Hi! In last week's post I delved into the merits of kombucha and how to make it. This week is the second part-er, now that you have your amazing kombucha, how do you make it even better? Second fermentation, of course.
Second fermentation is something that I personally only recently discovered only when I started making kombucha again and I am obsessed with it. There is a lot of creativity in second fermentation and can be tailored to the season or what you have on hand. I always feel a bit like a mad scientist- experimenting with flavor profiles and combinations.
What is second fermentation? It's the process of adding additional ingredients to your already brewed kombucha to flavor it and up the fizziness factor. This second round of fermentation has the active cultures in your kombucha go to work again, breaking down the sugars in whatever you put in the bottle. The extra sugars mean extra fizz. This process also infuses your kombucha with the flavors of your ingredients. Yum.
In the video below I share my favorite second fermentation recipe (big thanks to my older sister for introducing it to me!) and talk about some others that I enjoy: