Orange Creamsicle Kombucha

     Growing up, the epitome of  summer treats was an orange creamsicle. Sure, icy pops, ice cream sandwiches, lemonade, and others were great but the creamsicles were rare and you never said no when offered one. So, as I was trying to figure out how to flavor a recent batch of kombucha, I decided to try capturing that amazing nostalgic flavor. 

    I started off by brewing a batch of plain old kombucha. For that recipe click here. I then took several mandarin oranges (I had too many and they tend to be a little sweeter than normal oranges), cut them in half, and put them in a bowl. I then smushed out all of the juice I could. Before I was totally done smushing them, I added in about 1/2 of a tablespoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. While I finished smushing my oranges, the sugar and vanilla mixed in with the juice. 

    Then, I took all the orange peels out of my bowl and threw them away. You can add these to your kombucha but I feel like it makes the end result a little bitter. I then divided the juice between 2-4 sterilized 16 oz flip top bottles and fill the bottles the rest of the way with my plain kombucha. I also made sure to leave about an inch of space at the top of the bottle. If you accidentally fill it up too much it is no big deal but that space helps prevent a mess if your kombucha gets really fizzy. 

    Once my bottles were full, I closed them and left them on my counter for about a week. I burped them after 2 days to see how quickly they were carbonating and then again after five days. It has been cold in my house so I ended up letting this batch sit on my counter for 7 days but sometimes it only takes 3 for it to be nice and bubbly. The bubbles are created by the bacteria and yeast in the kombucha eating the sugar and releasing carbon dioxide. The warmer they are, the faster they move. So putting it in the fridge slows or entirely stops that process. Also, because it is eating the sugar, a perfectly carbonated kombucha will have very little to no sugar content when you drink it! This makes it a perfect alternative to carbonated sodas filled with sweeteners. 

    When your kombucha is ready to drink you can either strain out all of the orange pulp and the new baby SCOBY it has probably produced,  or you can drink it with all of the chunks. The chunks are actually very good for you so you can leave it in just for the nutritional value but I know that it can really throw someone off. The SCOBY that can grow in your second ferment bottle almost has the texture of a booger so I know several people who can't drink kombucha for a while after they get a chunk like that because they get too grossed out. Meanwhile, it doesn't bug me at all!

     To really complete the orange creamsicle flavor of my kombucha (this may be controversial) top off my glass with a splash of half and half. This creates a drink reminiscent of an Italian soda and I think it completes the nostalgic flavor. However, if that is too weird for you, the vanilla notes in the kombucha itself creates a creamy like flavor in your brain without there actually being cream. 

What did you think of this recipe? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Use the comment section below!