What does "alcohol-free" actually mean? And why does our kombucha contain 0.5% or less?

BOUCHE Kombucha is alcohol-free. Yet the label reads: below 0.5% ABV. Sounds contradictory? It isn't. Here is the short explanation.

What "alcohol-free" means in Germany

In Germany, a drink is considered alcohol-free if it contains up to 0.5% alcohol by volume. The threshold exists because an alcohol content in that range has no perceptible effect. Ripe fruit, soy sauce, sourdough bread, non-alcoholic beer, dealcoholized wine: all of them fall in the same territory.

BOUCHE always stays below that threshold.

Why not simply 0.0%?

Kombucha is made through fermentation. Tea and sugar are transformed by a culture of yeast and bacteria over weeks. The yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The bacteria take over and convert most of that alcohol into organic acids, the very acids that give kombucha its characteristic taste.

A small residual alcohol content always remains. Removing it entirely without changing the character of the drink is neither possible nor necessary. This process is precisely what creates the complexity, the freshness, and the flavor profile that defines BOUCHE.

BOUCHE is fermented and filled in-house, then heat pasteurized after filling. This stabilizes the flavor and ensures the alcohol content stays consistently below 0.5%, from the brewery to your glass.

Sugar is consumed, alcohol stays minimal

During fermentation, most of the sugar is consumed. What remains is a drink with low residual sugar and a minimal, natural alcohol content. Both are signs that fermentation ran its full, careful course.

Whether it is Dry January, Sober October, or just a Tuesday: BOUCHE is made for mindful drinking with no compromise on flavor.