberry Juice on Amazon
Unsweetened cranberry juice in a glass bottle. It’s a classic kombucha second-ferment flavor and makes a tart soda base.
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ReaLemon 100% Lemon Juice
$4 · 32 fl oz bottleShop ReaLemon 100% Lemon Juice on Amazon
The grocery-aisle bottle, at about half the price of the organic one. It’s fine for a squeeze in an electrolyte mix or a soda.
It contains sodium benzoate and sulfites, which can stall a ferment, so keep it out of the kombucha bottle.
The clean premium
- Soda: Santa Cruz Organic 100% Pure Lemon Juice costs $0.13 more per glass than ReaLemon 100% Lemon Juice, or about $2.71 a month at five a week.
- Electrolytes: Santa Cruz Organic 100% Pure Lemon Juice costs $0.06 more per serving than ReaLemon 100% Lemon Juice, or about $1.35 a month at five a week.
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Run the numbers
Certifications and ingredient lists are the manufacturers' label claims as we last checked them, not our own testing. They change, so read the current label, especially for allergens. Cost information only; nothing here is nutrition or medical advice. Full terms & disclaimers →