This kombucha mocktail is a tasty non-alcoholic cocktail that's perfect for the holidays. It brings healthy kombucha together with festive cranberry juice and a bit of fiery ginger ale. For a bit of extra pizzazz, I've made some simple cranberry and rosemary ice cubes to make these mocktails extra special.
4cups(1 litre) filtered waterdivided (filtering the water is important so there’s no chlorine in it which would affect the live yeast bacterial cultures)
5tablespoonwhite sugar
2berry tea bags, you can also use standard black tea or green tea
6ozplain raw unpasturised kombucha(you can buy a bottle from a health food shop)
1scoby (see notes)
For the cranberry rosemary ice cubes
filtered water
handful of raw cranberries
sprigs of rosemary
Instructions
For the cranberry rosemary ice cubes (optional)
Pour the filtered water into an ice cube tray and add a few cranberries and a sprig of rosemary to each section. Freeze until solid.
For the mocktails
Fill glasses with the cranberry ice cubes. Add the kombucha (recipe below), cranberry juice and top up with ginger ale. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
For the kombucha
Bring half (2 cups / 500ml) of the filtered water to the boil and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Add the tea bags, remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes to brew, then add the other 500ml of cold BRITA filtered water. Stir and leave until cold.
Remove the tea bags and pour the tea into a 1L glass jar, then place the scoby into the jar (it should float near the top) and pour the kombucha in.
Leave the jar with the lid off and cover the jar with a tea towel or muslin cloth and elastic band and leave it out of direct sunlight in a warm room (20C/70F is ideal) for 7 days.
Remove the scoby. To store it, place it into a bowl covered in some of the kombucha (this will be the starter for your next batch). The rest is ready to be enjoyed! Store in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Notes
Kombucha tips
For the kombucha scoby - this is a gelatinous mass that gives kombucha it’s fizz and goodness. You can buy it online or make your own by buying a bottle of raw unpasturised kombucha, pour it into a jar with a little bit of sugar and leave it for a month to form. You can then use the scoby again and again for your homemade kombucha.
It’s important to use filtered water to remove any chlorine that could affect the scoby (I use a BRITA water filter jug)
The purpose of covering with a muslin cloth or tea towel is to keep out any fruit flies or bugs who would love a sip!
Leave your jar to ferment for a minimum of 1 week. If you can leave it a few days longer then it will get more acidic and less sweet which is great too.
Leave it with the lid off otherwise it will build up gas and could pop!
Do not leave the jar in direct sunlight.
The fermentation process is faster during hot weather.
The scoby feeds on the sugar, so don’t worry about having to add it. After a week of fermenting, most of the sugar is ‘digested’ by the scoby.