Strawberry Kombucha
“Where have you been all my life?” – said you to your strawberry kombucha. You’ll never go without again with this recipe up your sleeve.
There is no better companion to kombucha than strawberries. A magical transformation begins the moment a strawberry is dropped into a bottle with fresh kombucha. Now we just need to close the bottle and let the magic happen. Strawberries have a perfect amount of natural sugar for strong carbonation and the flavor goes so well with the tartness of kombucha, it’s just a fairy tale combo ?.
PRIMARY VS SECONDARY FERMENTATION
It’s important to note that brewing kombucha is almost always a two-step fermentation process. Brewing kombucha is only a one-step process for those who prefer an unflavored or 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 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 how to make jun kombucha at home. Traditional kombucha is going to yield a bolder brew, while jun kombucha is milder and a bit more tart.
- 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 second 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, frozen, or dried strawberries: If you have fresh strawberries, great. If not, frozen or dried work well, too! Frozen fruits are typically picked right at their peak so if it is off-season, they might be a better option for maximum flavor. Dried or freeze-dried fruits are great because of their long shelf life, meaning they can be stored in your pantry and there when you need them. Is your kombucha ready but can’t get out to the store? Bam! Dried strawberries!
SECONDARY FERMENTATION PREPARATION
This strawberry kombucha recipe makes one 16 ounce bottle. For a one-gallon batch, make 7 16 oz bottles of kombucha or times the ingredients by seven. Before beginning this recipe, you will want to:
- Reserve 12 – 16 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.
- 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.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY KOMBUCHA
This recipe is super simple. We’ll have you enjoying your own strawberry kombucha in no time. Let’s dive in:
- Bottle: Evenly distribute the ingredients between the bottles. Top each bottle with kombucha, be sure to leave 1 to 2 inches of headspace at the top.
- Ferment: Allow your bottles to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 10 days. Burp your bottles as needed, until your preferred level of carbonation is achieved. This step is mostly based on temperature; it will go faster at higher temperatures and slower when colder. More on this here, What is burping your kombucha bottles?
- Enjoy: Chill in the refrigerator before serving. Based on preference, you can serve as is or strain before drinking.
Crystallized Candied Ginger 7oz
Organic Dried Elderberries
Lavender Petals, Organic – 2 oz
Organic Dried Rose Hips – 4 oz
Strawberry Kombucha
Course: Kombucha, Kombucha Recipes, Secondary FermentationCuisine: KombuchaDifficulty: Easy
1
Bottles
20
minutes
2-10
Days
This strawberry kombucha recipe is for one 16 ounce bottle. For a gallon batch, make seven bottles. To scale this recipe to a gallon batch, multiply the ingredients by seven or toggle the serving size up to seven above. 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
-
16 Oz Kombucha from a completed primary fermentation.
-
2-3 Medium sized strawberries – fresh, frozen, or dehydrated strawberries (2-3 strawberries per 16 oz bottle)
- SUPPLIES
-
1 16 Oz Swing Top Bottles
-
Strainer Optional
-
Blender Optional
Directions
- Place strawberries 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.
Notes
- *If you don’t have a blender, simply chop or smash the strawberries into small pieces and place them straight into the bottle. The blender helps incorporate the fruit for maximum flavor, and so there are no large pieces to strain out in the end, but if you don’t have one, it’s just a convenience. You’ll still get great flavor with chopping them up and adding them in.
- *If using dried fruit, you’ll want to hydrate it before blending. Add fruit to a small bowl or container and add enough kombucha to cover it. Cover and allow to re-hydrate until softened. You can easily do this up to a few days ahead of time, just place it in the refrigerator and blend up before bottling.
- 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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