Production of Kombucha with NZ Honeydew Honey
type: CreativeWork
description: Kombucha is a fermented tea drink using a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) which is receiving increased research and development interest due to its increasing popularity, large market share in the beverage industry and numerous beneficial health claims. Typical kombucha utilises green or black teas as the base media with sucrose as the substrate for fermentation. In this study, a novel kombucha beverage utilising Tie Guan Yin (TGY), a Chinese oolong tea, and honeydew honey as a substrate for fermentation was developed. 2L of tea sweetened with 150g of honeydew honey was fermented using 50g of SCOBY at ambient temperature (20-25°C). TGY tea was selected for its complex aroma and flavour profile as well as the lack literature documenting the use of oolong teas for producing kombucha. Honeydew honey was selected for its high antioxidant activity, amino acid content and presence of oligosaccharide sugars. The titratable acidity and concentration of kombucha’s primary metabolites were assessed over the course of the fermentation period. The titratable acidity of the honey kombucha increased from 0.016 ± 0.003% acetic acid equivalent (ACE) on day 0, to 0.599 ± 0.0582% ACE after 14 days of fermentation. This was significantly higher than the titratable acidity from kombucha made from sucrose which increased from 0.011±0.007% ACE on day 0, to 0.199 ± 0.087% ACE after 14 days. This indicated that honeydew honey can accelerate the kombucha fermentation process when compared to sucrose as the substrate. The primary kombucha metabolites consist of ethanol, acetic acid and gluconic acid. The concentration of these compounds increased with fermentation time and reached (in g/L kombucha) 1.325±0.469, 4.191±0.828, 4.890±1.256 for ethanol, acetic acid and gluconic acid respectively after 14 days of fermentation. In the case of ethanol, the concentration was below the 0.5% ABV threshold set by the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries, which allows the kombucha t…
abstract: Kombucha is a fermented tea drink using a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) which is receiving increased research and development interest due to its increasing popularity, large market share in the beverage industry and numerous beneficial health claims. Typical kombucha utilises green or black teas as the base media with sucrose as the substrate for fermentation. In this study, a novel kombucha beverage utilising Tie Guan Yin (TGY), a Chinese oolong tea, and honeydew honey as a substrate for fermentation was developed. 2L of tea sweetened with 150g of honeydew honey was fermented using 50g of SCOBY at ambient temperature (20-25°C). TGY tea was selected for its complex aroma and flavour profile as well as the lack literature documenting the use of oolong teas for producing kombucha. Honeydew honey was selected for its high antioxidant activity, amino acid content and presence of oligosaccharide sugars. The titratable acidity and concentration of kombucha’s primary metabolites were assessed over the course of the fermentation period. The titratable acidity of the honey kombucha increased from 0.016 ± 0.003% acetic acid equivalent (ACE) on day 0, to 0.599 ± 0.0582% ACE after 14 days of fermentation. This was significantly higher than the titratable acidity from kombucha made from sucrose which increased from 0.011±0.007% ACE on day 0, to 0.199 ± 0.087% ACE after 14 days. This indicated that honeydew honey can accelerate the kombucha fermentation process when compared to sucrose as the substrate. The primary kombucha metabolites consist of ethanol, acetic acid and gluconic acid. The concentration of these compounds increased with fermentation time and reached (in g/L kombucha) 1.325±0.469, 4.191±0.828, 4.890±1.256 for ethanol, acetic acid and gluconic acid respectively after 14 days of fermentation. In the case of ethanol, the concentration was below the 0.5% ABV threshold set by the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries, which allows the kombucha t…
author: Quach, Edward
keywords: Kombucha, Honeydew honey, Oligosaccharides, Titratable acidity, Antioxidant activity, Total phenolic content, Amino acids, Kombucha metagenomics, Carbohydrates, Organic acids, Tie guan yin, Ethanol; Gluconic acid; Colour
date published: 2020
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:45:59Z
provider: AUT University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: AUT University