Hi Friends! I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. I am happy as ever typing away and excited to bring you this refreshingly tart, lemony kombucha. It tastes like summer picnics!
It is made from loose leaf green tea leaves and then infused with fresh thyme and lemon juice. This kombucha is very refreshing and thirst quenching. Since it’s made with high quality green tea leaves, it has a light, apply flavor that pairs very well with lemon and thyme.
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented tea that originated in China about 2,000 years ago. It’s fizzy, sour, sweet and can be flavored any way you like. You can learn more about it in my post, “3 Steps To Start Making Kombucha At Home”.
Why make your own?
Homemade kombucha tastes better than the bottled brands in the store. Its fresher and you can stop the fermentation process as soon as it tastes exactly how you like it. Bottle it when its sweeter or more sour. It’s up to you.
It costs less than buying at the store. The store bought kombucha costs about $3 or more and the homemade costs pennies a glass. It only costs the price of making sweetened tea and the initial cost of the SCOBY, which is the culture used to ferment the tea. That lasts forever if taken care of.
Health benefits
Some of the health benefits of kombucha are…
- Probiotic and helps improve digestion
- Loaded with B vitamins that will give you a natural energy boost
- The use of green tea adds a boost of antioxidants
Things you will need
Green Tea Kombucha
First you will need to make a batch of green tea kombucha. You can find directions for this in my post, “3 Steps To Start Making Kombucha At Home”. The green tea kombucha is flavored during secondary fermentation with lemon, thyme and a little bit of sugar. Don’t worry, the sugar will be consumed by the bacteria and yeast and will turn it into a bubbly, carbonated drink. The longer you leave it out to ferment during secondary fermentation, the less sweet it will be. So taste it throughout the fermentation process and put it in the fridge when it’s to your liking.
I recommend using high quality green tea, because it makes a better tasting kombucha. My favorite green tea is Dao Ren Tea from Rose Mountain Herbs. It creates a light, fresh, appled flavor kombucha. Its high quality and will add more nutrients to your kombucha.
Pitcher, Flip-top Bottles & A Funnel
You will need a large pitcher or container to mix ingredients together, a funnel to make it easy to pour into the Flip-Top Bottles and strain out the yeast. Trust me, this funnel is a mess-saver and does double-duty by straining out the slimy yeast that forms during fermentation. The flip-top bottles are the best for holding in the gases and creating a carbonated drink. I have a few beer growlers from local breweries and those work well too.
Secondary fermentation
This recipe is only to be used during secondary fermentation which is the step after making your plain kombucha using a SCOBY. Secondary is when we take the plain kombucha and add flavors to it and then bottle it up and leave it out for a few days so it can get carbonated.
- ½ gallon Green Tea Kombucha (recipe for this is here)
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2-3 large sprigs of fresh thyme
- Add lemon juice and sugar to the green tea kombucha and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Using a funnel, fill the flip-top bottles with the kombucha.
- Add the sprigs of thyme to the bottles, dividing it evenly among them.
- Seal the bottles and let sit in a cool, dark place for 3-7 days.
- After 3 days check one of the bottles and if it's bubbly put it in the fridge. Serve cold.
- If it's not bubbly, leave it out for a few more days. Check each day until it is carbonated. Once it's to your liking put it in the fridge and serve cold.
Resources
“3 Steps To Start Making Kombucha At Home”
Dao Ren Tea from Rose Mountain Herbs
Flip-Top Bottles
funnel
A fermented green tea something that I have longed for.
Would black tea taste ok with this recipe?
It would work but it might overpower the herb flavor.
This is the most clear colored green tea I’ve ever seen. I’ve been trying to figure out how the major brand kombucha companies create such lightly colored teas. You are using Dao Ren green tea? Do you know of others that are so clear?
All of the green teas I’ve used have given a really light colored kombucha. Any green tea should do the same. You can also use white tea to get a really light color and flavored kombucha.