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lavender kombucha

Lavender Kombucha

Soft, fragrant lavender adds a delightfully subtle flavor to kombucha that will relax you with every sip

A Beginner's Guide on How to Make Lavender Kombucha

Enjoying a glass of kombucha is often a ceremonious event in my day, something to look forward to. The different flavors and aroma of each kombucha contribute to this experience in their own ways. Lavender Kombucha is calming, grounding, and allows me to re-set to a positive mindset. Be sure to pour this into a glass before enjoying to maximize its aroma therapeutic effects.

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Primary vs Secondary Fermentation

It’s important to note that making 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 bottle and letting it ferment a little longer, allowing the yeast to carbonate the beverage in a sealed 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. 
  • Dried Lavender Flowers: Calming, grounding lavender is one of nature’s best treats. It is versatile in its application, but in them all, lavender’s superpower is its ability to offer serenity. Adding it to your kombucha is no exception. 
  • Honey: A delicious and nutritious way to add flavor and a touch of sweetness to your kombucha.

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 scoby 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. 

Lavender Kombucha Recipe

Course: Kombucha, Kombucha Recipes, Lavender, HoneyCuisine: KombuchaDifficulty: Easy
Servings

16 FL Oz Bottles

Prep time

20

Minutes
Second Fermentation

2-10

Days

This lavender kombucha recipe is for one 16 fluid ounce bottle. For a gallon batch, make seven bottles. To scale this recipe to a gallon batch, multiply the ingredients by seven. 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

  • Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat. 

  • Steep lavender until the liquid is cooled, about 10-15 minutes.  

  • Remove lavender, stir in honey and pour the concentrated tea into a clean 16 oz bottle. 

  • 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

  • Alternative Method: You can also add dried lavender flowers directly into bottles to infuse during the secondary fermentation. You will still get lavender flavor and aroma; you’ll just want to strain the kombucha prior to drinking it.
  • 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 should help prevent bottle bombs.
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