Kombucha's tart flavor packs a delightful punch in its raw form, but augmenting it with the acidic and citrusy notes of lemon juice makes it an even more impressive drink. Lemonade kombucha is delicious and healthy, teeming with Vitamin C, flavonoids, and a host of live, immunity-boosting compounds.
Lemonade and kombucha is a combination you should not miss! This recipe tastes sweet, citrusy, and acidic all in one. Preparing this energy-boosting kombucha is also incredibly simple and time-efficient.
Read on to learn how to fix this fizzy drink at home.
Table of Contents
Lemonade Kombucha
Total Time: 7 minutes
Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
For this particular kombucha flavor, lemon is the primary ingredient, offering a sour and citrusy flavor profile. The highly acidic nature of this probiotic drink makes it low-sugar and low-carb, making it an excellent option for people looking to drink something healthy.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups of homemade or store-bought raw kombucha
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of sweetener (coconut sugar, cane sugar, or honey)
- A handful of ice
Instructions
- Combine the kombucha with lemon juice in a large pitcher.
- In a large mason jar, combine the water and added sugar. Shake or stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the sugar water into the kombucha and lemon mixture.
- Pour the final mixture into a drinking cup and serve over ice.
- Garnish with optional herbs or lemon wheels.
Notes
This recipe assumes you already have kombucha on hand. If you don’t, ferment a starter tea, SCOBY, and sweet tea (made with black or green tea) for two weeks in an airtight container.
You may strain the mixture if you don’t want to drink the stringy yeast strands (they’re perfectly healthy, by the way!).
If you want it sweeter, increase the sugar content in step #2. Conversely, you can lower the sugar if you prefer a tarter flavor.
Store any excess lemonade kombucha in the fridge for up to a week in a closed container.
If using store-bought kombucha, make sure that it’s unflavored and unsweetened.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
What Does Lemonade Kombucha Taste Like?
Kombucha lemonade is sweet, tart, and citrusy, boasting an effervescent and carbonated kick.
The freshly-squeezed lemon juice offers a tangy, sweet, slightly sour taste. The flavor of raw kombucha is vinegary but is mellowed by the sweetener of choice, whether coconut sugar, brown sugar, or honey.
Furthermore, the brewing process can vary slightly and change the base flavor of the kombucha. Most booch is made with a blend of green and black tea leaves; however, some are made with white or oolong. Regardless, most lemonade kombucha will follow the same fundamental flavor profile.
Health Benefits of Adding Lemon to Kombucha
I chose fresh lemon juice instead of store-bought lemon juice because the latter is often pasteurized, killing many beneficial enzymes, acids, and nutrients typically found in a standard lemon.
The health benefits listed below assume you’re using freshly-squeezed lemon:
- Helps alleviate sore throat
- Has cancer-fighting properties
- Reduces risk of kidney stones
- Regulates blood sugar
- Boosts skin health
- Helps aid in digestion
5 Creative Variations of This Recipe
The beauty of brewing kombucha lies in the various experimenting stages. You’d be surprised how a few simple tweaks can turn an already-good flavor into something greater.
- Add lavender. Adding dried lavender to the recipe adds a more floral twist to the lemonade kombucha. Lavender is renowned for its soothing properties, making it an even more potent and healthy beverage.
- Add fresh fruit. If you like feeling different textures in your kombucha, consider adding bits of diced oranges, limes, strawberries, apples, etc., to the mix. They make the drink more complex and come with a new set of health properties for which your body will thank you!
- Spice it up. If you’re using homemade kombucha, consider introducing cardamom, ginger, or nutmeg during the second fermentation process. This can add a spicy kick to your drink, making it warmer and richer.
- Garnish it with herbs. Herbs such as rosemary, basil, cilantro, or thyme add great depth to this drink. A bright green garnish also does a lot for the presentation.
- Sweeten it with puree. Fruit purees make great alternatives to sugar, honey, and other sweeteners. You can consider this option if you want to take the fruity notes of this recipe up a notch.
Is This Recipe Better With Young, Sweet Kombucha or Older, Sour Kombucha?
Everything boils down to personal preference, so don’t take my word as truth. If I had to choose, I’d pick young and sweet kombucha as the main base of this recipe.
The reason is simple: lemon is already a fairly acidic ingredient, so adding older kombucha culture can make the result too acidic.
Young and sweet kombucha makes for a more well-balanced drink where you can enjoy the sourness, tartness, and sweetness in one sip.