I was obsessed…and I failed desperately. As I was pulling the radio flyer wagon around the nursery I was trying so friggin hard to resist…
I was done for. The fragrant, bright, green leaves of the lemon verbena that was nestled among the rosemary and lavender had me.
This is after I desperately tried to prevent myself from buying every other plant in the hummingbird garden section. I am a sucker for colorful, fragrant flowers and butterflies!
My obsession and failure to prevent myself from over purchasing plants led me to create, what has become, my absolutely favorite drink right now and I am beyond happy to share it with you.
Lemon Verbena Kombucha is fragrant with a sweet, light lemon flavor. It’s simple to make, refreshing and oh so good for you too.
I love to garden and since we bought a house that has a big yard, I have become obsessed with plants. I began noticing every garden I passed by on my walks and in the car. I explored ALL the nurseries near my neighborhood and I was Pinteresting garden landscapes like a mad woman.
Finally I had to limit my nursery shopping spree to every two weeks instead of every weekend, because I loved every pretty flower and wanted every herb and fruit tree I came across.
I did buy that lemon verbena plant and it’s been my favorite purchase so far. The plant flourished and grew big and bushy, so I started clipping the leaves and infusing it in water, tea and kombucha. It’s so fragrant, light, lemony and I have been using it every time I’ve made kombucha this summer.
If you don’t have fresh lemon verbena you can use this method to infuse it with any fresh garden herb, such as mint, rosemary, thyme or basil.
Why make your own kombucha
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.
- Lemon verbena has medicinal qualities and has been used for digestive issues, joint pain, insomnia, fever and much more.
Things you will need
Plain Homemade 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 verbena and a little bit of sugar. Move on to this recipe when your plain kombucha is ready.
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.
- ½ gallon of green tea kombucha (directions to make it are here)
- 2 cups fresh lemon verbena leaves (or other herb of choice such as mint, rosemary or thyme)
- 1 cup of hot water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
- Steep the lemon verbena leaves in hot water for 15 minutes.
- Strain the leaves out and add the sugar. Stir until dissolved.
- Let the hot tea cool to room temperature.
- Add the plain kombucha and cooled lemon verbena tea to a large pitcher and stir.
- Using a funnel, fill the flip-top bottles with the kombucha.
- 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.
- Store in the fridge and serve cold.
Make Lemon Verbena Kombucha this weekend and please share with your family and friends if you think they will love this recipe too.
Happy Fermenting!
Danielle
Articles
3 Steps to Start Making Kombucha At Home
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