It’s like sparkling water times ten. It bubbles in your mouth and all the way down you throat but that is all, thanks to the 95 percent of raw kombucha.

Hear the word addiction and a bad connotation comes to mind. I have been addicted to biting my nails going on 20 years now. It’s disgusting and gross and I can’t believe I’m admitting it.

Where am I going with this? Well, I have a new addiction that I hope to keep up for the next 20 years and then some because it may just save my life.

Kombucha (kom-BOO-cha) Synergy drink is an organic and all raw handmade Chinese tea that is cultured for 30 days and I simply cannot stop drinking the stuff. I’ll be the first to admit that the flavor takes some getting used to, but the benefits outweigh the weird faces you’ll spit out when you try to swallow it for the first time.

It comes in a not-so-light glass jar. They have many flavors, including Cosmic Cranberry, Raspberry Rush, Guava Goddess and Mystic Mango. If anything, you have to appreciate the use of alliteration from when G.T. Dave was first making this energy-inducing tea in 1995.

G.T. began as a teenager bottling Kombucha for his mother, who had a rare form of breast cancer. His family believed in the power of Chinese herbs and starting to mix the Kombucha with a small amount of all natural fruit juice (today, the company claims to use only 10 percent fruit juice in all of their bottles).

Her cancer became dormant, and even though she decided to go through radiation and chemotherapy, G.T.’s mother continues to drink at least one bottle of Kombucha Synergy drink every day. She credits it with not only saving her life, but also having great skin and increased energy levels.

In Milwaukee, Kombucha Synergy is sold at Outpost Natural Foods and Whole Foods Market for less than four dollars. Lately, instead of constantly carrying around a bottle of water, I have been caring around my Synergy drink.

My addiction has been going strong for a little more than two months now, and I am just starting to get used to the taste. It’s like sparkling water times ten. It bubbles in your mouth and all the way down you throat but that is all, thanks to the 95 percent of raw kombucha.

How do we as consumers know this drink is naturally raw? Well, if you look at the bottom of the jar, you will see little bits and pieces of the handmade tea. If it freaks you out, just think of it as pulp in your orange juice. There’s nothing wrong with a little pulp; I actually prefer lots of pulp, but that’s an entirely different column.

One thing that struck me as corny about the inconspicuous marketing of this product is on the back of the bottle it says it is made with 100 percent pure love. Sounds absolutely ridiculous, right?

Well, on their Web site (www.gtskombucha.com), they claim that every bottle of Synergy sits in a spiritual room that is painted a meditative purple. They play music that you typically hear in the background at yoga class (and maybe even some Norah Jones, who knows) and keep the bottles completely refrigerated until they are sold.

Now, if that’s not love, I have no idea what is. Can you imagine the back of your package of bacon saying “Made with Love,” and it being put in a room with comforting music and a soothing-colored wall? Who wouldn’t want to eat bacon after that entire scene?

Bottom line, I love this drink. Even if you think it sounds weird, go and pick up a bottle and try it for yourself. Who knows, maybe you will cure cancer someday.

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