ORANGE & HONEY kombucha

Once you’ve mastered the basic art of making Kombucha, you can have some fun and introduce some special flavour combinations to make your own unique brews. It’s simple, really: add your chosen flavourings to a freshly strained batch of kombucha, leave it to ferment for an extra 2–4 days and enjoy. This extra fermentation stage will also make your kombucha even fizzier.

MAKES: 1 x 1 litre (35 fl oz) bottle

INGREDIENTS

750 ml (26 fl oz/3 cups) strained, brewed Kombucha

350 g (12 oz/1 cup) honey

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

VARIATIONS

GINGER & TURMERIC

875 ml (30 fl oz/3½ cups) strained, brewed Kombucha

90 g (3¼ oz/¼ cup) honey

3 slices of fresh ginger

3 slices of fresh turmeric

ROOIBOS & VANILLA

625 ml (21½ fl oz/2½ cups) strained, brewed Kombucha

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) strong rooibos tea

55 g (2 oz/¼ cup) raw sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways

KOMBUCHA & GUAVA

750 ml (26 fl oz/3 cups) strained, brewed Kombucha

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) guava juice

METHOD

After straining your freshly made kombucha, add the honey and orange zest (or the other flavouring ingredients, if making one of the variations).

Pour your kombucha into a 1 litre (35 fl oz) plastic or swing-top bottle, leaving 5 cm (2 inches) of space at the top.

Seal the lid and store at room temperature for a further 2–4 days to allow carbon dioxide to develop. Make sure you keep an eye on the carbonation level, as you don’t want the bottle to explode – this is very rare, but can happen! If you’re nervous about potential explosions in glass bottles, use a clean plastic PET bottle the first few times, until you get the hang of it. Pressing onto the side of the plastic bottle will let you know how fizzy the drink has become – if it is firm to touch, the kombucha is very carbonated and you will need to drink it straight away.

When tasting the brew, carefully open the bottle over the sink, allowing the excess carbon dioxide to escape, and being wary of the pressure build-up.

When you are happy with the taste and level of carbonation, transfer your brew to the fridge, remembering to release the gas every day. This last process is crudely but appropriately called ‘burping’ and is essential, as the fridge will slow down the fermentation process, but will not stop the development of carbon dioxide. Use within a week or two.