Seasonal Fruit
- Spring: Citrus, Strawberries, Blueberries
- Summer: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Stone Fruit, Melons, Grapes
- Fall: Apples, Pears, Grapes, Passionfruit
- Winter: Apples, Pears, Citrus, Kiwi, Persimmons, Passionfruit
- Year-Round: Beets and Carrots
The Process
Blend fruit and/or vegetables with a small amount of finished plain kombucha until smooth and pourable. Add the puree to a swing-top bottle, then top off with the remaining kombucha.
For a cleaner drink, strain the puree before bottling, especially when using seedy berries. A little pulp is fine if you do not mind the texture.
Kombucha Flavors
If the fruit is tart, add a little sugar.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger adds spice and can boost carbonation. Add grated ginger, small chunks, or blend it into fruit puree before bottling.
- Beet: Works well with strawberry, orange juice, lemon, and ginger. Beets can create strong carbonation, so monitor bottles closely.
- Apple Cinnamon: Use fresh apple or apple juice with cinnamon.
- Mango Lime: Blend ripe mango with fresh lime juice. Ginger also pairs well.
- Fresh Orange Juice: Add fresh-squeezed orange juice directly to finished kombucha before second fermentation.
- Stone Fruit: Peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, and pluots all work well. Can be mixed with berries or melon.
- Blackberry Lavender: Use blackberry puree with a light lavender infusion. Steep lavender in hot water, optionally with a small amount of sugar, then cool before adding.
- Herb-Infused Flavors: Rosemary, lavender, mint, and basil can be infused or blended depending on texture. Good combinations include rosemary citrus, strawberry mint lime, and strawberry basil.
- Carrot: Use carrot juice or blended carrot. Juice is best. Pairs with orange, ginger, apple, or turmeric.
- Passionfruit: Strain pulp through a fine mesh strainer and add the juice to kombucha.
- Persimmon: Use ripe Fuyu persimmons. Pairs with cinnamon or ginger.
- Blueberry Ginger: Use blueberries with ginger. Optional: simmer blueberries with a little sugar and ginger, cool, then add before bottling.
- Lemon Ginger: Use lemon juice and ginger. Add a small amount of sugar or honey if needed.
- Melon: Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew work well when very ripe. Melon pairs well with berries.
- Strawberry Basil: Blend ripe strawberries with a few fresh basil leaves and a splash of kombucha.
- Raspberry Lime: Use raspberries with fresh lime juice. Strain or make a quick sauce first to reduce seeds.
- Passionfruit-Pomegranate: Frozen passionfruit pulp, pomegranate juice, sugar.
- Blackberry-Mint: Pureed blackberries and a few whole mint leaves.
- Blood Orange-Blackberry: Blood orange juice and blackberry puree.
- Tangerine-Rosemary: Tangerine juice and zest with a sprig of rosemary.
- Sangria: Grape juice, apple juice, pear juice, orange juice and zest, and a dash of cinnamon.
- Raspberry-Ginger-Lemon: Pureed raspberries, ginger juice, lemon juice and zest.
- Citrus Mint: Orange juice and zest, lemon juice and zest, sugar, and mint leaves.
- Mango-Pineapple: Pureed mango and pineapple juice.
- Oro Blanco Grapefruit: Oro blanco grapefruit juice. Sweeter and more mellow than ruby red grapefruit.
- Plum-Thyme: Plum juice and a few sprigs of thyme.
- Cherry-Ginger: Cherry juice and ginger juice.
- Strawberry-Lemon: Pureed strawberries with lemon juice and zest.
- Watermelon-Lime: Watermelon juice with lime juice and zest.
- Mint Julep: Lime juice and zest, sugar, and mint.
- Pear-Rose: Pear juice and rosewater. Use rosewater sparingly.
- Apple-Raspberry: Apple juice and pureed raspberries.
- Apricot-Hibiscus: Apricot juice, dried hibiscus flowers steeped in water, and sugar. Bagged hibiscus tea also works.
- Peach-Orange Blossom: Peach juice and orange blossom water. Use orange blossom water sparingly.