Cherry Vanilla Kombucha Recipe: 5 to 31 Gallons
Tart cherry juice for colour and tang, a splash of vanilla to round it out. Tastes like a grown-up cherry soda.
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Cherry Vanilla Kombucha at a glance: Tart cherry juice for colour and tang, a splash of vanilla to round it out. Tastes like a grown-up cherry soda. Dark red, tart and smooth, with vanilla on the finish.
Bräu Supply recipe · Kombucha
Cherry Vanilla Kombucha
First ferment · for 5 gal
| 4.27 gal (16.2 L) | Filtered water | |
| 45 g | Black tea, loose | 9 g/gal |
| 2.2 lb (1 kg) | White sugar | 200 g/gal |
| 0.6 gal (2.3 L) | Starter liquid: plain kombucha from your last batch | 12% |
| 1 | SCOBY |
Second ferment: flavour and fizz
| 5 cups (1183 mL) | Tart cherry juice | |
| 25 mL | Pure vanilla extract | |
Process
- Steep: 195–200°F (90–93°C) for 10–15 minutes, then dissolve the sugar
- Cool: below 85°F (29°C) before the culture goes in
- Culture: starter and SCOBY; pH below 4.6, ideally 4.2 or lower
- First ferment: 78°F (26°C), open under a cloth, 7–10 days, to pH 3.0–3.5
- Second ferment: 75°F (24°C), sealed, spunding valve at 12 psi, 2–5 days
- Cold crash: 36°F (2°C) for 1–2 days
- Carbonate: 2.8 volumes: about 13 psi at 36°F
Make it in
Per US gallon of finished first-ferment kombucha. Water allows for the room the sugar takes up and the water the tea holds back. Sugar in juice and fruit varies: taste, and watch the gauge in the second ferment.
How to make it
- Fill the fermenter with the full batch of filtered water, heat it to 195–200°F and steep the tea in the basket for 10–15 minutes. Lift the tea out and stir in the sugar.
- Cool the batch below 85°F, through a counterflow chiller or overnight with the lid sealed.
- Add the starter liquid and the SCOBY. Check the pH: below 4.6 right away, ideally 4.2 or lower.
- Ferment open to the air under a tight cloth at 78°F for 7–10 days. Taste from the sample valve from day five; it’s ready when sweet and tart balance, around pH 3.0–3.5.
- Dump the yeast from the cone and save starter liquid and the SCOBY for the next batch.
- Add the second-ferment ingredients through the top, seal the lid and set the spunding valve to 12 psi. Hold 75°F for 2–5 days, tasting as you go.
- Crash to 36°F for a day or two, then set CO₂ to about 13 psi to reach 2.8 volumes, or keg it and carbonate in the keg. Strain out fruit and herbs before kegging.
Making a different amount, or your own flavour? Open this recipe in the kombucha calculator: it scales the tea, sugar and starter, and works out the second-ferment sugar, carbonation pressure and alcohol.
Tips
- Use 100% tart cherry juice. Sweet cherry juice works too but tastes flatter.
- Add the vanilla at the end of the second ferment or at kegging; heat and time dull it.
- A split vanilla bean in the keg instead of extract gives a rounder vanilla.
Frequently asked questions
Tart cherry or sweet cherry?
Tart cherry has more colour and a sharper flavour that suits kombucha. Sweet cherry juice works if that’s what you have.
Does vanilla extract add alcohol?
A tiny amount: 5 mL per gallon adds well under 0.1% ABV. If you sell kombucha, test the finished batch as always.
Is there alcohol in homemade kombucha?
A little. The first ferment usually leaves 0.2–1% ABV, and every gram of sugar per litre that ferments in the second ferment adds about 0.065%. In the US, 0.5% ABV or more is regulated as alcohol, so if you sell kombucha, crash it cold, keep it cold, and test every batch. The kombucha calculator shows how much your second ferment can add.
Related
How to make kombucha in a stainless fermenter, the kombucha calculator, classic black tea kombucha, half black, half green house blend, mango turmeric kombucha.