A recipe for a smoothie may seem a little unnecessary, but my main objective here is to shine a light on all the wonders that is hibiscus kombucha. I’ve been brewing kombucha for the better half of a decade now and drinking respectable quantities of straight hibiscus tea all the while, but it wasn’t until recently that I thought to ditch the traditional tea in kombucha and use hibiscus instead. The best advantages are it’s cheaper (especially when sourced from a Mexican grocery store), caffeine free and it doesn’t need additional flavorings like traditional kombucha sometimes not so gently demands. This hibiscus kombucha is good straight from the jar, saving all the hassle of secondary fermentation and costs of high quality juices.

The hibiscus kombucha + soy milk combo makes this smoothie very similar tasting to the all too familiar yogurt + apple juice ones you find at coffee shops. It’s tart and creamy while also having the same amount of protein yet a lot less sugar (depending on what stage of fermentation the kombucha is in when you use it. I use it when nearly all of the sugars have been consumed). This hibiscus kombucha smoothie also has all the probiotic benefits of yogurt but is a lot more affordable. I use the 4 pound bag of frozen berries from Costco, homemade soy milk and organic bananas and these come out to a little over $1/smoothie, whereas using store bought plant based yogurt would alone cost more than that.

This smoothie is 320 calories, 2.2g of Omega 3, 7g of protein, 6g of fat, 50% the RDA of both fiber and vitamin C, and over 20% the RDA of calcium, magnesium, iron, b12 and Vitamin A.

Hibiscus Kombucha Smoothie

makes 2 pint sized smoothies

ingredients

2 cups frozen berries

1 banana (we use them still slightly green so they have the most resistant starch)

1 cup unsweetened, plain soy milk

1 cup hibiscus kombucha

2 tbsp chia seeds

Combine all ingredients in a blender and ~blend~.

Hibiscus Kombucha

makes 1 gallon

ingredients

1/4 cup dried hibiscus flours

1 cup sugar

~14 cups of water, separated

1 cup finished kombucha and SCOBY

Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil. Remove from heat and steep the hibiscus using a strainer for 5 minutes. Remove the hibiscus and stir in the 1 cup of sugar until dissolved. Pour into a gallon jar, then add the remaining ~12 cups of water (slightly cold so that the mixture is now close to room temperature). Add the finished kombucha and SCOBY. Let brew somewhere warm and dark for 1-2 weeks depending on temperature, then start testing it.