Take the sugar out, leave in the healthy

The first time I had kombucha was on a Mohawk reserve in Ontario.

It was very sour and tasted like vinegar. The second time I had it was in a nicely labelled bottle that I had purchased from the Langara Students’ Union. It tasted delightful and much less sour. These were two very different drinking experiences. One was pure kombucha and the other had flavouring and sugar.

If the government of Canada

Opinion

does not note the difference in the process of making kombucha in a pure form versus adding flavouring and whatever sugars may come with that process, it would be ridiculous. It’s the difference of eating a fresh

JESSICA A. FROUD

orange versus a chocolate covered orange.

I hope the government has the time and resources to find a simple solution to differentiating these products and applying the 7 per cent tax to those who fall under sugary, less pure versions of the drink.

Kombucha with added flavouring that increases the sugar amounts drastically should have that information clearly stated on the label. The tax will come into effect on July

1 but there is ambiguity in whether kombucha will be part of it.

Many kombucha companies are small businesses and make small batches, unlike the majority of sugary carbonated drink makers. A seven per cent tax could be a significant hit to these small companies. If the government makes a black and white argument against kombucha, some companies may change the way they process kombucha to avoid the tax.