How to Flavor Kombucha

Love your kombucha, but want to add a new flavor? You’re in the right place.

There are three methods to adding flavor to kombucha: 1. In the Bottle, 2. In Primary Fermentation, 3. In Secondary Fermentation. Each of these methods have pros and cons, let’s run through them.

In The Bottle: 

PRO - This is a popular option that allows you to create many different flavor profiles in the resealable bottle.

CON - In the bottle, the fruit profile changes over time as the kombucha matures. It can also be difficult to get fruit in and out of the long neck bottles. The addition of fruit contributes sugars that will convert to CO2 and potentially put too much pressure on the bottle. This is not what we’d recommend. 

In the Main Vessel*: 

PRO - Adding flavors or fruit to the main fermenting vessel, where the SCOBY changes the sweet tea to kombucha, will create a more uniform flavor profile.

CON - It is possible to compromise the health of the SCOBY. You would also need to replace the SCOBY when you’d want to change flavor profiles

In a Secondary Vessel**: 

PRO - By having a secondary vessel you can continue to brew kombucha in your main vessel while you flavor the fermented kombucha. You can also have a variety of flavors simultaneously developing in various mason jars or other vessels. After flavoring you can also filter out fruit remnants before [carbonating your kombucha in bottles.] 

CON - This process adds one more step and a little more work. You’ll also need a few more vessels to act as secondary vessels. (But don’t let that bother you, use resealable mason jars and you’ll be fine)

Decide for yourself which method is best for you. We find moving your fermented kombucha to secondary vessels to be the best method to be able to have different flavor combinations, maintain a healthy SCOBY, and keep the kombucha looking its finest before consumption. 

*Main Vessel: This is the primary vessel where the sweet tea is originally introduced to the SCOBY and fermented to a satisfactory tartness.  

**Secondary Vessel: This is a different vessel than the main vessel. This is where fermented kombucha is moved to for additional flavoring, or to serve from. We suggest a vessel with a spigot for ease of use.

Read More about Kombucha:

How to make kombucha
What is Kombucha?
How do I carbonate my Kombucha