Fresh herbs impart a fresh familiarity to kombucha that you can’t quite pinpoint. It is like a delicious mystery. Rosemary, in this case, rounds out the flavors in a woody, earthy way, which it does through taste and almost equally through aroma. Rosehips are naturally tart and basically anything tart goes well with kombucha. The only thing missing now is something sweet. Enter orange juice. You can use fresh-squeezed orange juice, or any store-bought juice will work just fine.
It’s important to note that making homemade kombucha is almost always a two-step fermentation process. Brewing kombucha is only a one-step process for those who prefer an unflavored flat kombucha. Otherwise, the steps consist of a primary fermentation and a secondary fermentation.
Primary fermentation is the first step of the kombucha brewing process. This is where your SCOBY transforms regular sweet tea into the tart and slightly sweet kombucha we love. At the end of this stage, you will have finished kombucha, but it will be flat and unflavored. Have you skipped this step? Then check out our guide on how to make kombucha at home, and for jun kombucha, see our post on how to make jun kombucha tea at home. Traditional kombucha is going to yield a bolder brew, while jun kombucha is milder and can be a bit tarter.
Secondary fermentation is the step where you bottle, carbonate, and flavor your kombucha with the addition of sugar and flavors. In this step, the finished kombucha from the primary is mixed with sugar, fruits, or other flavors before bottling it with specialized lids that can hold pressure, like flip-top bottles. The bottled kombucha is then left at room temperature for natural fermentation, where yeast carbonates the kombucha within the sealed bottle. The ideal temperature range for this process is between 75-85°F. The amount of time needed to carbonate within the bottle is highly tied to temperature, which can take anywhere from 2-10 days.
💡Since this recipe is for the secondary fermentation, to make this recipe, you’ll need to have kombucha that has finished the primary fermentation and is ready to bottle.
This recipe makes one 16 fluid ounce bottle. For a 1-gallon batch, make 7 16 ounce bottles of kombucha or times the ingredients by 7. Before beginning this recipe, you will want to:
This recipe is super simple. We’ll have you enjoying your own orange rosemary rosehip kombucha in no time. Let’s dive in:
16 fl oz Bottles
20
Minutes2-10
DaysThis Orange Rosemary and Rosehip Kombucha recipe is for 1, 16 fl oz bottle. For a 1-gallon batch, make 7 bottles. To scale this recipe to a 1-gallon batch, multiply the ingredients by 7 or toggle the serving size up to 7 above. Before bottling your kombucha, remove the SCOBY pellicle along with 12-16 fl oz of kombucha starter tea from your brew, and reserve for your next batch.
16 fl oz Kombucha from a completed primary fermentation.
2 tsp Rosehips
1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
2 fl oz Water
2 fl oz Orange Juice
16 oz Swing Top Bottles
Tea steeping vessel – This can be a tea ball, re-usable tea bag, cheese cloth, or a strainer (any way to steep loose leaf tea)Â
Small pot to boil water
Strainer – Optional
Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat.Â
Steep rosehips and rosemary until completely cooled, about 10-15 minutes.Â
Remove rosehips and rosemary, stir in orange juice and pour the mixture into a clean bottle. For an aesthetically pleasing twist and stronger rosemary flavor, you can add the rosemary sprig into the bottle with the kombucha.Â
Keep bottles at room temperature for 2-10 days; it will carbonate faster at higher temperatures and slower when cold.
Once per day, you’ll want to burp the bottles. This is done by removing the cap to allow built-up pressure to escape then placing the cap back on. As soon as you put the lid back on, the carbonation will begin to build back up, so no worries about it getting flat. Try not to skip this, or you may get kombucha all over your face when you do go to open it or, worse yet, a bottle bomb.
Chill in the refrigerator once you’re happy with the carbonation levels. Based on preference, you can serve as is or strain before drinking.
