Homemade Blueberry Kombucha!
Looking for a delicious and easy way to flavor your kombucha? Blueberry kombucha is the perfect recipe for you! This homebrewed kombucha is flavorful and refreshing.
Ingredients
- 4 cups first ferment kombucha
- 1/2 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
prepare:
- Thoroughly wash everything! This is a fermentation so it's important to make sure everything, including your hands, is clean and free of any contaminants. The best way to do this is to wash with hot, soapy water, then rinse. I like to give my bottles and utensils and extra rinse in vinegar, too.
make the blueberry syrup:
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, 1/2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, and one cinnamon stick.
- Bring the blueberry mixture to a low boil. Mash the blueberries with a spoon to ensure all have burst. Simmer the syrup until it thickens enough to leave a thin layer on the back of your spoon.
- Remove the blueberry syrup from the heat and pass through a fine-mesh sieve. Use a spoon or spatula to press the pulp into the sieve to extract as much syrup as possible.
- Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
- make blueberry kombucha
- Combine 2-4 tablespoons of blueberry syrup per 2 cups of first fermentation kombucha and transfer to a bottle. More puree = more sugar = more flavor = more carbonation, but it can also ferment more quickly, so ensure that you're supervising the second ferment.
- Label your bottle with the contents and the date then set aside in a warm place, away from direct sunlight, to continue with the second ferment for 3-5 days.
- Check on your blueberry kombucha starting on day 3 to see if it's carbonated enough for your liking by turning the bottle upside down and swirling and watching for signs of carbonation, or by slightly cracking the cap to allow some carbonation out.
- Once the kombucha has reached your desired carbonation, place it in the fridge to slow the fermenation.
Notes
variations + substitutions
This recipe is just a guide! Feel free to tweak it to suit your tastebuds! Here are some ideas I had to change it up - add the ingredients listed below to the saucepan with the blueberries to infuse their flavor into the flavoring syrup!- Blueberry basil kombucha: add 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- Blueberry lavender kombucha: Uses 1/2 teaspoon of culinary lavender
- Blueberry lemon kombucha: Add 1 -2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- Blueberry mango kombucha: Add 1/4 cup of diced mango
- Blueberry mint kombucha: Add 2 - 4 mint leaves
- Blueberry vanilla kombucha: add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Batch:
This recipe makes enough for 1-liter of blueberry flavored kombucha - it can easily be scaled up or down depending on available fermentation bottles!Storage:
Once your kombucha has finished the second fermentation it's important to transfer the bottles to the fridge. This massively slows fermentation and keeps the flavor of your booch just how it was when you put it in the fridge! I would recommend drinking your homemade kombucha within 2-3 weeks for the best results. It can last much longer than that, but the flavor may continue to develop more sour notes and inch towards tasting like vinegar.