TL;DR: Want to level up your homemade kombucha recipe? In this guide, you’ll learn how to flavor your 1 gallon kombucha batch during second fermentation, using fruit, juice, herbs, and spices - no special tools required.

How to Customize Your Homemade Kombucha Recipe - Plus 14 Flavor Combos to Try

Making kombucha at home is fun, affordable, and endlessly customizable. Whether you're craving something fruity, spicy, floral, or even dessert-inspired, we’ve got a kombucha recipe for it. And the best part? You can use this same 1 gallon kombucha recipe as your foundation every time - then flavor during the second fermentation.

 In this guide, we’ll walk you through:

14 Kombucha Recipes You Can Steal

These 1 gallon kombucha recipe ideas yield roughly eight 12 - 16 oz bottles. When experimenting with kombucha recipe variations, remember that ingredients should only ever be added directly to each bottle before topping with fermented kombucha. Adding flavors to your kombucha fermenter with the SCOBY can harm the SCOBY. Any flavor added to the fermenter will impact every batch you make afterwards.

Fruity and Herbal Kombucha Recipes

Lavender Blueberry Kombucha Recipe 

To make this floral berry kombucha, add the following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha:

• • 12 whole blueberries (frozen or fresh)
  • 1 teaspoon dried lavender leaves
    

Watermelon Mint Kombucha Recipe 

To make this refreshing, summer kombucha add the following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha:

• • 4 mint leaves, roughly chopped or torn
  • 4 tablespoons fresh watermelon juice 
    

Strawberry Basil Kombucha Recipe 

To make this sweet, herby & refreshing booch, add the following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha:

• • 2 strawberries, quartered
  • 2 large basil leaves, roughly chopped
    

Cozy Fall Inspired Kombucha Recipes

Apple Cinnamon Kombucha Recipe 

To make this tart, juicy & subtly earthy kombucha, add following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha:

• • ¼ apple, finely diced
  • ½ cinnamon stick
    

Blackberry Sage Kombucha Recipe 

To make this tart, juicy & subtly earthy kombucha, add following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha:

• • 4-6 blackberries, lightly muddled
  • 4 sage leaves, roughly chopped
    

Mulled Wine Kombucha Recipe 

To make this wintery brew you’ll make a flavorful syrup, which will be added to bottles on bottling day. Bring the following ingredients to a low simmer in a pot for 30-45 minutes to reduce the volume by half.

• • 3 cups cheap red wine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 10 whole cloves

Strain out the solids and let the syrup cool to room temperature. Add about 2 tablespoons of syrup plus a squeeze of fresh squeezed orange juice to each 12 - 16 oz bottle before topping with fermented kombucha. 

Pumpkin Spice Kombucha Recipe 

 To make this festive kombucha, add the following to each 12 - 16 oz bottle:

• • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  • 0.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 4 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
  • Half of a cinnamon stick
  • 1 small dash of vanilla extract 

Dessert Inspired Kombucha Recipes

Banana Bread Kombucha Recipe 

• • ⅛ of a banana, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • OPTIONAL sprinkle of clove or nutmeg
    

Red Velvet Beet Kombucha Recipe 

• • 10 half-inch cubes of fresh beetroot
  • 0.5 teaspoon of cocoa powder
  • 0.25 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • HALF of a fresh pitted date, chopped

Sweet Potato Pie Kombucha Recipe 

• • ¼ of a sweet potato, peeled & cubed
  •  3 or more mini marshmallows
    

Bold & Unexpected Kombucha Recipes

Dry Hopped Kombucha Recipe 

• • 3–7 Citra hop pellets (or your preferred hop variety)
  • 2 tsp kiwi juice (to aid carbonation)
    

Pineapple Jalapeno Kombucha Recipe 

• • 1-2 thin jalapeño slices (seeds removed)
  • 1.5 oz pineapple juice or a few fresh chunks
    

Purple Butterfly Pea Flower Kombucha Recipe 

• •  ¼ cup fresh raspberries, muddled
  • 1 lemon slice, quartered
    

"Black Magic" Charcoal Kombucha Recipe 

• • 3 lemon slices, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • Powder from 1 activated charcoal capsule
    

Tips for Building Your Own Kombucha Recipe

You don’t need a full recipe every time. Tap into your own creativity and build your own kombucha recipe 1 gallon at a time. 

Tips for Kombucha Bottle Flavoring

Finely Chop Your Fruit

You can use fresh, dried or frozen fruit. We recommend finely chopping, slicing or dicing to increase surface area for maximum flavor. Smaller pieces are easier to remove from bottles for easier clean up, too.

Just Add Juice

No whole fruit - no problem. Juice is just fine. Aim for 10% juice to 90% kombucha per bottle. Fresh-squeezed is best when possible, but bottled juice will work as long as it is 100% juice. Preservatives can impact the carbonation process.

Don't Be Heavy Handed with Herbs & Spices

You can incorporate herbs and spices, but be sure to use them sparingly at first. You can always add more, but can't remove overwhelming flavor if you go too far. Fresh herbs are more mild and dried herbs are much more intense and concentrated flavor by volume.

Keep a Brew Journal of Your Kombucha Flavor Recipes 

Write everything down! Including fermentation time, fermentation temperature, pH and your ingredients. Every variable is important when customizing your kombucha recipe. Write down your favorite flavor combos (and your least favorite) so you can replicate your greatest hits.

Mix It Up

Don’t limit yourself to just one flavor per batch. Add a different flavor combo to each bottle - split a batch into half honey-lemon and half berry-herb. You can also use this as an opportunity to experiment with ingredient ratios. Not sure how much mint you should use? Try 1 leaf in one bottle, try 2 leaves in another and so on to dial in your perfect ratio! This is a great way to ensure that you can enjoy a variety of flavors from just one batch!

Ingredients to Avoid

Not every ingredient plays well with kombucha. Some, like cucumber or carrot, can make your brew taste like pickled salad (not in a good way). When in doubt, add an ingredient to just ONE bottle in your batch to test it out. That way, if the flavor is bad, you didn’t waste an entire batch on that flavor combo.

Tips for Customizing Carbonation

You can choose to make your kombucha still (flat) or carbonated. During what’s known as a second fermentation kombucha will become carbonated when you seal it in bottles. Let’s dive into the ways you can control the carbonation in your homemade kombucha recipe.

No Sugar = No Fizz

Some source of sugar, whether it’s fruit, juice or even honey, is needed to carbonate your kombucha in bottles. The yeast “eat” the sugar and convert it into carbon dioxide. Without any added sugar, it’ll be very difficult to craft sparkling kombucha.

We suggest using even a small amount of honey, maple syrup or even kiwi juice in each bottle to provide yeast with carbonation fuel.

Store sealed bottles at room temp for 3–5 days, then "burp" one. If you hear a hiss, it’s ready to chill.
 

Prefer Still Kombucha?

For a still, un-carbonated kombucha, bottle & refrigerate immediately after flavoring.

Conclusion: a Recipe for Kombucha Brewing Success

Additional Resources

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