Is kombucha high in histamine?
Kombucha is moderate on a low-histamine diet as far as we can tell: it was not measured for histamine, but it is tea fermented by bacteria and yeasts, and amine levels in kombucha vary widely between batches.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Review of kombucha, 2026 1 | Amine levels in kombucha vary widely between studies and rise and fall during fermentation; no histamine figures given. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2021 2 | Fermented foods can accumulate histamine because some fermenting bacteria produce it. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Kombucha is not on the review's chart of excluded foods. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Amine levels in kombucha change during fermentation: the 2026 review reports them rising and falling over the first twelve days. Home-brewed batches, where fermentation time and culture are not controlled, are the least predictable. No kombucha, shop-bought or home-made, was measured for histamine in our sources.
Not measured. Fermented by bacteria and yeasts. (estimate)
Not measured. Fermentation time and culture are uncontrolled, so amine levels can vary more. (estimate)
Why we rate kombucha 2
Kombucha is fermented tea, and on a low-histamine diet that raises a specific question, because fermentation is one of the main ways histamine gets into food. It has not been measured for histamine in any study we use, so our rating is an estimate from how it is made.
Kombucha starts as sweetened black or green tea. The tea itself is low: a 2016 study found no histamine in seven green teas and only traces in nine of fourteen black teas. A culture of bacteria and yeasts, the jelly-like "mother" or SCOBY, is then added and left to ferment, usually for ten to fourteen days, according to a 2026 review. The bacteria include acetic acid bacteria and lactobacilli, a group of lactic acid bacteria, and a 2020 review lists lactic acid bacteria among the microbes that produce histamine in fermented drinks.
The 2026 kombucha review gives no histamine figures, but it does report on amines in general, and the picture is unsettled. Reported levels vary widely between studies, depending on the tea and the mix of microbes. In one study, amines rose over the first six days, fell sharply on day eight, rose again on day ten and fell by day twelve, and the review links the early rise to the lactobacilli that dominated the first days. The review calls for more work on which strains form amines. In plain terms, two bottles of kombucha, or one batch tasted on different days, can differ.
This fits what the University of Barcelona team found across fermented foods: histamine depends on the bacteria involved and can vary even within the same production batch, which is why fermented products are among the foods most often excluded.
We rate kombucha 2, "moderate", as an estimate. It is not on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published diets, so the lists give no guidance either way. If you want something cold and tea-based, green tea, which had no histamine when measured, or a herbal infusion, which is not fermented, can be brewed and chilled at home.
Questions about kombucha and histamine
Is kombucha high in histamine?
It has not been measured in our sources. It is fermented by bacteria and yeasts, and reported amine levels in kombucha vary widely between batches, so we rate it 2, "moderate", as an estimate.
Is kombucha okay on a low-histamine diet?
It is a fermented drink, and fermented foods are among the foods most likely to carry histamine. We rate it 2 as an estimate; chilled green tea or herbal tea are lower-rated choices.
Evidence behind this page
- Kombucha is made by fermenting sweetened black or green tea with a culture of acetic acid bacteria, lactobacilli and yeasts, usually for 10 to 14 days. 1
- Reported amine levels in kombucha vary widely between studies depending on the substrate and microbial community, and in one study rose to day 6, fell sharply on day 8, rose on day 10 and fell by day 12, which the review links to the lactobacilli that dominated the early days. 1
- Foods likely to accumulate histamine include fermented products, because fermenting bacteria can form it from histidine; in fermented foods histamine varies widely, even within one batch. 2
- Lactic acid bacteria are among the histamine-producing microorganisms described in fermented beverages. 4
- Seven green teas had no detectable histamine in leaves or infusions, and 9 of 14 black teas had traces. 5
Sources
- Pereira AG. Kombucha as a Bioactive Functional Beverage: Current Evidence, Production Challenges, and Future Perspectives. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 27(6):2739, 2026. doi:10.3390/ijms27062739 (Pereira AG 2026)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- Spizzirri UG, Picci N, Restuccia D. Extraction Efficiency of Different Solvents and LC-UV Determination of Biogenic Amines in Tea Leaves and Infusions. Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry 2016:8715287, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/8715287 (Spizzirri UG et al. 2016)