You're probably familiar with the meme that goes from skeptical to, "no wait - it's good", to, "oh maybe it's not", and finally to, "no, it is!" The source of this? Kombucha, a fermented tea thanks to yeast and good bacteria forming that signature, fizzy culture. Don't look so nervous. This drink has numerous gut health benefits. Pair that with your favorite mocktail flavors, and you suddenly have a Wednesday afternoon pick-me-up that makes your brain happy and your belly, too.
Cranberry Kombucha Mocktail
With so many flavors of kombucha available on the shelf, you can go big for cranberry flavors by using a cranberry kombucha or mingle a few flavors together the way this recipe calls for.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces lemon kombucha
- 2 ounces cranberry juice
- Ice
- Club soda to top off
- Lemon wheel for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, add ice, lemon kombucha, and cranberry juice.
- Top off with club soda.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel, if desired.
Tropical Kombucha Mocktail
One of the best parts of playing around with drinks is the chance to experiment with new ingredients and flavors. If nonalcoholic tequila isn't something you can find, you can easily skip it in this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic silver tequila
- 3 ounces passionfruit juice
- ¾ ounce grenadine
- Ice
- Pineapple kombucha to top off
- Lemon slice for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, nonalcoholic tequila, passionfruit juice, and grenadine.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a wine glass over fresh ice.
- Top off with pineapple kombucha.
Strawberry Kombucha Mocktail
The homemade strawberry simple syrup gives this kombucha mocktail a fresh and juicy flavor. If you want to take those strawberry flavors even further, muddle two or three before shaking them up with the ingredients. #StrawberryKombuchaFieldsForever
Ingredients
- 2 ounces strawberry simple syrup
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Honey kombucha to top off
- Lime wedge and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, strawberry simple syrup, and lime juice.
- Stir to mix.
- Top off with honey kombucha.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.
Kombucha Mule Mocktail
You can use just ginger kombucha for the ginger flavors in this mocktail, or you can split the ginger flavors with ginger beer. If you want to give the drink a refreshing mint flavor, muddle 1-3 fresh mint leaves with lime juice in the cup before adding the other ingredients. Does muddling make you die a little inside? Add up to ¾ ounce of mint simple syrup.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 2 ounces club soda
- Ice
- Ginger kombucha to top off
- Lime wedge and mint sprig for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a rocks glass or copper mug, add ice, lime juice, and club soda.
- Top off with ginger kombucha.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig, if desired.
Ginger Kombucha Mocktail
Ginger is a great stomach soother. Full stop. Remember all those ginger ales when you were sick as a kid, and now the ginger chews you find at those niche grocery stores as an adult? Ginger is the best cure-all. Okay, maybe that's not medically supported, but the placebo effect is strong with ginger. This, alongside some chicken noodle soup or just because, is an excellent drink of choice.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic spiced rum, optional
- 1½ ounces freshly-squeezed orange juice
- ¾ ounce honey syrup
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- Ice
- Ginger kombucha to top off
- Rosemary sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, orange juice, honey syrup, and lime juice.
- Top off with ginger kombucha.
- Stir to mix.
- Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Mocktail Aperol Kombucha Spritz
Nonalcoholic Aperol elevates this to a pretty comparable Aperol spritz. Don't stress if you don't have any on hand. Substitute an ounce of orange simple syrup with two to three dashes of bitters. Simple enough!
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic Aperol
- 2 ounces club soda
- 3 ounces raspberry or berry kombucha
- Ice
- Raspberry for garnish
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, add ice, nonalcoholic Aperol, club soda, and raspberry kombucha.
- Stir to mix.
- Garnish with a raspberry.
Spicy Pineapple Kombucha Mocktail
The fizzy bubbles that are a result of the fermentation in the kombucha emphasize each flavor you add. Armed with that knowledge, don't go overboard with the jalapeño. Unless you have a whole lot of antacids at the ready.
Ingredients
- 1-3 jalapeño coins
- 1½ ounces simple syrup
- 2 ounces coconut water
- 1 ounce pineapple juice
- Ice
- Pineapple kombucha to top off
- Pineapple wedge for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle jalapeño coins with simple syrup.
- Add ice, coconut water, and pineapple juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.
- Top off with pineapple kombucha.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge, if desired.
Kombucha Mocktail Mixers
Since kombucha comes in so many flavors, there's a long list of ingredients that a kombucha mocktail can include. These aren't all the options, but they'll certainly get you going on your kombucha mocktail journey.
- Cranberry juice
- Pineapple juice
- Orange juice
- Lemon juice
- Lime juice
- Lemon-lime soda
- Plain club soda
- Flavored club soda
- Coconut water
- Ginger beer
- Simple syrup
- Bitters
- Nonalcoholic liquors such as rum, tequila, vodka, whiskey, and orange liqueur
- Freshly muddled ingredients such as berries, citrus fruits, mint, and jalapeños
- Apple cider
- Sparkling white grape juice
- Apple juice
Boogie Your Way to the Kitchen for Kombucha Mocktails
Crack open a bottle of kombucha, and welcome that fizzing sound into your home- only this time in the form of a mocktail. Whether you whip one up to go with breakfast, sip one in bed as you decide what to watch on TV, or serve up several for a party, each will surprise and delight with sip after sip.
