Kombucha products were ubiquitous throughout the city. We tried a kombucha flight at MeloMelo Kava Bar and saw it on tap at Zazzi Food. RTDs from local brands Lev’s andHouse Kombucha featured interesting flavors like black currant and smoked pear.

Sightglass Coffee and Shrub & Co combined efforts to develop a cascara shrub, which we tried in a house made soda. The tangy acidity from the vinegar complimented the lightly sweet and cherry-like flavor of the cascara.

Q Soo offers a variety of sparkling vinegar tonics that combine apple cider, rice, and coconut vinegars with strawberry lemonade, ginger lime, grapefruit citrus, or concord apple fruit juices.

For those whose interest in fermentation expands beyond beverage, a stop at Burma Love will give them the opportunity to taste lahpet, a fermented tea leaf salad, mixed for you tableside.

Mazarine specialties include a house-made Hibiscus Soda and Sparkling Cucumber Limeade that are better-for-you alternatives compared to traditional CSDs.

The Rise and Shine mocktail atAlchemist Bar included ingredients like avocado, kiwi, and herb syrup.

Matcha is one of the hottest ingredients right now. The sparkling matcha beverage at Asha Tea Houseadds enjoyable textural complexity to the antioxidant rich ingredient.

Yakult pioneered probiotic beverages and the MixWell food truck added a twist to the fermented milk product by adding carbonated water and turning it into a soda.

Lemonade offers twists on the traditional Arnold Palmer. The Skinny Lemonade T includes color-changing butterfly pea flower tea and blood orange lemonade.

Incorporating fruits and veggies into lattes is a trend that started in Australia with beverages like beet and broccoli lattes. Zazzi offers a seasonal Butternut Squash Latte that combines espresso with a butternut squash and bourbon puree.

Cold brew tea comes at the heels of the cold brew coffee craze. Asha House had a variety of nitrogen-infused cold brew teas to enjoy and Samovar offered a Cold Brew Matcha Mochi Muffin.

Cheese tea may sound unusual, but it’s a popular trend in Asia that is emerging stateside. Matcha Cafe Maiko has Matcha Cheese Tea and Hojicha Cheese Tea on the menu.

Cardamom, an ingredient used in chai blends, is becoming a popular ingredient on it’s own in coffee, tea, cocktails and even craft soda. It was in the Steph Curry iced tea at David Rio Chai Bar and in the Cardamom Rose Mochi Muffin at Samovar.

There was no shortage of botanical flavor profiles across food and beverage categories. Ginger, turmeric, Chinese 5 spice, hibiscus, lavender, geranium, and rosemary were spotted on menus at establishments like Lemonade, Tara’s Organic Ice Cream and Happy Moose Juice.

Guava tastes like a combination between strawberry and pear. Use of the flavor was widespread in San Francisco across beverage categories.

Food and beverage that trigger pleasant feelings of nostalgia are very popular. The Matcha Cream Puff at Beard Papa and PB & Chai at David Rio Chai Bar were nostalgic twists on classic flavors.