Kombucha is one of those drinks that can be as simple or as creative as you want it to be.
If you haven't made your first batch of Kombucha yet, we're famous for taking the nerves out of that first brew with our 5-star rated range of Kombucha Starter Kits.
At its core, Kombucha is simply fermented tea. A SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts) is what is known as the 'mother', or live starter culture for Kombucha, and is added to a sweet tea mixture to kickstart the fermentation.
Our SCOBY works to convert the sugar into organic acids, live bacteria's, and carbon dioxide, which gives the Kombucha a sweet but tart taste, slightly fizzy feel and transforms it into a totally delicious, natural health tonic.
Once you’ve got the basic process down, you get a chance to start experimenting with flavours, which is one of the most exciting parts of making your own Kombucha (and the part which will really impress your friends and family).
Just like many homemade ferments, Kombucha has endless flavouring possibilities, just take a look at our ever-growing Kombucha Recipe Club, which features recipes from many of our customers to find tonnes of inspiration.
Changing the tea base, infusing fruit, adding herbs and spices, adding a little extra sugar, or introducing ingredients without sugar can transform the flavours of your homemade Kombucha.
In this post, we’ll explore a variety of ways to add flavours to your homemade Kombucha, talk about what each method brings to the table, and finish with ideas on how to serve your creations.
Choosing Which Tea to use for Your Kombucha
One of the easiest ways to influence the flavour of Kombucha happens before fermentation even starts: by choosing the tea for your base.
Check out our huge range of Kombucha Brew Bags here, complete with caffeine free blends, fruity blends, traditional mixes and more!
Most traditional Kombucha (and authentically brewed shop bought Kombucha) is brewed with either black, green, oolong or white tea, and its long been thought that the SCOBY, and hence the fermentation process benefits from certain compounds found in these teas.
More recently (perhaps due to the growing community of Kombucha home-brewers) it has been accepted that herbal tea blends and caffeine free teas can brew delicious, healthy Kombucha, which is great news for anyone who needs to avoid caffeine.
Caffeine free Kombucha is very hard to find in the shops (unless it isn't an authentically brewed Kombucha) and so for those looking to cut back on caffeine, brew Kombucha for lively kids, or remove caffeine from their diet totally, home brewing Kombucha is a great option.
We have a whole blog on how to brew caffeine free Kombucha here, with recipes too of course.
Using different teas can create a huge range of flavours and colours in your homemade Kombucha, as well as add in additional health benefits.
For example:
- Green tea tends to make a lighter, fizzy Kombucha, and works well with citrussy fruits or mint, and looks like a cloudy lemonade
- Rooibos tea brews a beautiful red and fizzy Kombucha, with honey notes, and is great for pairing with bitter herbs like hibiscus or any fruits
- Oolong tea sits somewhere between green and black tea, producing Kombucha with a rich, slightly fruity complexity. This tea works with strong fruity flavours like cherry, or rose and tends to be dark red in colour
- Black tea makes a dark coloured Kombucha, and sometimes can be quite bitter. This is well matched with sweet fruits, or strong spices like ginger and turmeric
-
White tea makes a very light Kombucha, best paired with gentle herbs like lavender, rosemary, or a small amount of mint
Secondary Fermentation of Kombucha
Once you’ve made your Kombucha, you can try something called secondary fermentation.
This is when you bottle your Kombucha with added ingredients. This stage is used to add more carbonation to your homemade Kombucha, as well as extra flavours. You leave your bottled Kombucha with the extra flavours, to infuse for 2-4 days at room temperature, before refrigerating.
The most common additions here are fruits, and for good reason: fruit provides natural sugar that feeds the yeast, producing a fizz, whilst also adding flavour.
Using our Mini Series of bottles (linked here) can give you a way of experimenting easily with flavour combos without sacrificing whole batches of Kombucha at a time.
There’s almost no limit to the fruits you can use.
- Citrus fruits like lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange add a zesty bright flavour
- Berries like raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries bring sweetness and beautiful colours
- Stone fruits such as peaches, plums, and cherries give a deep, fragrant flavour that pairs beautifully with the tang of Kombucha
- Tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, and passionfruit add an exotic, sunny note that makes for a refreshing summer drink
You can use fruit fresh, frozen, or even dried – each gives a slightly different intensity and complexity. For example, dried figs or apricots can add a richer, almost dessert-like quality.
If you aren't adding sweet fruits, but want to get a good fizz in your homemade Kombucha, you can add a teaspoon of sugar when you bottle it. Make sure you use fermentation safe bottles for this stage, and burp your bottles regularly. They'll rarely take longer than 3-4 days to develop some fizz, and that's the point you should move to the fridge to prevent bottle explosions.
We have more information on getting a good fizz into your homemade Kombucha here.
Alongside fruit, herbs and spices (see herbal Kombucha recipes here) can add depth, contrast, and even a little surprise to Kombucha flavours.
Fresh herbs like mint, basil, rosemary, or thyme can completely change the personality of your brew.
Mint with lemon makes for a cooling, and refreshing drink, while basil with strawberries creates a fragrant, almost floral note that feels gourmet.
Spices open up even more possibilities. A pinch of cinnamon, ginger, or cardamom can make your Kombucha warm and comforting, while cloves or allspice can give it a holiday-season feel.
You can even combine spices with fruit for a more layered profile. Think apple with cinnamon, orange with clove, or pineapple with ginger.
When adding herbs or spices, it’s important to remember that their flavours can intensify quickly, so a little goes a long way. Start small and taste often during the second fermentation to avoid overpowering the drink.
Just make sure to read our tips and tricks for safe secondary fermentation to avoid any bottle explosions.
Low Sugar Kombucha Flavouring Recipes
While fruit and some herbs naturally provide sugars that feed the carbonation process, you can also add sugar-free ingredients if you prefer a less fizzy drink or want to control sweetness.
Ingredients like cucumber, hibiscus petals, or lavender buds can give beautiful flavour without significantly changing the sugar content.
Hibiscus in particular can give Kombucha a gorgeous ruby-red colour and a tart cranberry-like flavour.
Cucumber adds a cooling freshness that pairs well with mint or lemon.
Adding sugar-free ingredients can be especially appealing if you want a lightly flavoured Kombucha that stays crisp and refreshing without the dessert-like sweetness that some fruit-heavy versions can have.
Kombucha also plays well with unexpected ingredients.
One option is to experiment with floral flavours like rose petals, chamomile, or jasmine – either steeped into the tea base itself or added during second fermentation.
These can create delicate, perfumed brews that feel almost like fine tea blends.
Another path is to experiment with savoury or earthy additions, such as turmeric root, lemongrass, or even a touch of chili for heat.
Turmeric can bring a golden colour and a grounding, spicy depth, while chili adds a surprising kick that balances Kombucha’s tanginess.
In the right combination, even something like beetroot can work. It adds natural sweetness, earthy complexity, and a vibrant purple colour.
Of course, when experimenting with flavours, it’s worth keeping in mind how each addition affects fermentation.
As mentioned above, ingredients with high sugar content will generally lead to more carbonation and potentially more pressure in bottles, which means you’ll need to burp your bottles during second fermentation to avoid explosions.
Strong herbs and spices can become overwhelming if left in too long, so tasting regularly is the key to getting the balance right. As you try different ingredients, you’ll start to get a feel for how your Kombucha responds, which is part of the fun.
What to Mix with Your Kombucha
Another approach to flavouring Kombucha is blending after fermentation rather than infusing during it.
This is particularly useful if you want more control over sweetness or carbonation.
For example, you can make a neutral, fully fermented Kombucha and then mix it with freshly pressed juice right before serving. This gives you immediate flavour without waiting for another round of fermentation and allows you to adjust proportions on the spot.
You can even blend kombucha with herbal infusions that you’ve brewed separately, for a quick and easy twist.
If you’re looking for inspiration, some classic Kombucha flavour combinations include ginger and lemon, raspberry and mint, peach and basil, apple and cinnamon, pineapple and turmeric, or blueberry and lavender.
These combinations work well because they balance sweet, sour, and aromatic elements in a way that complements Kombucha’s tangy base. But there’s no rule that says you have to stick with tried-and-true pairings.
You might find you love something unusual, like pear with sage, watermelon with rosemary, or blackberry with vanilla bean.
Vanilla, in fact, is a fantastic addition to Kombucha – it’s naturally sweet and creamy, which can soften the edges of the tang without adding sugar.
We used vanilla in a banana cake Kombucha recipe which came out amazing!
Length Of Your Kombucha Fermentation
It’s also worth noting that the length of fermentation affects how flavours come through.
A shorter first fermentation (around 7 days) will yield a sweeter, milder Kombucha that pairs well with bright, acidic flavours like citrus or berry.
A longer fermentation (10–14 days or more) will produce a sharper, more vinegar-like Kombucha that can stand up to bolder flavours like ginger, spices, or dark fruits.
Matching your flavouring choices to the character of your base brew can make a big difference in the final taste.
How to Serve Homemade Kombucha
Once you’ve made your delicious Kombucha you need to decide how to serve it.
While Kombucha is delicious on its own, and we always start our day with a small glass of fresh homemade Kombucha, you may want to enjoy a glass in the evening, share a bottle with friends over dinner, or take it to a party.
For a lighter, more refreshing drink, you can top Kombucha with soda water or sparkling mineral water. This stretches out the flavour, lowers the acidity, and adds extra fizz. Tonic water can give it a bitter, botanical twist, making it taste almost like a sophisticated mocktail.
If you enjoy cocktails, Kombucha makes a fantastic mixer. Its tartness pairs beautifully with spirits like gin, vodka, or rum. You can use it as a base for a spritz-style drink, combine it with fresh herbs and fruit for a Kombucha mojito, or even mix it with sparkling wine for a brunch-friendly option.
Kombucha can also work as an aperitif, served chilled in a wine or champagne glass with a twist of citrus peel or a sprig of rosemary for a touch of elegance.
In cooler months, you could even gently warm a spiced Kombucha (without boiling it), or add a shot to a warm herbal tea, to create a mulled-style drink that’s both cosy and tangy.
In the end, adding flavour to homemade Kombucha is as much about creativity as it is about technique. You can choose to keep things simple with a single fruit or herb, or you can go wild with multi-layered blends.
You can lean into sweetness, you can make it bright and floral for summer or warm and spiced for winter. The process is flexible, and every batch is an opportunity to learn something new.
The more you experiment, the more you’ll discover what you personally enjoy, and that’s the beauty of brewing Kombucha at home. It’s not just about making a healthy drink; it’s about crafting something that’s uniquely yours.
So next time you’ve got a batch of Kombucha ready, try stepping outside your usual routine.
Brew your base with oolong instead of black tea. Toss some pineapple and ginger into your bottles. Steep a little hibiscus for colour and tartness. Mix it with tonic for a pre-dinner aperitif, or serve it over ice with a splash of soda water.
There’s no single right way to do it, only the way that makes you smile when you take that first sip.