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cherry kombucha

Cherry Kombucha Recipe

The perfect balance of sweet and sour, choose your cherry to determine your flavor.

Cherries were originally brought to America by early settlers in the 1600s. Ever since then, this ruby-red fruit has been a staple to many American drink and dessert recipes for as long as I can remember. Cherries have satisfied the taste palate of food and brew lovers for centuries. 

With over 1,000 types of cherries in the United States alone, the sweetness and sourness of each cherry is different. Packed with nutrients and rich in antioxidants, cherries are the perfect fruit to add kombucha. Since there are so many different types of cherries, feel free to play around with the flavors you choose in order to make this recipe your own. 

A Beginner's Guide on How to Make Cherry Kombucha

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Primary vs Secondary Fermentation

It’s important to note that brewing homemade kombucha is almost always a two-step fermentation process. Brewing kombucha is only a one-step process for those who prefer an unflavored flat kombucha. Otherwise, the steps consist of a primary fermentation and secondary fermentation.

  1. Primary Fermentation: The primary fermentation is the first step of the kombucha brewing process. This is where your SCOBY transforms regular sweet tea into the tart and slightly sweet kombucha we love. At the end of this stage, you will have finished kombucha, but it will be flat and unflavored. Have you skipped this step? Then check out our guide on making kombucha at home or our guide on making jun kombucha at home. Traditional kombucha is going to yield a bolder brew, while jun kombucha is milder and a bit more tart.
  2. Secondary Fermentation: The secondary fermentation is the step where you bottle, carbonate, and flavor your kombucha by the addition of sugar and flavors. This step is essentially adding a bit of sugar/flavor to each airtight bottle and letting it ferment a little longer, allowing the yeast to carbonate the beverage in an airtight environment naturally. How exactly does this happen? See our post on kombucha secondary fermentation here.

Since this recipe is for the secondary fermentation, to make this recipe, you’ll need to have kombucha that has finished the primary fermentation and ready to bottle.

Ingredients

  • Kombucha: You need kombucha that has completed primary fermentation and is ready to bottle and flavor.
  • Bing Cherries: These cherries are one of the more popular kinds. (You can use whatever kind you like.)
  • Sugar: The more sugar you add the sweeter your tea will turn out. We recommend organic cane sugar for the best final flavor.

Secondary Fermentation Preparation

This recipe makes one 16-fluid-ounce bottle. A 1-gallon batch of kombucha will make seven 16-ounce bottles, so for one gallon, you will need to multiply the ingredients by 7. Before beginning this recipe, you will need to:

  1. Reserve 12 – 16 fluid ounces of kombucha and a pellicle from a batch of kombucha that has finished primary fermentation. It’s best to pour from the top of the brew jar as the bottom will have a much higher yeast concentration. Use this as the starter for your next gallon batch of kombucha. If you need to make kombucha to get caught up to this step, you will need to see our post on how to make kombucha. 
  2. With your kombucha starter tea and SCOBY placed aside, enough kombucha will be left over in the jar to make seven 16 oz bottles when pulled from a gallon batch. Flip-top or swing bottles are the gold standard and are considered the best bottles for kombucha secondary fermentation. However, any bottle with a lid designed to hold pressure will work. It’s important to note the difference between airtight and pressure-rated lids. Airtight lids alone are not good enough for secondary fermentation; in addition to being airtight, the lids must also be capable of holding pressure. Airtight lids are designed to keep ambient air from entering and exiting; however, they are not designed to hold pressure. Inadequate lids will allow carbonation to leak during secondary fermentation, thus preventing your kombucha from ever carbonating. 

Cherry Kombucha Recipe

Course: Kombucha, Kombucha Recipe, Kombucha Tea, Cherry KombuchaCuisine: KombuchaDifficulty: Easy
16 FL Oz Bottles
Prep time

20

minutes
Second Fermentation

2-10 Days

This cherry kombucha recipe is for one 16 fluid-ounce bottles. For a gallon batch, make seven bottles. To scale this recipe to a gallon batch, multiply the ingredients by seven, saving any excess ingredients for future batches. Before bottling your kombucha, remove the SCOBY pellicle along with 12-16 ounces of kombucha starter tea from your brew, and reserve for your next batch.

Ingredients & Supplies

Directions

  • Place cherries in a blender with enough kombucha for the blender to work, about ¼ cup, and blend into a puree. If using dried, see notes below*

  • Using a funnel, pour the puree into an empty bottle.   

  • Now fill each bottle with kombucha, leaving about 1 to 2 inches of head-space. Tightly place the caps on each bottle.

  • Keep bottles at room temperature for 2-10 days; it will carbonate faster at higher temperatures and slower when cold.

  • Once per day, you’ll want to burp the bottles. This is done by removing the cap to allow built-up pressure to escape then placing the cap back on. As soon as you put the lid back on, the carbonation will begin to build back up, so no worries about it getting flat. Try not to skip this, or you may get kombucha all over your face when you do go to open it or, worse yet, a bottle bomb.

  • Chill in the refrigerator once you’re happy with the carbonation levels. Based on preference, you can serve as is or strain before drinking.

Tips

  • First-time brewers may find it helpful to substitute a glass bottle for a plastic bottle of equal size. Fill the plastic bottle as directed above, leaving 1-2 inches of empty headspace at the top. This plastic bottle will now be used as a pressure gauge. Once this bottle becomes rock solid, you will know the remaining are ready. This method can help prevent bottle bombs.
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