Kombucha, water kefir, kvass, tepache, mead and other fermented drinks: how to make them and what’s in them.
Kombucha is sweet tea fermented for about 7–14 days by a SCOBY dominated by acetic acid bacteria, so it's tart, vinegary and contains caffeine. Water kefir is sugar water fermented…
Read moreTo make water kefir, dissolve about 70 g of sugar in a litre of water, add 100–150 g of water kefir grains and a dried fig, cover loosely and leave…
Read moreTo make water kefir soda, strain finished water kefir from its grains, add 10–20% fruit juice (or fruit and a spoonful of sugar) to swing-top bottles, top up leaving 1–2…
Read moreBeet kvass is raw beetroot chunks fermented in salted water for 3–7 days, then strained: a salty, sour, deep-red drink. Use 20 g of salt per litre of water (2%)…
Read moreHoney ferments once it's diluted with water: its yeasts, or an added wine yeast, turn the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Fermented to the end it becomes mead, a…
Read moreKeep raw kombucha refrigerated. Unopened, it's at its best until the printed date (one maker dates cans 6 months and glass 8 months). Once opened, recap and refrigerate it and…
Read more
The closest drink to kombucha is water kefir: fizzy, fruity, dairy-free and caffeine-free, ready in 1–2 days. Other alternatives are jun (green tea and honey), tepache (pineapple peel), ginger beer…
Read more
For a kombucha second fermentation, add about 10–20% fruit or juice to finished kombucha in flip-top bottles, leaving 1–2 inches of headspace, seal and leave at room temperature for 2–5…
Read moreTo brew kombucha, dissolve about 80 g of sugar per litre of hot water, steep 4 black or green tea bags per litre, cool completely, then add a SCOBY and…
Read more