Strawberry Lemonade Kombucha

        One of my favorite parts of summer is the fresh fruits and veggies that go straight from the garden into my mouth. One of my absolute favorite things from my garden are fresh berries, especially strawberries. I love to incorporate my strawberries in EVERYTHING! From cake, to jam, to drinks, if its in my house you will probably find it strawberry flavored. So, of course, strawberries have made it into one of my favorite drinks to make: kombucha! And, what else better to pair it with than the summer staple lemonade.

    Any kombucha you make will start with a plain kombucha base. This is made by putting a SCOBY in sweet tea and letting it sit in a lightly covered jar for 1-2 weeks. You can read my post on how to make a SCOBY here. After your sweet tea has fermented to a point where it isn't really sweet but doesn't taste like vinegar, you pour it into sterilized bottles with a little flavor and sweetener before you seal it for a second ferment. This second ferment can take 3-12 days depending on the temperature of your house. During this second ferment, you need to "burp" your kombucha by just barely cracking it open to make sure it is not getting too carbonated. When it is perfectly carbonated after a few days you stick your kombucha in your fridge for a day to three weeks and enjoy! 

    To make my strawberry lemonade flavor, I take one cut up lemon, about 1 cup of diced strawberries, and two tablespoons sweetener. I like to use honey the best for this recipe but you can also use plain sugar, maple syrup, agave, or just about any other sweetener you like. The good bacteria will eat this sugar up and turn it into carbonation and other healthier byproducts so the final result is very low in sugar. When I have all my fruit cut up and honey added, I mash everything together until as much juice is released as possible. I do this because it tends to help the flavor be stronger and the pieces get even smaller so I can fit them into my bottle. I do reccomend that you do let some of the chunks get in there to really enhance the flavor. If you don't like chunks in your drinks, you can strain it out when you drink it later. 

    When everything is muddled together, I split my mixture between two 16 oz flip top bottles. You can split this between more but the more you split it between the weaker the flavor will be. However, I will say that two bottles should be the minimum. Once I have my flavor in, I just close my bottles and let them sit!

    This strawberry lemonade kombucha is a staple in my household in the summer and offers a perfect refreshing pick me up. It is sweet and tangy with all of the fizz and none of the guilt. In fact, it is packed with probiotics and antioxidants so I like to drink it not only for the flavor, but for a daily immune boost!

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