Mangosteen Kombucha Tea
Mangosteens are in season in Vietnam and I’m feeling so lucky! One of my favourite tropical fruit. There is nothing like opening up a mangosteen to find perfect white sweet segments (actually, opening up a perfect avocado could induce the same feelings for me!) You can find them grown in Australia around December to April. This mangosteen kombucha is fragrant and delicious and not overly sweet as you would get with other tropical fruit like lychees.
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| Mangosteen Kombucha Tea |
I really recommend waiting until mangosteens are in season so you will be getting the best quality ones and at the cheapest price. You don’t want to be opening the mangosteens and finding the yellow resin or brown spots all over the beautiful white flesh, it will taste quite bitter rather than sweet and fragrant.
To choose the best mangosteens, give the outer shell a squeeze, it should give like a just ripe avocado. Stay clear of the really hard mangosteens that do not give or have a lot of yellow resin on the outside. The skin should also be nice and glossy.
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| Choose a mangosteen like you would an avocado. Look for glossy skin and a slight give when you squeeze it |
With each mangosteen there will be about 2-3 segments that contain a big hard seed, you can eat it or spit it out (I actually eat the whole segment, seeds and all unless the seed is too big). A fun trick to work out how many segments the mangosteen will have is to look at the bottom of the mangosteen and count the number of petals, they represent how many segments are inside.
You will need to have some already fermented kombucha tea for this recipe. If you haven’t started brewing kombucha yet, you can learn how to here including how to order a kombucha scoby. The best time to bottle your kombucha, is when it is still slightly sweet and tangy. If you happen to miss this window, just add 1 tsp of organic sugar. Most of the sugar will be consumed during the second fermentation process so you don’t need to worry. It will also help make your kombucha fizzier like soda.
MANGOSTEEN KOMBUCHA TEA
Makes 1 litre bottle
You will need
- 10 mangosteens
- approximately 800mls of already fermented kombucha tea (see here for more info)
- 1 litre flip top glass bottle (or recycled screw top would work)
- 1 tsp raw organic sugar (buy on iherb or amazon) (optional – only if your kombucha tea is more on the sour side)
Method:
- Clean bottle with hot water and vinegar
- If your tap water is not reliable, boil some bottled water and swish about 100mls of the hot boiled water in the bottle with the lid on
- Allow the bottle to cool completely
- open the mangosteens and take out the segments with a fork, push them into the bottle seeds and all (avoid using the really big ones, eat them instead as it will be hard to remove them from the bottle later)
- remove 1/2 cup of already fermented tea and set aside with the scoby’s for your next batch
- using a strainer to catch any stringy bits, pour your already fermented kombucha tea into the bottle leaving about 5cm from the top (this is important to allow the gas to expand, leave 8cm if its warm where you live. About 28°C / 82°F or above – this will reduce chances of exploding bottles!)
- allow 4-6 days for the second fermentation. It may take longer if it’s cold where you live. I test it by opening the lid to see how much gas is released, I like it best when it’s nice and gassy like a shaken can of soda.
- refrigerate once opened or burp every couple of days to release any gas buildup
- you can also check out some more second fermentation ideas on my recipes page
- hope you enjoy! xx May
Mangosteen Kombucha Tea
Serves: 1 LITRE
Ingredients
- 10 mangosteens
- approximately 800mls of already fermented kombucha tea (see here for more info)
- 1 litre flip top glass bottle (or recycled screw top would work)
- 1 tsp raw organic sugar (buy on iherb or amazon) (optional - only if your kombucha tea is more on the sour side)
Instructions
- Clean bottle with hot water and vinegar
- If your tap water is not reliable, boil some bottled water and swish about 100mls of the hot boiled water in the bottle with the lid on
- Allow the bottle to cool completely
- open the mangosteens and take out the segments with a fork, push them into the bottle seeds and all (avoid using the really big ones, eat them instead as it will be hard to remove them from the bottle later)
- remove ½ cup of already fermented tea and set aside with the scoby's for your next batch
- using a strainer to catch any stringy bits, pour your already fermented kombucha tea into the bottle leaving about 5cm from the top (this is important to allow the gas to expand, leave 8cm if its warm where you live. About 28°C / 82°F or above - this will reduce chances of exploding bottles!)
- allow 4-6 days for the second fermentation. It may take longer if it's cold where you live. I test it by opening the lid to see how much gas is released, I like it best when it's nice and gassy like a shaken can of soda.
- refrigerate once opened or burp every couple of days to release any gas buildup
- you can also check out some more second fermentation ideas on my recipes page
- hope you enjoy! xx May
