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Peach Mint Kombucha Recipe

Sip and enjoy the sweet flavors of sunshine and summer with this Peach Kombucha Recipe.

Peaches puree up into a luscious, creamy consistency that results in a smoothie-like kombucha. In fact, it would be a delicious addition to a smoothie. Enjoying it on it’s own is plenty enough to satisfy that in-between meal tummy growl and get you back focused on the tasks at hand.

Kombucha Brewing Basics

Brewing kombucha is almost always a two-step process. Brewing kombucha is only a one-step process for those who prefer still kombucha. Otherwise, the steps consist of primary fermentation and secondary fermentation.

The primary fermentation is when you make kombucha, and the secondary fermentation is when you take the kombucha and bottle, flavor, and carbonate.

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.

Primary Fermentation

The primary fermentation is the first step of the kombucha brewing process. This is where your SCOBY transforms the sugar in the sweet tea into the tart and slightly sweet kombucha we love. At the end of this stage, you will have kombucha but it will be unflavored and flat.

Secondary Fermentation

This is the step where you bottle your kombucha. In addition, this is where you carbonate and/or flavor your kombucha by the addition of sugar and flavors. This step involves adding a bit of sugar or flavor to bottles with lids designed to hold the pressure of fermentation and then letting them ferment a little longer, allowing the yeast to carbonate the beverage in an airtight environment naturally. Have questions on the process? See our guide 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

1/4 Cup of Pureed Peach: This will create a creamy smoothie-like consistency.
1 Sprig of Mint (About 4-5 Leaves): Fresh mint leaves will work the best.

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.