Guide to Kombucha Second Fermentation Process Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio for kombucha second fermentation? ›

Ratios for Kombucha Flavoring

If flavoring with fresh, frozen, or dried fruit, start with 10-30% fruit and 70-90% Kombucha. If flavoring with juice, start with 10-20% juice and 80-90% Kombucha. Suppose flavoring with herbs, the variety and strength of herbs vary greatly.

If you want an "original" or plain flavored kombucha but still want the fizz, you can do a second ferment by adding 1/2-1 teaspoon of sugar, maple syrup, honey, or molasses to a 16 ounce bottle and fill with plain kombucha. For kombucha: second ferment for 5-10 days.

1. Add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of pureed/juiced fruit into each 16 oz. bottle*.

If you're not getting good fizz, it may just be because you're cleaning too much yeast out of your brew.

Only the finished Kombucha drink is therefore used for the second fermentation. Add fresh raspberries, strawberries, cherries, elderberry blossoms or raisins and other dried fruits to the finished fermented drink. Or fill a bottle of Kombucha two-thirds full with ready-to-drink fruit juices.

However, overloading the must with sugar can overwhelm the yeast and make it difficult for fermentation to begin. With small batches (1-gallon recipes), the amount of sugar is small enough that it won't bother the yeast.

But contrary to reason, it is possible to have too much sugar in a fermentation. If the sugar concentration level of the must becomes too high at any given point--either at the beginning or during the fermentation--it starts to have an inhibiting effect on the yeast's ability to produce alcohol.

Yeast has this habit of settling down at the bottom of our brew vessels during first fermentation. So if you don't stir your kombucha liquid before you bottle, that yeast won't be evenly distributed throughout your liquid or throughout your bottles.

This is fine if they're getting too large or if you'd like to split them up to move some to a SCOBY hotel/share with a friend. You can't hurt your SCOBY by ripping it or cutting it. Its shape doesn't matter since new ones will always take the shape of the surface of whatever container you place it in.

Can I use frozen fruit for second fermentation kombucha? ›

Create endless flavor combinations and even recreate your favorite store brand flavors at home. It's easy and fun to bottle and second ferment your kombucha with frozen fruits! And, you'll get lots of fizz and bubbles!

Does non carbonated Kombucha Have Fewer Benefits? Kombucha does not need to be carbonated to be safe or delicious to drink. And flat Kombucha has the same nutritional components, carbonated is not healthier. Some people don't like their Kombucha too fizzy, finding that the carbon dioxide bothers their system.

If you leave your jar alone throughout the fermentation, the baby SCOBY should be happily grown in across the top of the jar after your 7-21 day fermentation. If it sinks while you are “test-tasting” your kombucha, you need not worry.

As soon as the bottle has been opened, the kombucha interacts with air, and so it is recommended that kombucha is consumed within one week of opening. Similar to how you would treat a bottle of soda. The beverage won't go bad if you store it correctly beyond one week, but it will lose some of its effervescence.

Batch Size: To increase or decrease the amount of kombucha you make, maintain the basic ratio of 1 cup of sugar, 8 bags of tea, and 2 cups starter tea per gallon batch. One scoby will ferment any size batch, though larger batches may take longer.

Second Ferment Process

- Pour your kombucha into the bottle through a muslin cloth lined funnel. - Seal the bottle tightly (a flip top cap is the easiest) and leave at room temperature for 2 -3 days to carbonate. - Taste test, if it is not as bubbly as you want, leave it out for another day or two.

Remove the Kombucha Scoby from the jar, remembering to take 10% of the Kombucha to use as the starter tea for your next batch. It is always best to take the starter tea from the top of the Kombucha mixture, as this contains the most bacteria.

Yes! During each ferment, the mother scoby (the one you added) will produce a baby scoby. Every scoby can be used four times before it gets too old and needs to be discarded. With each batch of kombucha a baby scoby is produced and the process starts again, you will have a fridge full of scobys before you know it.