Effects of Flavoured Tea on the Products of Kombucha Fermentation



Authors:
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Abstract:
Kombucha, a beverage fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), has been traditionally consumed by Asian and Eastern European cultures for centuries. As consumer demand for kombucha grows in North America, there is a need to control, predict, and optimize the fermentation process. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the tea variety used in the sweet-tea substrate on the development of organic acids and ethanol in the final product. The presence of essential oils and reduced caffeine levels in lavender pomegranate green tea has been anecdotally observed to affect the SCOBY metabolism and growth rate detrimentally. The fermentation of black and lavender pomegranate green tea (1.5 g/L) and sucrose (70 g/L), acidified with vinegar (1% v/v), was monitored. The experiment measured the temperature, pH, and total acidity of the tea each day, as well as the change in biomass weight over the fermentation period. There was no significant difference in the titratable acidity and pH between the two teas used, but the black tea yielded a noticeably higher biomass growth rate. Further research is being conducted to track the change in the concentration of carbohydrates and ethanol to determine the impact of differing biomass yield on the products of kombucha fermentation.

Keywords: kombucha, scoby, bioreactor, fermented beverages, green tea



Country: Canada

Citation: Written for presentation at theCSBE/SCGAB 2013 Annual ConferenceUniversity of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan7-10 July 2013

Study Mailing Address:
School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1.

Date Updated: January 13, 2021

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