Homemade Kombucha, Pt. 2 (Bottling)

The trick to good kombucha is definitely in the bottling process. Now that your Kombucha is ready from this post, we are ready for Part 2. When you bottle kombucha in an airtight container, it continues to ferment which causes carbonation. The carbonation is what makes kombucha so fucking good. It’s like tastes like champagne, or a cross between beer and soda. But it’s good for you! Like, SO GOOD FOR YOU. Probiotics and shit.

 

Materials Needed:

• Gallon Kombucha
• 5-6 airtight pint bottles, preferably dark brown
• Blender (optional)
• 6 oz. fruit of your choice (optional)

 

Kombucha can be delicious with added fruit! Strawberry kombucha is one of my favorites and I have a batch of cherry ginger that’s brewing now. I can’t wait to try it!

 

 

Step 1:

If you are adding fruit, blend about 6 oz of fruit (can be frozen) with enough kombucha to cover the fruit. If you want to add ginger, I would juice it first, but for softer fruit like berries, I prefer to just blend them well.

 

 

Step 2:

Divide your blended mixture by however many bottles you are using. One gallon (with enough leftover to start your next batch) typically produces about 5 pints, but if I’m adding a lot of fruit (about 10 oz), I can stretch it to six bottles.

Use a funnel if you have one to pour the fruit mixture into the bottles. I use a janky little cup cause I don’t have a funnel. It’s messy!

 

 

Step 3:

Fill the bottles with kombucha, leaving about an 1/8 of the gallon to start your next batch. To get the kombucha to get fizzy quickly, fill it up as close as you can to the top. This way, as the kombucha creates gas during it’s second fermentation, the gas has nowhere to go but into your delicious kombucha.

Sometimes it takes DAYS for my kombucha to get fizzy. Usually in hotter months, it’s quite fast- about a day or two. These days, even in warm, sunny Los Angeles, I can spend almost a full week waiting for my kombucha to get fizzy. I recommend checking it every two days or so, until you get the hang of it.

Also, be aware that kombucha can explode if it gets too fizzy. Open VERY SLOWLY! If you feel like there’s a lot of pressure and it’s ready to explode, grab a glass and head over to think sink. Open the bottle with the glass covering the end so you can quickly pour it into the glass without spilling it all down the drain.

NOTE: If you add fruit, it gets fizzy SO FAST. I think it’s because of the sugar in the fruit. I recommend checking after only one day if you use fruit. Simply pour a small sip into a glass and taste it. If it needs more time, give it another day but BE CAREFUL! I still have that shit stuck to my kitchen ceiling from a year ago. It’s not even a tall ceiling.. I’m just lazy!