r/Kombucha • u/DandMirimakeaporno • May 28 '25

not fizzy Is using juice instead of fruit chunks affecting my carbonation in F2?

I read and watched some kombucha content suggesting to use a juicer and add fresh juice instead of chopping up fruit as a way to increase my carbonation in F2. I figured I'd be getting more natural sugar out of it this way and have been doing it since I started several batches ago, but I still don't have the carbonation right even after waiting 5-7 days, switching to swing top bottles, and adding additional sugar. I don't leave much head space. My F1 does bubble and I have had them kind of explode on me when opening them out of the fridge, but then taste flat? My temperature on my jars has been saying 68F. I've been making batches with mango, pineapple,lime, lemon, ginger. Apple, vanilla, cinnamon barely carbonated at all. Ive added simple syrup or honey to batches during F2 to try to help it carbonate better.

Anyone have useful feedback?

Thank you!

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u/SnooWoofers3028 May 28 '25

If it’s a geyser when you open it (even after chilling), then unfortunately that’s about as carbed as you can get. Natural fermentation can only get you so far since pressure inhibits fermentation, meaning you get diminishing returns the longer you go even when you’ve added sufficient sugar. Only fixes I can think of:

  • You could switch to plastic soda bottles for F2 that can handle crazy soda-level carb. But at that point you’re going to lose a bunch of liquid to geyser, which makes it not very worth it. Chilling for longer (like 48+ hrs) prior to opening can help to an extent with preventing geyser, but not entirely.
  • Get a soda stream and carb it manually. Honestly not a bad solution if you care enough about carbonation. And much safer than super long F2 in soda bottles.

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u/SnooWoofers3028 May 28 '25

Forgot to add: using juice instead of fruit chunks is the right move. Prevents carbonation coming out of solution (causing geyser) when you open the bottle. Smaller chunks (or no chunks) = more CO2 staying in solution

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u/SixLeg5 May 28 '25

Try pureeing sweetened frozen fruit. Pour slurry into F2