All American Kombucha
This recipe is one I found when I was starting to make my own kombucha at home and fortunately saved since the site where I found it, kombuchhome.com, is no longer online. As best I can tell it’s called All American Kombucha since it contains red (cranberry), white (sugar) and blue (blueberries) as the main ingredients in this kombucha.
All American Kombucha is a delicious and unique blend of flavors with organic sugar crystals and maple syrup used in during brewing that provide a hint of maple flavor that complements the tartness of the kombucha. The addition of cranberry juice to the bottles gives the kombucha a tart, juicy flavor and a rich red color, while fresh blueberries add a burst of fresh fruit flavor.
Finally, a touch of real vanilla adds smooth, creamy and complex flavor notes that round out the taste of this kombucha, making it a truly unique and tasty kombucha flavor. The layers of fruit flavors, kombucha and vanilla will keep you coming back for more!
Kombucha Fermentation Overview
There are two fermentation phases when making kombucha:
Primary Fermentation: This is when you transform sweet tea into tart and tasty All American Kombucha. Get all the details at my article on how to make kombucha.
Secondary Fermentation: This is when you carbonate your homemade kombucha by adding flavors (like blueberries, cranberry juice, and real vanilla) and sugars (like maple syrup) and bottling it.
Preparing for Secondary Fermentation
This recipe makes about 7 x 16 fluid ounce bottles of finished kombucha (from a 1-gallon batch of unflavored homemade kombucha aka from your primary fermentation).
Reserve 2 cups (about 16 oz / 0.47L) kombucha and your SCOBY from your completed primary fermentation and set aside – you will use this as your starter for your next gallon batch of kombucha.
With your kombucha starter tea and SCOBY placed aside, you now have enough kombucha left to flavor and fill your bottles. This guide assumes are using 16 oz. glass bottles which are a popular choice for kombucha; however, there are many options for bottling kombucha.
Ingredients to make All American Kombucha
For the OG version of All American Kombucha you will first need to do a custom primary fermentation with raw sugar and maple syrup. Alternatively, you can use black tea and white sugar kombucha and it will still taste great.
Primary Fermentation:
Water: Tap water is an excellent choice for brewing kombucha due to its convenience, cost and sustainability. Water filtered through a home water filter is even better.
Organic Cane Sugar Crystals: This sugar retails some molasses and trace minerals inside the crystals, therefore it is golden in color and can have a mild, pleasant floral or fruity aroma and flavor. Also the crystals of organic cane sugar tends to be slightly larger than white sugar.
Maple Syrup: Made from the concentrated sap of maple trees, maple syrup has a clean, complex maple flavor with hints of caramel, vanilla, and prune
Black Tea: Black tea leaves have been oxidized for the longest time during curing (longer than green or oolong teas), creating a strong flavor. Not only is black tea the SCOBY’s favorite, it’s typically cheap and easy to find which makes it the best tea for brewing kombucha.
SCOBY and Starter Liquid: Use a SCOBY and some kombucha starter liquid from a recent batch or from your SCOBY Hotel.
Secondary Fermentation:
Kombucha Finished kombucha from your first fermentation is the base to which you will add the maple, blueberry and cranberry flavor
Blueberries: Blueberries have a sweet taste with a touch of acid. The flavor of blueberries is generally subtle and common descriptors include, sweet (but not overly sweet), floral, woody, slightly astringent (drying), and musky with a touch of soft acidity. Unripe and under-ripe blueberries are typically very sour. Blueberries are small but juicy and will release juice when smashed or bitten. Wild blueberries are a smaller than cultivated ones and typically have a more floral taste.
Cranberry Juice: juice is the is the liquid juice of the cranberry. Most cranberry juices (or cranberry juice cocktail) typically contain about 28% actual cranberry juice with the rest of the liquid coming from other fruit juice concentrates such as white grape, apple or pear, water, and added sugar to reduce the beverage’s tartness. Seek out 100% cranberry juice for a lower-sugar kombucha that’s full of flavor.
Maple Syrup: Made from the concentrated sap of maple trees, maple syrup has a clean, complex maple flavor with hints of caramel, vanilla, and prune
Sugar: A touch of additional sugar for bacteria and yeast to feed on which creates carbonation–extra fizzy goodness. When filling 16 ounce bottles I’ve found a sugar cube has the right amount of sugar (1 tsp) for carbonation and is a convenient way to add the right amount without the mess.
Can you drink expired kombucha?
It is safe to drink expired kombucha, but the taste may not be as enjoyable. The fermentation process acts as a natural preservative, inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. However, it is important to use your senses and discard any kombucha that exhibits unusual odors, flavors, or visible signs of spoilage.
Read more about storing and serving kombucha in the article how long does kombucha last?
How to make All American Kombucha
Primary Fermentation:
Make Sweet Tea: Mix sugars and water, boil and add tea bags. Cool.
Ferment: Add starter liquid and SCOBY and ferment for 7-14 days.
Secondary Fermentation for All American Kombucha
Add Flavors: Divide maple syrup, cranberry juice and blueberries between the bottles.
Bottle: Transfer kombucha to fermentation bottles.
Condition: For 3 to 10 days, until it reaches the carbonation level you like.
Enjoy: Chill in the fridge before serving and strain out fruit pieces when pouring (optional)
All American Kombucha Recipe
Yield: 7 bottles • Active time: 20 minutes • Total time: 3 -10 days
This recipe assumes you are doing a secondary fermentation (flavoring and carbonation) in the bottle. You may also incorporate a third fermentation using the same proportions but following the third fermentation steps.
Ingredients:
For Primary Fermentation:
14 cups filtered water, 3.3 L
3/4 cup raw organic sugar crystals, 150 g (Sugar in the Raw White Crystals↗ or similar)
1/2 cup maple syrup. 110 g
8 bags black tea, 14 g (or 8 tsp loose tea)
Healthy SCOBY and 2 cups starter (unflavored kombucha from you last batch)
For Secondary Fermentation:
1 gallon homemade kombucha from a first fermentation, 3.7 L
1/4 cup maple syrup 55 g
1 cup cranberry juice, 248 g
1 pint fresh blueberries, crushed (or 2 cups frozen). 320 g
1/4 fresh vanilla bean or 1 TBS vanilla extract
Instructions:
Primary Fermentation:
1. Make Sweet Tea: Bring the 7 cups of water to a boil in pot. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add the tea bags to the pot (remove any paper tags or hang over the side), cover and steep the sugar tea mixture for at least 20 minutes. You may allow it to steep longer if needed.
2. Cool Tea to Room Temperature: Wait for sweet-tea mixture to cool to room temperature. This process can be sped up by boiling only 4 of the cups of water and making a concentrated sweet tea by dissolving the sugar, and steeping the tea in that water for 20 minutes.
Next, add the remaining 10 cups of cold water to this the concentrated tea, which will rapidly cool the mixture close to room temperature. Ensure the sweet tea mixture is totally cooled since the kombucha SCOBY is sensitive to temperature.
3. Add Starter: Pour the cooled sweet tea into your fermenter and add the 2 cups reserved starter kombucha. With clean hands carefully add the SCOBY to the fermenter (it will likely sink–that’s OK).
4. Cover: Cover with a few layers of the tightly woven cloth and secure with a rubber band or twine.
5. Ferment: Place fermentor in a still area out of direct sunlight that is room temperature (70-75F / 21-24C). See where to store Kombucha for more information.
Let it ferment undisturbed for a week and begin taste-testing. Carefully drawing out some of the tea by dipping a paper straw into the kombucha and covering the top of the straw with a finger and lifting it out. The kombucha is ready when it is mildly sweet and slightly tangy/vinegary.
Under warmer conditions the ferment more quickly and therefore be ready sooner. The longer it’s allowed to ferment, the cultures in kombucha will consume more of the sugar leading to a less sweet and more vinegary kombucha.
Secondary Fermentation (where the All American Kombucha magic happens):
Prepare fruit: In a medium sized bowl, lightly crush the blueberries to extract more of their flavor into the kombucha. If using vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Cut the remaining pod into about 7 pieces (one for each bottle.) Add the maple syrup and cranberry juice and stir well to combine.
Flavor: Evenly divide blueberry-vanilla mixture between the bottles and add a piece of the vanilla bean pod to each bottle
Sweeten: Add one sugar cube per 16oz bottle or evenly divide sugar between bottles (about 1 tsp per 16 0z bottle)
Bottle: Transfer kombucha into fermentation bottles, leaving about 1 inch empty at the top. Seal tightly.
Ferment: Place in a dark, room temperature area for 3 to 10 days, until it reaches the carbonation level you like. This process will go faster in warmer climates, and slower in cooler climates.
Enjoy: Chill your All American kombucha bottles in the fridge before serving and strain the kombucha to remove fruit pieces when serving (optional).
Homemade kombucha can be stored in the fridge, tightly sealed, for several weeks.
Tips & Tricks:
Make sweet tea for your next batch the night before you flavor and bottling and let it cool on the stove overnight so that you can flavor your kombucha and get your next batch started at the same time.
If this is your first time brewing, it may be helpful to use a plastic water bottle as a gauge. Fill a recyclable plastic bottle with kombucha (leaving 1.5 inches empty at the top). When this bottle becomes rock hard, you’ll know the glass bottles are also ready. This will help you gauge how long it take for kombucha to carbonate your climate and will prevent bottle explosions.
Bottle without fruit: If you have another empty fermentor, you can try a third fermentation to get the same flavors in the bottle but leave the fruit pieces behind.
Nutrition Information:
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The materials contained on this website are intended to be used for educational purposes only, and the website’s use is solely at your own risk. It is important to use good judgment when consuming kombucha. Never consume kombucha that looks, tastes, or smells unpleasant. Further, before consuming kombucha or any other fermented or cultured food, you should receive full medical clearance from a licensed physician. Author and publisher claim no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material on this website.