Strawberry Kombucha
Kombucha is a sweet, fermented drink that contains the bacteria SCOBY for an added health benefit. This recipe infuses the drink with strawberry purée for a fresh and summery flavour.
Introduction
Kombucha is so good for you – this one tastes like summer and is the perfect refreshment after a day outside or a workout at the end of the day. If you need any additional guidance, or want to experiment with kombucha, I have a whole kombucha masterclass episode on my YouTube channel. You can use the base kombucha recipe to infuse with any flavour your mind can imagine. Some of my favourites are rhubarb and rose, blackberry and mint, and hibiscus and ginger.
Ingredients
| 4 litres (4¼ quarts) | filtered water |
| 8 | black tea bags (I use Assam) |
| 200g (1 cup/7oz) | raw cane sugar |
| 500ml (2 cups) | kombucha starter (pre-made natural kombucha) |
| 1 large | SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) |
| 200g (7oz) | organic strawberries, green tops removed and halved |
Essential kit
You will need:
5-litre (5¼-quart) glass fermentation jar with a tap (wide-mouthed works best), sterilized
Cheesecloth
Elastic band or string
Funnel, sterilized
Either five 1-litre (2-pint) or ten 500-ml (1-pint) glass bottles with lids, sterilized
Method
Begin by boiling the filtered water in a large saucepan. Once it’s at a rolling boil, remove from the heat, add the tea and steep for 10 minutes, then remove the bags. Add the sugar and mix to dissolve fully. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Pass the cooled tea through a sieve (strainer) into your fermentation jar. Stir the kombucha starter through the cooled tea, using a wooden spoon. Place the SCOBY in the jar, then cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band or string.
Place the jar in a warm, dark place for about 7–14 days. The fermentation time can vary depending on the temperature and how tart you like your kombucha. During this time, the SCOBY will consume the sugar, creating a fizzy, tangy tea full of beneficial bacteria. If the kombucha is very sweet still and there’s no sign of a new layer of SCOBY formed, then give it more time – a warmer environment will accelerate this process. Sometimes, in winter, my kombucha needs to ferment for up to 3 weeks. Once it’s fizzy and tastes to your liking, it’s ready for bottling.
Blitz the strawberries to a purée in a food processor, then pass through a fine sieve to remove any seeds. (Alternatively, you can just add small chunks of strawberry directly to the bottles.)
Add a few tablespoons of the strawberry purée to the bottom of each bottle, then use a funnel to fill your bottles with kombucha, leaving at least 2.5cm (1 inch) of headroom. Make sure you leave at least 500ml (2 cups) of the kombucha in the fermentation jar to kickstart your next batch. Seal the bottles tight.
Leave the bottles to ferment out of the fridge for a further 2–3 days before placing them in the fridge, where fermentation will slow down and they will keep for up to 6 months.
Note: The bottles you use need to be able to withstand pressure so that they don’t explode. Clean screw-top wine bottles will work, as will swing-top glass bottles (which is what I prefer to use).
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