Here at SCD Probiotics we enjoy brewing, fermenting and especially eating aforementioned brews and ferments. Oh yeah — and the health benefits are nice too. One of the supreme benefits of fermenting your own food is control over ingredients, timing and acidity. A favorite summertime brew for us is kombucha and we have compiled some krazy kombucha recipes for the adventurous brewer in you.
For the sake of brevity, we are highlighting krazy kombucha recipes created during bottling. After you brew your tea using a SCOBY, you can bottle your kombucha and add fruit, herbs and/or roots to add flavor and fizz to your brew. There are many tutorials on brewing kombucha, such as this one. Keep in mind you may use white, green, jasmine, oolong black tea or herbal tisanes to make kombucha. We used jasmine tea and organic cane sugar for the kombucha we made below.
Bottling Instructions
After you brew your kombucha you may choose to drink it immediately or bottle it, but we prefer to jazz it up with unique ingredients. Just choose a recipe below and follow these instructions.
- Add the fruit/herb/root ingredients to a 16-ounce glass vessel with plastic lid.
- Fill with finished kombucha, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace.
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Cap tightly and swirl gently to dissolve sugar. (sugar optional)
- Culture 1-7 days or until kombucha is carbonated to your liking.
- Move bottles to the refrigerator.
- When you are ready to drink it, open carefully, without shaking, to avoid spilling the bubbly kombucha over the top of the bottle.
- Strain kombucha through a small strainer to remove ingredient pieces. (optional)
- Serve cold.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Kombucha
This chocolaty recipe is quite unusual, incorporating cayenne peppers into the booch. This is the first time we have tried a ‘spicy’ kombucha. Or a ‘chocolaty’ one for that matter. We were impressed with the novelty of it and next time we plan on tinkering with the pepper to cinnamon ratio. Add the following to a 16 oz. glass bottle and follow the bottling instructions.
Ingredients
- 2 cups finished kombucha tea
- 1-2 Tbsp. cocoa nibs
- 1 small, hot pepper such as ring of fire cayenne, stems removed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 small pinch powdered cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. SCD Essential Probiotics (optional)
Lemon Ginger with Grains of Paradise
Here is a recipe for lemon ginger kombucha, to which we added Grains of Paradise, a subtle peppery spice from the ginger family. This spice has a zesty flavor reminiscent of pepper and has hints of butter, flowers, cardamom and coriander. Add the following to a 16 oz. glass bottle and follow the bottling instructions.
- 2 cups finished kombucha tea
- 1 tsp. roughly chopped ginger
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 3-4 Grains of Paradise
- 1/2 tsp. sugar (The added sugar gives the kombucha something to feast on in order to create carbonation; however, you can simply omit it, or use honey or maple syrup in its place.)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. SCD Essential Probiotics (optional)
Strawberry Rose
While strawberry rose isn’t the most unusual flavor we found on the internet, we were interested in pairing flower essences with traditional fruit flavors. And the combination did not disappoint! Or maybe we are just suckers for the romantic notion of rose tea. Add the following to a 16 oz. glass bottle and follow the bottling instructions.
- 2 cups finished kombucha tea
- 1-2 tsp. rose water
- 1 large strawberry quartered
- 1/2 tsp. sugar (optional since fruit contains natural sugars)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. SCD Essential Probiotics (optional)
So, no matter whether you prefer standard commercial flavors or krazy kombucha flavors like we have profiled here, the health benefits are clear. Kombucha is full of probiotics and its fantastic fizz is delicious over ice on a hot summer day. Add a boost of probiotics by adding SCD Essential Probiotics during bottling and broaden the spectrum of beneficial bacteria in your booch.
Check out our other probiotic recipes that are fun and easy to make!
