Hibiscus Kombucha

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This tart Hibiscus Kombucha is a great alternative to homemade kombucha with black tea. It works great with flavors too!

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One of my favorite hobbies is making homemade kombucha. I love creating new flavors and controlling how much sweetener I add.

Best of all, I love saving money by not buying store-bought.

One of my latest experiments is trying out different teas in the kombucha first fermentation. This Hibiscus Kombucha is the first of hopefully many of those experiments.

The first fermentation of kombucha is when you combine sweetened tea, a kombucha scoby, and some starter tea. You let it ferment for 7-21 days and the result is uncarbonated unflavored kombucha.

This Hibiscus Kombucha is sweet, tart, and fruity tasting.

Two other first fermentation recipes to try are Yerba Mate Kombucha and Green Tea Kombucha recipe. Both are mild, light, and refreshing.

Another hibiscus recipe is my Agua de Jamaica recipe.

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❤️ Why You'll Love It
🧾 Ingredients
🥣 Supplies
🔪 Instructions
💭 Tips
What Flavors Pair Well With Hibiscus?
👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQs
🥃 Other Kombucha Recipes
📋 Recipe
💬 Comments

❤️ Why You'll Love It

It is sweet, tart, and fruity flavored.
It's a great starter for second fermentation kombucha flavors.
It's a nice alternative to kombucha made with black tea.

🧾 Ingredients

A kombucha starter pack, which includes a kombucha scoby ( symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) in some kombucha starter liquid - or - 1-2 cups freshly made kombucha and a scoby.
Hibiscus flowers - I also have tutorials for Yerba Mate Kombucha (first fermentation), and how to make green tea kombucha.
Filtered water
Sugar

To see the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

🥣 Supplies

Gallon sized jar
Tea towel or coffee filter
Thick rubber band
kitchen thermometer

🔪 Instructions

Hibiscus flowers above pan with hot water.

Step 1: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Step 2: Add dried hibiscus flowers. Steep 5-10 minutes.

Sugar in measuring cup above pan with hibiscus tea.

Step 3: Add 1 cup of sugar, and stir until dissolved. Reheat the tea to get the sugar to dissolve faster if needed.

Kombucha scoby in gallon sized mason jar with hibiscus tea.

Step 4: Add the tea mixture to a gallon sized jar, along with room-temperature filtered water, the kombucha scoby, and the fermented tea that it came in.

Check to make sure the mixture is between 75°-85°. It will most likely be on the hotter side, but it will cool down as long as the room is between 75°-85°.

Hibiscus Kombucha in a gallon-sized jar with towel secured on top.

Step 5: Secure the jar with a tea towel or coffee filter and a rubber band. Place the jar in a warm location - between 75°-85°.

Colder temperatures = mold, so make sure the room is between those temperatures!

Let the kombucha brew between 7- 21 days. Begin tasting the kombucha on day 7. If it tastes too sweet, let it ferment longer. I like to brew mine for 18 days.

After the kombucha is done brewing, pour it into bottles and place it in the fridge, save 1-2 cups of liquid for your next batch, or you can start a second fermentation with flavors.

The video below is for homemade kombucha with black tea, but the process is the same:

You can also add sweetener to the homemade kombucha. You will need some bottles with flip top lids, and a funnel. I like 2 tablespoons of maple syrup per 25 oz. bottle of kombucha, or ½ cup per gallon.

Pour maple syrup, then the finished hibiscus kombucha into each glass bottle, leaving 1-2" head space. Let sit 3-5 days in a warm location again, popping the bottles each day to let out carbon dioxide. Taste each day to test its flavor and fizziness.

💭 Tips

Since kombucha is usually made with black tea, you will want to have an extra scoby when trying recipes like this one. Once you have made a batch or two of homemade kombucha, your scoby will produce a baby scoby. That's a good time to experiment with other teas.
Hibiscus tea will stain your scoby and may change its flavor, which is another reason to have an extra scoby.

What Flavors Pair Well With Hibiscus?

Sweet tart fruit goes well with hibiscus. Hibiscus tea tastes like cranberry, raspberry, and pomegranate.

If you make a second fermentation (by adding flavors), you can use raspberries, mixed berries, strawberries, cranberries, pomegranates, or cherries for a foolproof recipe.

Flavors I've made with hibiscus kombucha:

Or you can try other fruits like banana, pineapple, blood orange, or kiwi to see how they complement each other.

5 Secrets To Making Kombucha