Mint Chocolate Yerba Maté

Mint and chocolate make such great partners, don't they? This brew was inspired by a flavor from Awaken Kombucha in Vero Beach, FL, and we made a few of our own minor adjustments. The flavor is divine: The lusciousness of chocolate mingles with the freshness of mint, creating a beautiful fizz. Yerba Maté makes a wonderful brew for this flavors for several reasons, primarily its health benefits. It comes from the leaves of the holly tree in the South American rain forest,  contains 24 vitamins and minerals, and 15 amino acids. And the taste? It's definitely interesting: bold, smokey.  It's also a very versatile tea, which makes it quite a perfect base for kombucha.

Tea Base: Organic Yerba Maté, loose leaf (4-5 Tbsp)
Second ferment ingredients (per 32 oz): 1/4 Tbsp organic cacao powder; 1/4 tbsp organic mint leaves.

Process:
Brew your kombucha to your usual tart/sweet preference. For this batch, we used Organic Yerba Maté is from Guayaki, but you can use any Yerba you prefer. Additionally, Awaken blends their Yerba with equal parts Black Tea, which you can do. For our recipe, we used Yerba Maté only.

In a bowl, measure out your cacao powder and remove the mint from the sprigs if you are using fresh mint. You can also use dry mint, if you prefer. Put the mint and cacao mixture in each 32 oz bottle (cut recipe in half if you are using 16 oz bottles). Seal well, and set aside at room temperature for a minimum of four days.

Once you refrigerate, let the bottle sit in the fridge for a full day before opening. If you can wait longer, even better! We've found that the longer a bottle sits in the fridge, the fizzier and more flavorful its contents will get.

If you're just starting your home-brewing journey, be sure to check out our selection of home-brewing essentials, including kits and scobys!