20 Ways to Flavor Your Kombucha
It’s been Kombucha week all up on Naturally Loriel lately.
First, we walked through a really easy tutorial on how to make kombucha at home. Then we infused it with elderberries and lavender to create an immune boosting elixir that makes the perfect concoction to be consuming at this time of the year.
And finally, we’re ending this Kombucha party with a roundup of some of the most delicious kombucha recipes around the crunchy web-sphere.
The second ferment or flavoring kombucha happens when you take already brewed kombucha and infuse it with fruits, herbs, or flowers. The fruit can be in chunk form, puree, or as a juice. You let the fruit and the brewed kombucha ferment for a few days, and the result is a fizzy, probiotic-rich drink that has taken on the taste of whatever you’ve chosen to put in the bottle. The amount of sugar (fruit chunks, puree, and/or juice) plays a huge role in how fizzy your second ferment will be. More fruit, more fizz. Less fruit, less fizz. Having quality flip top bottles also helps in the fizzy-ness factor.
Flavoring your own homemade kombucha can take a little bit of trial and error to find that perfect taste but, it’s always fun when you hit the golden flavor that makes you gobble it up in one sitting.
When we’re not flavoring our kombucha with elderberries in the Adams’ household, we love simple concoctions like guava and strawberry, simple “lemonade” kombucha, and berries with lemon.
Below in the printable recipe card, you’ll find a few of my personal favorite recipes and then scroll below to find 15 other ways to flavor your kombucha from some of my favorite crunchy bloggers.
- ½ cup guava juice
- 3 strawberries, cut into small pieces (organic, if possible)
- ½ cup guava juice
- 4 blackberries, cut into small pieces
- 1 inch lime (with rind), cut into pieces
- 2 inches lemon (with rind), cut into small pieces
- 2 strawberries, cut into small pieces (organic, if possible)
- 4 blueberries, smashed (organic, if possible)
- 1 inch lemon (with rind), cut into small pieces
- Place your desired ingredients into your flip top bottle
- Pour the first ferment of kombucha; leaving about an inch from the top
- Leave on your counter for 3-7 days; burp once or twice throughout the day to release excess carbonation
- Store in the refrigerator
Elderberry Kombucha
Spiced Apple Kombucha
Homemade Berry Lemonade Kombucha
Cherry Vanilla Kombucha
Strawberry Hibiscus Kombucha
Apple Pie Kombucha
Sarsaparilla Kombucha and Root Beer Kombucha
Apple Clove Kombucha
Ginger Kombucha Cocktails
Homemade Lavender Kombucha
Strawberry Basil Kombucha
Cream Soda Kombucha
Homemade Ginger Peach Soda
Kombucha Lemonade
Lavender Kombucha
Thanks so much for sharing my Lavender Kombucha recipe! Bottoms up! 😀
You’re welcome Julia! So glad your lavender kombucha could be a part of it. 🙂
Can’t wait to give some of these recipes a try. Way to go keeping it real. Mamma’s saving the world. It’s a bit nutty, but fun to heh? Have a great day. Kim at http://www.unbusyonpurpose.com
Thanks for the great list. I have been trying to like kombucha but I find that it tastes like wine which I don’t like. How can I make it less wine tasting?
Hey Anna. How long do you let it ferment for the first round?
Loriel,
How would you go about flavoring your entire gallon (or 2) batch of booch? I am new to this an so excited to make some of the flavors you have so kindly shared! Thank you! Hope
Hi Hope! I’m not sure how you could do a whole gallon at one time. You would have to find a sealable container big enough to hold all of your kombucha at one time and put your flavors in there. I hope that helps!
How on earth do you get the fruit chunks out of the flip top bottle?
LOL! I only laugh because I’ve been there before. Just make sure you cut the chunks up small so they slide out of the top.
I have gotten to the 2nd phase of the Kombucha. (Momma and baby are doing fine) I would like to add my fruit. But I only have frozen organic fruit. Do I thaw the fruit first? Or can I chop it up and put them in the jar? Looking forward to all the yummy fruit flavors. Thank you
I think you could probably do it either way and be fine. I think you’ll get a better fizz by thawing first because that will release the natural sugars, which ultimately results in a nice fizzy second ferment.
I’m hooked on Diet Dr Pepper. I’d like to kick the habit. I like the taste of kombucha that’s not too vinegary tasting. What can I flavor my 2nd ferment with that will be close to that Diet Dr Pepper I love?
To make Dr Pepper KT chop up a prune into small pieces and add a split vanilla bean (or vanilla extract) to your second ferment.
omg…gonna try this…do you the ingredients for cream soda…cherry/vanilla?
I had success with flavoring my second ferment with jelly! I had some black raspberry jelly in the fridge and I put about 3 generous tablespoons into my 16 ounce batch and let it sit for 4 days. Very nice flavor and color.
Oh yum! That sounds great. Thanks for sharing!
My sister-in-law got me hooked on Kombucha and taught me how to make my own??. My question is this: Can I put apple juice in Kombucha to ferment it?
I want ask to you , i want to make flavor of mint kombucha ..
So can i put mint leaves or mint tea bag on first fermentation ?
Is there any effect ?
You have to wait until the second fermentation to add flavor. If you add anything other than what the scoby feeds off of (the tea and sugar) it will mess up and contaminate the kombucha.
Hi! I love your blog. Do I need to keep the scoby in for the second ferment?
No you take it out
Bs”d Heather, Allie’s right, and in addition, we’ve been taught to save the scoby for the next batch. Better still, if a baby scoby grew underneath, use the new one and still save the parent just in case the the new batch becomes contaminated or too vinagery.
What is the best way to save the parent Scoby? If I use the baby for my next batch?
I love this! I’ve been compiling a list of ways to flavor my kombucha and some of the best flavors - but you completely compiled a huge one for me! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try some of these the next time I make kombucha.
THANK you so much, for all the suggestion and links. I have just “first fermented” my very 1st batch for w wks. I was wondering how to flavor it… So happy to now have options. My baby Scoby, is so perfect, I want to use it, and start gifting my new ones. How do I save my parent scoby? Thanks again!
Thanks for this! Do you know if you can you second ferment kombucha laying on it’s side or does it have to be upright? I could save room by second fermenting the bottles in an ice chest if I laid them down on their sides and stacking them instead of keeping them upright.Thanks!
My favorite it cherry/rosemary. (dried cherries and fresh sprig of rosemary in each 16 oz bottle.
Fresh tumeric, ginger & lemon.
Hi there! I’m totally new to making my own kombucha and I’m in the process of making a Scoby from scratch (*wish me luck!!*) I’m totally addicted to GT’s “Trilogy” (I mean I could literally drink it all day and not even eat!) and I’m hoping I can make something similar and save myself the $3/bottle!! I haven’t tasted a kombucha flavor that I like as much and I’m hoping someone might have a “recipe” or ratio that will give me similar results. The ingredients of the Trilogy kombucha are: GT’s kombucha (kombucha culture, black tea, green tea, kiwi juice,) raspberry juice, lemon juice and fresh pressed ginger juice. This is exactly how they list the ingredients. Thanks for any advice!!
I’m planning to make my first batch this week. I’m thinking that after the first fermentation I will divide the batch into 4 containers, add different flavouring to each for the second fermentation. Once that is done (after 4 days or so) I plan to strain the ingredients and bottle the kombucha in flip top bottles. Any downside to flavoring in a separate container and then bottling afterwards?
Hello I’m on my 3rd batch of kombucha. So I’m learning
I was reading on how you say on the second ferment burp the bottle. My question is how do I burp the bottle ?
Slow opens ever other day were I let some of the fizzy out ? Or is it something I dunno ?
I was told after the second ferment don’t open for 3 days and on the 3rd day put it in the fridge
So is there something I’m doing wrong
First batch turned out yummy mixed berry
Second batch lemon lime and ginger not soo good lol
Smelted like pledge tasted just as nasty but I will say I was cleaning out with in minutes lol
But I will figure this out 😊