Coffee Kombucha
Coffee kombucha is a unique and refreshing twist on traditional kombucha, infused with the rich and bold flavors of fresh coffee. This recipe is made from fresh coffee and also features a coffee kombucha tiramisu.
Coffee kombucha is an acquired taste, especially for those in the Western world who are not accustomed to the combination of sour and bitter flavors. This unique beverage offers a distinctive experience that may be surprising at first taste. Its bold and unconventional blend of flavors will leave a lasting impression on those willing to explore new taste sensations.
This kombucha flavor blends the familiar with the unexpected. It combines the tartness of kombucha with the bitterness of espresso, resulting in a bold, refreshing drink.
While we are not regular drinkers of coffee kombucha, we adore it in culinary applications. It’s a perfect complement to the Italian dessert tiramisu. The tangy and bitter notes of kombucha add a unique twist to the traditional recipe, providing a refreshing kick to the sweetness and richness of the mascarpone and cocoa. See the full recipe for coffee kombucha tiramisu below.
Looking for more kombucha flavor ideas? Check out our favorites:
- Apple Kombucha (With Fresh Apples And Apple Juice)
- Ginger Kombucha
- Blueberry jam and lavender
- Passion Fruit Kombucha
- Sage kombucha
- Watermelon Mint Kombucha
Table of Contents
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is a carbonated fermented drink that has gained popularity in recent years. It’s made by fermenting black or green tea with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). This SCOBY, often called a “kombucha mushroom,” consumes the sugar in the tea and produces a tangy and fizzy beverage.
Kombucha can be flavored with fruit, herbs, and vegetables.
This fermented drink got its name from a Doctor named Kombu who brought it from China to Japan (Coelho et al., 2020).
What does coffee kombucha taste like?
Sour and bitter flavors are rarely found simultaneously in Western cuisine, making coffee kombucha a unique drink. Even the scent of coffee kombucha is a distinctive sensation, as the initial sourness is quickly layered by the aromatic bitterness of coffee. The light carbonation of kombucha adds a gentle fizz to the drink, making it more refreshing.
Can you make coffee kombucha from coffee grinds?
In principle, coffee kombucha can be made from ground coffee and coffee grinds. However, making coffee from used coffee grinds requires careful attention to hygiene and fermentation conditions to minimize the risk of mold. Because the grinds contain moisture and have been exposed to oxygen, they are more likely to attract mold, leading the entire kombucha batch to go bad. Therefore, using ground coffee is generally a safer and more reliable option for making coffee kombucha.
Equipment for making kombucha
- Brewing vessel – You’ll need a glass jar, preferably with a wide mouth. Plastic can leach chemicals into the tea and harm the SCOBY. Opt for a 4-liter (one-gallon) large jar.
- SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and kombucha liquid – You can get it online, from a friend brewing kombucha, or perhaps in a cafe/restaurant that brews kombucha.
- Breathable cloth – You need to cover the jar during fermentation to keep flies and dust from getting in. Cotton or muslin cloth both work well.
- Rubber band – To secure the cloth to the jar.
- Fine mesh strainer – This will help to strain the coffee and tea in the bottling process.
- Bottles – For flavoring kombucha and storing the finished kombucha tea. Use fermentation-grade bottles with swing caps, that are specifically made for brewing beer, kombucha, and other fermented drinks. Avoid decorative glass bottles with swing caps that are not meant to hold carbonated and fermented drinks, as they are made from thin glass, that can explode once you’ve bottled kombucha.
- Funnel – For transferring the kombucha and coffee to bottles.
How to make coffee kombucha
This recipe is for 2 liters or half a quart of coffee kombucha. First, boil 500 grams of water (2 cups) and pour over 200 grams of fresh coffee grinds. Let infuse for an hour.
Sweeten the coffee with 80 grams of sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Through a fine mesh strainer, strain the coffee liquid into a 2-liter (half-a-gallon) large jar. Add 1300 grams of cold water and 200 ml of kombucha liquid.
Add the SCOBY mother and cover it with a breathable cloth, securing it with a rubber band.
Place the kombucha in a dark spot, like a cupboard, or a room with little light. Let brew for 5 to 10 days.
Start tasting the kombucha after 5 days. Once you are happy with the level of tartness, you can drink and bottle the kombucha. When bottling kombucha, use fermentation-grade bottles with swing caps. Add a teaspoon of sugar or honey and top off with coffee kombucha, leaving five centimeters, or two inches, on the top empty.
If you let the bottled kombucha on the counter for another day or two, it will develop more bubbles. Since we added a bit of sugar, it won’t necessarily become much more sour, because we added it a little bit of sugar.
This recipe is adapted from Noma’s guide to fermentation.
Coffee kombucha tiramisu recipe
Ingredients
The ingredients below are for a 23 cm X 17 cm sized tray.
- 200 grams (1 cup) of coffee kombucha
- 200 grams (1 cup) of strong coffee
- 60 grams (4 tablespoons) of sugar
- 250 grams of whipping cream (double cream)
- 500 grams (2 cups) of mascarpone
- 200 grams lady’s fingers
- 60 grams (2 tablespoons) of dark cacao
How to make coffee kombucha tramisu
In a medium bowl combine the kombucha and strong coffee with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
Whip the cream with two teaspoons of sugar. When medium peaks form and the cream holds its shape pretty well, add in a tablespoon of mascarpone and whip until incorporated. Continue this process adding in the mascarpone one tablespoon at a time.
Immerse the ladyfingers in the coffee and kombucha blend, with a swift dip that fully submerges the cookie. The aim is to avoid thorough soaking, creating a textural contrast to the cream and adding a slight firmness to each bite.
Place a layer of soaked ladyfingers on the bottom of the tray, followed by a layer of cream. Repeat with another round of both layers.
Set in the fridge for at least two hours.
Using a fine dust strainer, dust with a thick layer of dark cocoa. Enjoy immediately.
Store any leftovers in the fridge, covered with cling foil to keep the moisture in.
The tiramisu will taste best the next day. The flavor will continue to evolve due to the slow fermentation process. Therefore, this coffee kombucha tiramisu should be consumed within three days.
Watch the Coffee kombucha and tiramisu video
Similar recipes
Coffee kombucha
Equipment
- 1 Wide-mouth jar 4-liter (one-gallon) large jar
- 1 Breathable cloth
- 1 Rubber band
- 1 Fine mesh strainer
- 2 fermentation-grade bottles with swing caps
- 1 Funnel
Ingredients
- 200 grams ground coffee
- 80 grams sugar
- 200 ml kombucha liquid
- 1 SCOBY
- 1800 ml water
Instructions
Make the coffee
- This recipe is for 2 liters (half a gallon) of coffee kombucha. First, boil 500 grams of water (2 cups).
- Place 200 grams of ground coffee into a heat proof dish, or a cooking pot.
- Pour the boiled water over the coffee, stir, and let infuse for 1 hour. Longer infusion is fine as well.
- Sweeten the coffee with 80 grams of sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Make the coffee kombucha
- Sterilize the brewing vessel, by pouring in clear or apple cider vinegar and shaking it. Discard the vinegar and pour in the water, shaking the vessel to get rid of the vinegar smell.
- Through a fine mesh strainer, strain the coffee liquid into a 2-liter (half-a-gallon) large jar.
- Add 1300 grams of cold water and 200 ml of kombucha liquid.
- Add the SCOBY mother and cover it with a breathable cloth, securing it with a rubber band.
- Place the kombucha in a dark spot, like a cupboard, or a room with little light. Let brew for 5-10 days.
Bottle the kombucha
- Start tasting the kombucha after 5 days. When you are happy with the level of tartness, drink ,and bottle the kombucha.
- When bottling kombucha, use fermentation-grade bottles with swing caps. Add a teaspoon of sugar or honey and top off with coffee kombucha, leaving five centimeters, or two inches, on the top empty.
- If you let the bottled kombucha on the counter for another day or two, it will develop more bubbles. Since we added a bit of sugar, it won't necessarily become much more sour, because we added it a little bit of sugar.
I had so much fun creating this recipe and sharing it with you! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts – please leave a comment and a star rating to let me know how it turned out! Your feedback not only makes my day but also helps other readers decide if they want to make it too. Happy fermenting!
I followed the recipe exactly as written, using 200 g of ground coffee and 500 ml of water. After one hour of steeping and straining through a fine mesh strainer, I was left with almost no liquid because the coffee grounds absorbed most of the water. There was not enough coffee left to realistically continue the recipe. Unless a specific brewing method (such as a French press or pressing/squeezing the grounds) was intended, the proportions appear to be incorrect or an important step is missing from the instructions.
Unfortunately, I ended up wasting 200 g of coffee…
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. I’m really sorry this happened, especially after using so much coffee. You’re right that the instructions weren’t clear enough. The recipe should specify that the coffee grounds need to be pressed firmly after steeping to recover the concentrated coffee before continuing (I use a French press). I’ll update the recipe to make that step much clearer for future readers. Thank you again for pointing this out, and I’m sorry your first attempt resulted in wasted coffee.