Guide to Kombucha Second Fermentation Process Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio for kombucha second fermentation? ›

Ratios for Kombucha Flavoring

If flavoring with fresh, frozen, or dried fruit, start with 10-30% fruit and 70-90% Kombucha. If flavoring with juice, start with 10-20% juice and 80-90% Kombucha.

-Remove any pellicles from your brew jar and place aside in a container. -Measure 1.5 – 2 cups of kombucha for your next gallon and add to the container with the pellicles (this is your starter tea). If you don't plan to start another batch right away, see this article on how to take a break from brewing kombucha.

There will likely be some residual sugars leftover from your primary fermentation, so if you really don't want to add any extra, you can certainly try it. But without the extra sugar, you may not have enough sugar to get carbonation or only enough sugar to get low carbonation.

Between days 3 and 8 the process the ferment using the sugar starts to increase. During days 7-14 about 50 to 70 percent of the sugar has been consumed. Generally, at the end of a 30-day fermentation period, there is very little sugar remaining, about 80 percent of it having been consumed by the fermentation process.

-Increase sugar in your secondary fermentation. You can do this by adding fruit, fruit juice or sugar. I'll add ¼-1 tsp sugar per 16 oz bottle if my flavoring doesn't have any natural sugars in it. -Fill your secondary fermentation bottles closer to the top leaving an inch of space between the kombucha and the top.

For F2, you want good-quality, food-grade glass that's thick enough to handle high pressure contents. And equally important is the cap. You want a cap that can be secured tightly enough to make an airtight seal. That's what'll allow you to trap the carbonation into the liquid as your brew ferments in the bottle.

Burping is essentially just opening your bottles ever so slightly during the second fermentation process to release air or “excess pressure” in the bottle. Many brewers recommend burping bottles every day, or every other day while your bottles are fermenting at room temperature.

Kombucha First Fermentation, Second Fermentation & Refrigeration. To be thorough, the first fermentation and secondary fermentation are never refrigerated.

Secondary fermentation is the process of taking your “finished” beer from your fermentation bucket, and transferring it to another container, usually a glass carboy, for a period of aging typically ranging from two days to several months. There are pros and cons to doing a secondary fermentation for your beer.

Some people don't want any carbonation, and that's OK. You don't need to go through F2 in order to drink kombucha.

Is kombucha still good if it loses its fizz? ›

As soon as the bottle has been opened, the kombucha interacts with air, and so it is recommended that kombucha is consumed within one week of opening. Similar to how you would treat a bottle of soda. The beverage won't go bad if you store it correctly beyond one week, but it will lose some of its effervescence.

Now You May Be Asking Yourself Why Over Fermented Kombucha In This Case Tastes Like Nasty Yeasty Beer Instead Of, Say, Vinegar. If you leave kombucha on the counter with the scoby too long, you get something that taste like vinegar and can be used to replace vinegar in recipes.

The beauty of it is that it can be reused endlessly! Once you've finished fermenting your kombucha, simply recuperate the scoby and store it to start a new kombucha recipe. The easiest way to store a kombucha scoby is to start a new fermentation just after bottling.

Without sugar, Kombucha cannot ferment. Sucrose is most easy to digest by the yeasts; they consume the sugar and put out CO2 (carbon dioxide, i.e. the bubbles in your booch) & ethanol (alcohol).

The recommended recipe is 1 cup of sugar per gallon. Too little and you will inhibit the brew's normal healthy development; no SCOBY, no acetic acid. Too much and the yeasts will either overrun the bacteria or fall 'asleep' and do nothing.

When brewing kombucha, the most important rule of thumb is the sweet tea to starter tea ratio. The sweet tea to kombucha starter tea ratio is 9:1 or 90% sweet tea to 10% kombucha starter tea.

The continuous brew kombucha method involves removing only some of the liquid each time and replacing with the same amount of fresh brewed sweetened tea. Leaving at least 30% of the brew after each decant is ideal, but you can drink a little at a time and add tea when the level gets low.