Lemon Lime Mint Kombucha Recipe

Tart, Sweet, Sour, and Cooling, Lemon Lime Mint Kombucha is Sure to Satisfy

A Beginner's Guide on How to Make Lemon Lime Mint Kombucha

Simplicity wins again. We love when simple components come together to yield bold results. Our minds often persuade us to think we want more: more energy, more food, more money, more things. In reality, more doesn’t mean better. More means more things to manage, thoughts to declutter, calories to burn. There’s an art in simplification that is refreshingly beautiful. Allow this kombucha to be a practice in enjoying less.

We’ve found that letting the citrus rinds sit in any liquid for longer than a couple of hours creates a very bitter beverage. Since we’re going to let the kombucha go through a secondary fermentation for about 2-10 days, it’s best to use citrus juice rather than slices to avoid the bitterness. When serving this drink, add a fresh slice of lemon and lime to each glass and get the full effect.

For the mint, it’s pretty straightforward. Break off a sprig, or a few big leaves, and drop it right in the bottles!

For each bottle, squeeze the juice from half a lemon and half a lime, which should yield approximately 1 tbsp of each. Add it right to a clean 16 fl oz bottle.

After you’ve added the citrus juice and mint, it’s time to fill the bottles with kombucha. Fill each bottle up, but leave about 2″ of headspace. Cap the bottles tightly, label your bottles and place them in a warm location for 2-10 days for the secondary fermentation. When you’re happy with the flavor, place the bottles in the refrigerator to halt the fermentation.

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.

Primary Fermentation: 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 how to make kombucha at home, and for jun kombucha, see our post on how to make jun kombucha tea at home. Traditional kombucha is going to yield a bolder brew, while jun kombucha is milder and can be a bit tarter.
Secondary Fermentation: Secondary fermentation is the step where you bottle, carbonate, and flavor your kombucha with the addition of sugar and flavors. In this step, the finished kombucha from the primary is mixed with sugar, fruits, or other flavors before bottling it with specialized lids that can hold pressure, like flip-top bottles. The bottled kombucha is then left at room temperature for natural fermentation, where yeast carbonates the kombucha within the sealed bottle. The ideal temperature range for this process is between 75-85°F. The amount of time needed to carbonate within the bottle is highly tied to temperature, which can take anywhere from 2-10 days.

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 is ready to bottle.

Ingredients

Kombucha: Use kombucha that has completed primary fermentation and is ready to bottle and flavor.

Fresh Lemons: For each bottle, use ½ lemon for juicing, then some to cut up for garnish (optional). Fresh lemon juice is tart and bright. It’s a great addition to any kombucha recipe but also plays well with other citrus fruits.
Fresh Limes: Limes are sweeter than lemons and add depth of flavor. Again, use ½ lime for juicing and a little more later cut up for garnish.
Fresh Mint: Adds a clean, energizing flavor and aroma. Add about 1 sprig or 3-5 large leaves per 16 fl oz bottle.

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:

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.
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.