Cupid’s Love Potion Kombucha Recipe

Ever wanted to know the secret to love? It’s blood oranges and rose hips.

Tart, fruity and just two ingredients… what’s not to love about that? Anything in the citrus family pairs really well with kombucha, and blood orange is no exception. Blood oranges have unique floral notes and tartness that build on rose hips’ fruity and floral flavor. However, if you can’t find blood oranges, you can substitute any citrus you have on hand: grapefruit, lime, lemon, oranges.

The amounts suggested in the recipe are a starting point, but there are no rules. Add as much or as little juice as you want. The more juice (sugar) you add, the more likely you will have a carbonated end product. Other ideas that would pair well with this combination are ginger, hibiscus, lavender, fresh herbs (basil, mint, sage), vanilla, etc!

To serve: Strain the kombucha over a fresh glass of ice, garnish with a blood orange slice and enjoy!

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.
• Fresh Blood Oranges: Get them while you can! They are usually available between December and April depending on where you live. If you can’t find blood oranges, any citrus or citrus juice will work as a substitute.
• Rose Hips: Dried rose hips are a great pantry staple to keep around for flavoring. They are tart and fruity, similar to cranberries.

SECONDARY FERMENTATION PREPARATION

This recipe makes one 16 fluid ounce bottle. For a 1-gallon batch, make 7 16 ounce bottles of kombucha or times the ingredients by 7. Before beginning this recipe, you will want to:

1. Reserve 12 – 16 fluid ounces of kombucha and your pellicle from your completed primary fermentation and set aside. It’s best to pour from the top of the brew jar as the bottom will have a much higher yeast concentration. You will use this as your starter for your next gallon batch of kombucha.
2. With your kombucha starter tea and SCOBY placed aside, you will now have enough kombucha left to make seven 16 oz bottles. These bottles are the most popular as they are considered the best bottles for kombucha secondary fermentation, but any other airtight bottles made for carbonation will work.