Some flavours are for sunny afternoons. This one is for jumpers, Sunday walks and pretending you don't mind the clocks going back. You do mind. Everyone minds. It's dark at four o'clock and we all just accept it.
Apple and cinnamon tastes like apple crumble decided to sort its life out. Cosy, warming and still fizzy. It's a hug in a bottle, from someone who's been to therapy.
Quick look
Makes: about 1 litre (two 500ml bottles)
Second ferment: 2 to 3 days
Skill level: beginner. Bobble hat optional.
What you need
Apples, cinnamon and cloudy juice. Autumn, basically, minus the leaf blowers.
- About 850ml of finished plain kombucha from your first ferment
- 100ml of cloudy apple juice, or 1 eating apple, grated
- 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
- A thin slice of fresh ginger (optional)
- Two 500ml swing-top bottles
No first ferment yet? Start with my guide to how to make kombucha at home.
How to make it
- Pour 50ml of apple juice into each bottle, or split the grated apple between them.
- Add half a cinnamon stick to each, plus the ginger if you're using it. Snapping a cinnamon stick is deeply satisfying. Like bubble wrap for people who own candles.
- Top up with kombucha, leaving a 2 to 3cm gap at the top.
- Seal and leave at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Burp once a day over the sink.
- Fridge it when it's fizzy enough, then strain to serve.
Kev's tips
Use cinnamon sticks, not ground cinnamon. The powder goes gloopy and sits at the bottom like silt. Nobody wants to drink a riverbed.
Cloudy juice beats clear. More flavour, more body, and it looks the part.
Try a pear instead of the apple. Pear and cinnamon is just as good, and a bit more unexpected. Like finding a tenner in last year's coat.
What it tastes like
Crisp apple, gentle warmth from the cinnamon, and a tangy fizz that keeps it from being too sweet. It's lovely cold, and it's great with a cheese board.
Pour it into a tumbler, light a candle and watch a film where someone falls in love in a bookshop. You've earned it. Hugh Grant would approve, in a stammery sort of way.
Can't be bothered?
Totally understandable. It's cold out. Stay on the sofa.
Both are in our raw kombucha range, along with 60 or so others.
Before you start
Use strong, pressure-rated bottles, burp them daily and get them in the fridge on time. My guide to kombucha second fermentation covers the safety bits properly, including how to keep the alcohol low.
If anything looks fuzzy or smells wrong, bin it. And homemade kombucha isn't one for pregnant women, young children or anyone who needs to avoid alcohol completely.
Try another flavour
Going full festive? Try my cranberry and orange kombucha for Christmas, or keep the warmth going with ginger.
