Welcome back. Last time we talked about making Kombucca. You can enjoy it as soon at this point, but if you want to take your kobucca to the next level. . . .
You can make it fizzy and add flavors with a “Second Ferment”
After your kombucca is ready, I pour out the tea and leave the SCOBY in the Jar. I put my tea in a pitcher to make pouring in my funnel easier. Don’t worry about the stringy looking things floating around they are part of the ferment and are healthy to drink (it is spent yeast from the Scoby).
Then I start to fill the bottles. (Leave ample room if you are going to add flavors). I only fill to where the neck of the bottle starts.
*Notice the bottle type I use. Being my frugal self, I used empty glass bottles (Think Snapple), but couldn’t get things fizzy. When I switched to these bottles my kombucca took on a whole new fizzy life. So it is worth investing in a few tools.
Add in your flavors. My favorite flavors are strawberry, blueberry, and ginger.
- Strawberry– add some chopped up strawberries (I do about a 2-4 berries per bottle)
- Blueberry — add several blueberries (I crush them a little when I add them)
- Ginger — I add 2 tablespoons of homemade ginger syrup (recipe will be coming soon we also make ginger ale with this
- Apple — Add 1 tablespoon of apple juice concentrate
- Cranberry — Add either 1 tablespoon of cranberry juice concentrate or 1/4 cup of cranberry juice (my favorite is Knudson cranberry nectar)
- Grape — Add 1 tablespoon of grape juice concentrate or 1/4 cup of grape juice
Feel free to use your imagination and add anything you would like to the second ferment. After your flavors are added, close up your bottles. Let them sit for a day or two to second ferment. Check them often — every day. Bottles can explode. I have been known to “burp” mine by opening and closing the bottle a couple times. When they pop when opened, I put them in fridge. They are ready to enjoy!
When I am ready to enjoy, I put the tea strainer below over a glass and pour the kombucca through it. (Sometimes a new scoby develops in 2nd ferments). Nothing ruins my fizzy kombucca holiday like a Scoby slipping down the throat.
Tea Strainer
Enjoy! Please let me know if this is helpful or if you have any questions!
Another fun project from the farm.
Thanks for tuning in,
Mrs. Aaron Menning
