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This flavored Blueberry Ginger Kombucha recipe is a tasty way to flavor your own homemade kombucha, a health drink full of nutrients and probiotics!
I have my mom to thank for this recipe. This is a really tasty way she taught me to flavor kombucha. I had a difficult time finding a flavor profile that I enjoyed until my mom shared her recipe with me. Thanks mom! The blueberries and ginger pair well together to make for a yummy fizzy drink that is full of health benefits!
I remember the first time I saw kombucha in the store. It was a bottle of GT’s, and I had no idea what kombucha was, but the words on the label caught my attention. “Reawaken, Rethink, Rebirth, Repurpose,” along with “enzymes+probiotics” just sounded so healthy! I picked up a bottle of Multi-Green and tried it.
I liked it right away, so I did a little more research on what kombucha was.
So what is kombucha?
Kombucha is basically sweet tea that has been fermented with a SCOBY, or a “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.”
I know, it looks kind of weird, but it will eat up most of the sugar and transform the sweet tea into a drink that’s full of nutrients and probiotics, which can boost your immunity and contribute to a healthy gut.
Once I discovered kombucha, I started to drink it more often, and I noticed that whenever I drank a bottle, my digestive system improved. But buying new bottles everyday got expensive. My mom was making her own and she taught me how to make it. I wasn’t too interested in making my own when she first taught me, because I thought it sounded complicated. But it’s actually very simple! The process is similar to making your own milk kefir, it just takes longer to ferment. You simply make a gallon of sweet tea, add the SCOBY and a cup of already made kombucha, cover, and let ferment for 7-12 days (depending on the temperature of your room). That’s it!
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How to Make your own Kombucha
What you need:
1 gallon glass jar
4 family-sized black Tea bags, or 8 regular
1 SCOBY (where to buy, or grow your own – which is what I did)
1 cup of sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
1 cup of already made plain kombucha
Breathable fabric (such as a cheesecloth or coffee filter) and a rubberband
Directions:
1. Bring 2 cups of filtered water to boil and remove from heat.
2. Add a cup of sugar to the pot and stir until dissolved.
3. Add in the tea bags. Let it steep for 15 minutes.
4. Let the tea cool completely to room temperature and transfer to your jar along with 3 quarts of filtered water. I like to speed this process up by adding cold water into the jar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
5. Add in the cup of kombucha and with clean hands place the SCOBY on top.
6. Cover with your cloth and secure with a rubberband.
7. Place somewhere at room temperature out of direct sunlight (such as a cabinet) and let ferment for 7-12 days. Taste-test after 7 days. Once it is to your desired combination of sweetness and tartness, is is done.
8. Remove the SCOBY and 1 cup of liquid for your next batch.
9. Bottle the kombucha and cover tightly and store in the refrigerator, or let sit for an additional 1-2 days until carbonated,
or follow recipe below for flavoring Blueberry Ginger kombucha.
10. Repeat the process!
It’s not too complicated to make your own nutrient rich, probiotic, immunity boosting beverage!
If you’d like to flavor your kombucha, here is the recipe for my mom’s tasty blueberry ginger kombucha.
How to make Blueberry Ginger Kombucha
- In a saucepan, add 1 cup of blueberries, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, and 2 tablespoons of sugar and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat a little, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon for about 15 minutes, smashing the blueberries, until it has become a thin syrup. - Let it cool completely to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
- Remove the SCOBY and 1 cup of liquid from your gallon jar of kombucha. Pour the blueberry-ginger syrup into the gallon. Do this slowly as it may foam up a little.
- Stir slowly with a wooden spoon.
- Strain and bottle – this is how my mom recommends to do this with little mess:
Place a strainer over a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup and pour the flavored kombucha into it. You will probably need to do this 4-5 times until you have emptied the gallon. Use a funnel to pour into bottles. I use bottles from store-bought kombucha I used to drink, my mom uses these flip-top bottles. - Leave about 1/2-1 inch of air at the top of the bottles and cover tightly with lid. If you’d like extra fizz, let the bottles sit at room temperature for 1-3 days before storing in the refrigerator. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t explode. This has never happened to me, but it has happened to my mom.
- When ready to drink, remove from the fridge and enjoy! You might want to strain it again prior to drinking to strain out some of the pulp and the newly formed SCOBY.
How to make flavored Blueberry Ginger Kombucha
- 1 gallon kombucha see instructions above
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
-
In a saucepan, add the blueberries, grated ginger, sugar water and bring to a boil.
-
Lower the heat a little, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon for about 15 minutes, smashing the blueberries, until it has become a thin syrup.
-
Let it cool completely to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
-
Remove the SCOBY and 1 cup of liquid from your gallon jar of kombucha. Pour the blueberry-ginger syrup into the gallon. Do this slowly as it may foam up a little. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon.
-
Strain and bottle.
See step 5 above for easiest way to do this. -
Leave about 1/2-1 inch of air at the top of the bottles and cover tightly with lid. If you'd like extra fizz, let the bottles sit at room temperature for 1-3 days before storing in the refrigerator. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't explode.
-
When ready to drink, remove form the fridge, strain out the newly formed SCOBY and enjoy!
I drink a bottle a day and feel so much better when I do. Making my own kombucha has definitely saved me some money! I hope you enjoy!
Like this recipe? You might also like my Peach Mint Kombucha!