There does not seem to be a beverage subforum other than the Speakeasy and Cafe so I thought I would post here. I realize that there are two topics here, only tenuously related. I beg forgiveness!
First, anyone have any idea why GT Kombucha seems to vary so much, week to week or so, in price? I am talking regular grocery stores (I am thinking Safeway and Giant), not delis, small shops, 7-11s, etc. Not necessarily my favorite brand of Kombucha, but I like it well enough and it seems the easiest to find. Seems like the standard price was under $3 a bottle not that long ago, but my memory may be off. Then the standard price seemed to be $3 and change, then closer to $4, then fairly recently, a bit over $4, say $4.29 or so. But now the standard retail, non-on-sale price at the larger grocery stores seems to be $4.69. I suppose Aldi and Lidl have it consistently enough closer to $3.50, although those places seem to have a restricted selections of GT flavors, some okay, some seemingly not popular ones. But then they seem to be on sale every few weeks or at two for $6.
I really like the stuff, and it keeps me off diet soft drinks, but I am not buying at $4.69, at least unless and until the sales pricing comes to an end. Actually, if Costco has anything decent in any brand I buy at Costco given the excellent prices, but Costco is very hit or miss, and Costco seems to have discontinued its own brand, which seemed limited to bad flavors anyway.
In any event, the pricing seems all over the place. It kind of discourages the consumer, I would think. I do not know whether to blame GT or the stores.
In the Washington, DC area the great Topo Chico shortage continues. I wonder why its current owner Coca Cola can't do better than this. Maybe they are testing just how much they can charge.
Maybe it is a conspiracy to sale. sugar free Coke, which seems really good, an advancement on Diet Coke, and seems to be what I guiltily turn too when I do not have the others. I drink a lot of good coffee these days. Maybe I should be drinking tea, too!
First, anyone have any idea why GT Kombucha seems to vary so much, week to week or so, in price? I am talking regular grocery stores (I am thinking Safeway and Giant), not delis, small shops, 7-11s, etc. Not necessarily my favorite brand of Kombucha, but I like it well enough and it seems the easiest to find. Seems like the standard price was under $3 a bottle not that long ago, but my memory may be off. Then the standard price seemed to be $3 and change, then closer to $4, then fairly recently, a bit over $4, say $4.29 or so. But now the standard retail, non-on-sale price at the larger grocery stores seems to be $4.69. I suppose Aldi and Lidl have it consistently enough closer to $3.50, although those places seem to have a restricted selections of GT flavors, some okay, some seemingly not popular ones. But then they seem to be on sale every few weeks or at two for $6.
I really like the stuff, and it keeps me off diet soft drinks, but I am not buying at $4.69, at least unless and until the sales pricing comes to an end. Actually, if Costco has anything decent in any brand I buy at Costco given the excellent prices, but Costco is very hit or miss, and Costco seems to have discontinued its own brand, which seemed limited to bad flavors anyway.
In any event, the pricing seems all over the place. It kind of discourages the consumer, I would think. I do not know whether to blame GT or the stores.
In the Washington, DC area the great Topo Chico shortage continues. I wonder why its current owner Coca Cola can't do better than this. Maybe they are testing just how much they can charge.
Maybe it is a conspiracy to sale. sugar free Coke, which seems really good, an advancement on Diet Coke, and seems to be what I guiltily turn too when I do not have the others. I drink a lot of good coffee these days. Maybe I should be drinking tea, too!
