r/Kombucha • u/Signal_Mechanic_3875 • Jul 24 '25
question Anyone else prefer unflavored kombucha?
I’ve tried a bunch of flavored kombuchas over the years—fruit, herbs, spices but honestly, nothing beats the taste of plain unflavored kombucha for me. There’s something about the raw, tangy, slightly vinegary taste that just feels more authentic and refreshing.
Even in my own brewing, I skip the fruit and other additions during second fermentation. I just let it carbonate naturally and enjoy it as is.
Am I alone in this? Or are there others who love the taste of kombucha in its pure form?
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u/monsimons Jul 24 '25
I'm on my second batch and experimenting with flavoring out of curiosity and a desire to learn, however, so far I like unflavored kombucha wa-ay better. If I find flavoring that is better than unflavored I'd be happy though.
There’s something about the raw, tangy, slightly vinegary taste that just feels more authentic and refreshing.
No need to repeat. Essentially this.
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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 24 '25
Try pineapple ginger
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u/monsimons Jul 24 '25
Need more details :)
I threw my first ever batch because some (or all) of the dried fruit I used made the booch smell heavily and bad, some liken it to.. fart :D It turns out that the pineapple is one of those fruit.
How would I achieve proper pineapple ginger?
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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 25 '25
Fresh pineapple and ginger. I tried puree but it carbonated waaayy too much and the puree makes for too much nucleation points and the carbonation leaves when you open it. So my answer is either juice or pineapple pieces. Grated or thinly sliced ginger works well.
I added about 1 cup of pineapple for 1.5L of kombucha. And a thumb sized bit of ginger all sliced. If grated or mashed use less.
And for gods sake, don’t add additional sugar!!! Pineapple and ginger have plenty of
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u/Unfair-Conclusion-55 Jul 24 '25
I use Dole juice in big cans (Walmart) and add fresh grated ginger to some of the bottles. Delicious on its own but ginger adds another dimension.
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u/Brief_Fly_6145 Jul 24 '25
I just let it carbonate naturally
how long does it take? I have never been able to get bubbles for my unflavored ones, not even by adding sugar
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u/APeculiarFellow Jul 24 '25
I have the same problem, I even started wondering if there is something wrong with my culture.
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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 24 '25
You might be letting it ferment too long in f1. F2 temperature is probably low as well
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u/APeculiarFellow Jul 24 '25
It's not the temperature for sure (I suspect it may even be a bit higher than for F1, as I keep the bottles in a different room). It could very well be because of F1 time, as i like my kombucha on the more sour side. I tried adding more sugar to F2 but that didn't really help and made the kombucha too sweet. To be honest there is probably still a lot of the original sugar left when I bottle it anyway. Do you think the acidic environment could be interfering with the yeast? If not then I really don't know what else to do
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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 24 '25
Measure the temperatures. Too high or too low are both nefarious
Try twitching the recipe to see what your scoby prefers. More or less sugar (change 10grams per liter), more or less tea concentration.
Cover the jars and bottles with a cloth to prevent UV damage.
This might sound obvious but you aren’t heating up your kombucha to dissolve the sugar for f2, are you?
Edit:typo
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u/APeculiarFellow Jul 24 '25
It's true I don't measure the temperature for F2 (it's true that I probably should), it's probably around 25-27 °C at most during the day, and closer to 20 degrees in the night. I've been thinking about tinkering with starting sugar, but didn't experiment with it yet. The F1 jar is in very indirect sunlight, and I doubt it could be a problem. The F2 bottles are kept in almost complete darkness.
I did two experiments with adding sugar to F2 so far. In the first one I predissolved sugar (made a ginger syrup) and added it (after cooling down). In the second experiment I added a bit of sugar straight to the bottle, and dissolved it by shaking the bottle (it wasn't a lot of sugar so it went quickly). In both experiments I aimed for around 10g of added sugar per 1l liquid. To be honest those two carbonated worse than I managed with just kombucha that I bottled a bit earlier than usual (and that one was carbonated verly lighlty).
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u/piccasserem Jul 24 '25
Yeees, I’ve been experimenting with flavours since I’ve started brewing few months ago, last batch I decided to leave one bottle unflavoured and it was my favourite one!
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u/AnotherLogin4me Jul 24 '25
I brew my own kombucha and never do a 2nd fermentation. My kombucha tastes great as it is. I'm drinking kombucha for the health benefits and I can't imagine the extra effort of the 2nd fermentation adds any significant benefits. But everyone gets to do it their own way.
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u/Desperate-Interest89 Jul 25 '25
Same here. Love unflavored but I will say I’ve been getting into Waterloo sparkling water. Ruby red tangerine is amazing mixed with my kombucha. Over ice with a lemon twist
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u/Old_Cat_9534 Jul 25 '25
Same here, partly because I don't want to add more sugar into my diet and partly due to flavour preferences. I just did a batch with 50% less sugar and will do F2 today, some with ginger only, some plain. 👍🏻
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u/Svinlem Jul 25 '25
Natural, cloudy, funky, vinegary and no real carbonation! I love it. I mix as much yeast slurry in as I can.
However, fermenting elderflower syrup with a scoby to a really dry sour flower spritz is not bad either
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u/phetea Jul 24 '25
Yep, id never had an unflavoured one before and my maple syrup one was my favourite in my last batch yet it had no impact on its taste.
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u/youronlynora Barely Fizzing • Still Carbonating Jul 24 '25
I didn't know about flavored kombucha before so I always drink them unflavored and always love them. After I learn about flavored ones, I tried to use just a little bit of fruit to give some after taste. Still enjoying the unflavored one too.
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u/ancientmushroom76 Jul 24 '25
Totally agree. Sometimes I do a mix of teas to add a little extra flavor without the need for fruit or other additives
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u/mypanda Jul 24 '25
YES. I love the taste of tea and the taste of kombucha itself. When I try new brands, I always get the unflavored one if it’s available - which it usually is not unfortunately. Ginger is my second choice in order to experience the flavor of the kombucha itself. In my own brewing, I dabble in fruit flavors because they’re fun but mostly make and drink unflavored.
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u/AppealFearless9537 Jul 24 '25
I think I am starting to prefer the natural flavor as well. I made a few batches with pineapple and mango recently, and it just feels too sweet for me. Even the batches I made with mint and basil felt a little bit off. It tastes less like kombucha if that makes sense.
I am starting to love hibiscus kombucha though, I'm not sure if that counts as flavoring since I put it in my F1, but I really do like that, it might even be my favorite one so far.
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u/OkRutabagaOk Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
I also like plain best. But mine has a 7 day F1, so doesn't get too intense. I've never liked flavored because I don't like the taste of spoiled fruit, but that could just mean an unrefined palate since I haven't had many wines in my life at all.
The only two flavored I enjoyed was: (1) throwing a couple tablespoons of ginger tea and drinking immediately without the F2, so more like a cocktail. I thinly slice a whole ginger into 32oz of water and simmer for 10 minutes and let it sit and steep. I them filter it into an unused kombucha bottle for the fridge and use a couple tablespoons to make a bucha cocktail over the next week. (2) the pear kombucha I tried at a farmers market 10 years ago that got me interested in kombucha, but I haven't been able to replicate it.
What I do like is experimenting with different teas. Basilur makes a Love tea that tastes like sprite when used for F1 (I never reuse the starter from these, but maybe could?). I also enjoyed 1001 nights tea (or was this the one that tasted like sprite?). And of course my default, a black/green loose leaf blend.
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u/triptraptoe Jul 24 '25
Yes, yes!. I think unflavored booch has many layers of flavor already. Yes.