I've heard about the health benefits of taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a glass of water in the morning, including clearer skin, lower cholesterol, curing indigestion, aiding weight loss and more, for some time now. However, I am not a huge fan of the taste of apple cider vinegar, not to mention that I'm usually rushing out of the door and often forget to take it. Then I discovered Suja's latest drinking vinegars when I went to the Natural Food Expo last month.

Tasting like a cross between a kombucha and a cold-pressed juice, they're made with unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar, and contain between 20-30 calories. I tried the peach ginger one and was immediately smitten.

You can definitely taste the apple cider vinegar, but there is also the taste of real fruit, thanks to Suja's use of cold-pressed fruit juice as opposed to artificial flavors, and I could see tiny bits of fruit in the bottom of the bottle.

beer, coffee
Weichen Yan

Suja’s various beverage lines are all certified organic and verified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project. Many of their beverages are known for containing probiotics, the good bacteria for your gut, and overall health. You can read more about the benefits of probiotics here.

Suja uses a vegan probiotic strain, and each bottle of the drinking vinegar contains over 4 billion CFUs (colony forming units) of probiotics. 

What I also love about the brand is that it is notably the first juice company to offer organic, cold-pressured juice for under $4. Living in NYC I'm not unaccustomed to paying $10 for a green juice, so it's refreshing to be able to buy cold-pressed bottled juices for less than half of the cost.

If you're a kombucha drinker who's budget-conscious, these drinking vinegars are a great alternative because they retail at $2.99 at Whole Foods, whereas bottled kombucha typically run above $3.50 and could sell for as high as $7 in supermarkets and cafes. 

beer
Weichen Yan

These drinking vinegars are available in five flavors: lemon cayenne, peach ginger (my favorite!), hibiscus Ancho chile, cucumber ginger and strawberry balsamic, many of which are different from your typical kombucha flavors. So, next time you're grabbing a drink from Whole Foods, why not give one of these a try?