This kombucha sangria recipe is a perfect sipper on a hot summer day.

This season is perfect for finding fresh berries & rhubarb at the market so I’m taking full advantage of both fresh fruits in this recipe.

Combining my love for kombucha and summer sangria recipes, I created this Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria for all of your summer sipping needs! First, start off by making an easy, homemade rhubarb simple syrup which packs a nice tart and sweet flavour. Then add in berry kombucha and fresh strawberries to kick up that berry flavour. The limes help bring all of the flavours to life in this bright and cheery sangria! And of course a little mint garnish and rhubarb stalk is the perfect finishing touch to this fun drink.

So, what is kombucha? It’s a ‘bubbly fermented drink’ that is full of many probiotics and enzymes that are good for gut health. And, a bottle of kombucha is one of my go-to drinks! I really enjoy sipping on a kombucha in the afternoon or on a hot day.

Why you’ll love this berry rhubarb kombucha sangria

• This Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria is a little tart and a little sweet for the perfect summer sip.
• Easily made into an alcohol-free option by using a non-alcoholic rosé.
• If you love traditional sangria, you’ll love this summery version!
• Make sure you use refreshing, cold kombucha in this sangria recipe.

Ingredients needed for this kombucha sangria

Kombucha: you’ll need two bottles of kombucha, specifically berry kombucha, approximately 3 cups or 24oz total

Rhubarb: rhubarb along with sugar and water is used to make an outstanding simple syrup as the base of this sangria

Strawberries: fresh strawberries are a must in this kombucha sangria

Lime: fresh lime slices add a tartness and brightness to this kombucha sangria

Rosé: I love the addition of rosé to this sangria; a dry rosé works best for a light and refreshing sangria and pairs well with the rhubarb simple syrup.

How to make sangria

Step 1: Make the rhubarb simple syrup by adding 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and 2 cups chopped rhubarb into a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: Set a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer so most of the liquid is in the bowl. *Note: save the rhubarb solids that are strained out as it tastes just like a jam and is delicious on yogurt, oats or toast**

Step 3: In a large pitcher mix kombucha, rosé and rhubarb simple syrup. At this step you could refrigerate and add the fruit (strawberries, rhubarb, limes) just before serving.

Step 4: Pour sangria into ice-filled glasses, garnish the top of each glass with fresh mint and an optional rhubarb slice. Sip & enjoy!

Expert tips

• Make the rhubarb simple syrup ahead of time. The simple syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• This can be made into a non-alcoholic sangria too! Just substitute the rosé with another bottle of kombucha or non-alcoholic rosé and add some sparkling water to your tastes if desired.
• Kombucha is readily available at your local grocery store or health food stores. It’s a great option to use in sangria instead of fruit juice.
• Freeze the strawberries or use frozen strawberries to keep the kombucha sangria cool for longer!

common questions

Can I use a different flavour of kombucha?
I highly recommend using a kombucha with berry flavours as this goes best with the other ingredients in this fun cocktail recipe. You can use any type of berry flavour you like – mixed berry, raspberry or strawberry!

What type of rosé should I use?
A dry rosé works best for a light and refreshing sangria and pairs well with the rhubarb simple syrup.

Can I make this ahead of time?
I recommend making the rhubarb simple syrup ahead of time.  Then just put the rest of the sangria together before serving – if you let the bubbly kombucha sit in the fridge for too long it will loose its fizzy nature.

how to store this kombucha sangria

This kombucha sangria is best enjoyed as soon as it’s made! You can make this ahead of time and then add the kombucha just before serving so that the drink stays fizzy.

more summer cocktails to love from the blog

Strawberry Lemonade Rosé Punch

The Best Peach Basil Wine Spritzer (White Wine)

The Best Sparkling Blackberry Vodka Drinks Recipe

Print

Summer Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria (with rosé)

This Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria is a bright and cheerful sip for the summer! With berries, rhubarb, kombucha & rosé, it's summer in a cup!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword kombucha, rose, sangria

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6 -8 people

Author Jess

Ingredients

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups chopped rhubarb approx. 1 inch pieces

Sangria

• 2 355mL bottles of True Büch Very Berry Kombucha
• 1 bottle rosé
• 2 cups halved strawberries
• 1 cup chopped rhubarb approx. 1 inch pieces
• 1 lime, sliced into rounds
• mint for garnish
• small rhubarb stalks for garnish

Instructions

• Make the rhubarb simple syrup by adding 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and 2 cups chopped rhubarb into a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Set a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer so most of the liquid is in the bowl. *Note: save the rhubarb solids that are strained out as it tastes just like a jam and is delicious on yogurt, oats or toast**
  
• In a pitcher mix kombucha, rosé and rhubarb simple syrup. At this step you could refrigerate and add the fruit (strawberries, rhubarb, limes) just before serving.
  
• Pour sangria into ice-filled glasses, garnish with mint and optional rhubarb slice. Sip & enjoy!
  

Notes

• This can be made into a non-alcoholic sangria too! Just substitute the rosé with another bottle of kombucha, non-alcoholic rosé and add some sparkling water to your tastes if desired.
• Make the rhubarb simple syrup ahead of time. The simple syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Freeze the strawberries or use frozen strawberries to keep the kombucha sangria cool for longer!

The post Summer Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria (with rosé) appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

A festive, non-alcoholic drink you can enjoy all season long.

And, the True Büch Vanilla Chai Kombucha brings it up a notch with its cinnamon spice that’s perfect for the Winter season!

I love a good Winter cocktail and this drink is no exception.

With hints of vanilla and chai, cardamom and ginger, True Büch’s Vanilla Chai Kombucha is the perfect base for this drink! I added warming flavours like cinnamon sticks and mixed in fruits of the season like oranges and pears too.

This punch is not only a feast for the eyes but the tastebuds too! I might even say it’s like Christmas in a cup.

Print

Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch

This Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch is full of seasonal flavours like vanilla and chai paired with fresh fruits! It’s a festive, non-alcoholic drink you can enjoy all season long.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword kombucha, kombucha cocktail, mocktail, non-alcoholic

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Jess

Equipment

• large pitcher

Ingredients

• 4 355mL bottles of Vanilla Chai True Büch Kombucha
• 1 pear, chopped or sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 orange, sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Sugared Rosemary Garnish

• 4-6 rosemary stems (cut to fit nicely as a glass garnish)
• sugar
• water

Instructions

• In a large pitcher mix together kombucha, pear slices, cranberries, orange slices and cinnamon sticks. Let sit for a half hour before serving.
• To make the garnish, rinse rosemary sprigs in water, shake to get excess water off and then roll through the sugar to coat – do this for each piece of rosemary and then set aside.
• Want to make this a cocktail? Add a splash of prosecco or champagne to each glass.

I really enjoy using True Büch Kombucha for non-alcoholic drinks like this punch because it brings a wealth of flavour AND it’s chocked full of many probiotics and enzymes that are good for your digestive system.

You might remember I used True Büch’s Ginger Kombucha in my Kombucha Cranberry Bourbon Smash too.

I created this drink so that everyone can enjoy a festive sip during the holiday season.

Cook’s Tip: Use frozen cranberries in this punch to keep it cool!

But, if you want to add more of a sparkle to this punch you can top with some champagne or prosecco to make it a cocktail!

So, let’s cheers to the season friends!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

DISCLAIMER: THANK YOU TO TRUE BÜCH KOMBUCHA FOR SPONSORING THIS POST.  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE BRANDS THAT I SUPPORT. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

The post Winter Spiced Kombucha Punch appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Using some of my favourite flavours of the season like cranberries and True Büch ginger kombucha, this bourbon cocktail is a lovely combination of Fall flavours.

I love a Fall cocktail and this one doesn’t disappoint!

True Büch Kombucha has become one of my favourite ingredients to use in cocktails.

So, what is kombucha? It’s a ‘bubbly fermented tea elixir’ that is full of many probiotics and enzymes that are good for your digestive system. And, kombucha is one of my go-to drinks!

You might remember I first used True Büch Kombucha in my summery Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria. It’s one of my favourite local sips and I love to support Calgary businesses so we partnered on this new seasonal cocktail too!

In this Fall cocktail I use their Ginger flavour which brings all of the ingredients together plus a sparkling fizz.

The cranberries are smashed with honey for the perfect tart and sweet flavour combination. Then we shake it up with bourbon, one of my favourite spirits.

I used my favourite Bulleit Bourbon because of it’s notes of vanilla, apple and sweet spice. Those bourbon flavours complement the ingredients perfectly and make it a very smooth sip.

Topping the cocktail with the ginger kombucha and a sprig of thyme for that lovely festive touch.

Print

Kombucha Cranberry Bourbon Smash

This cranberry bourbon cocktail with ginger kombucha and a touch of honey is the ideal Fall cocktail. A bit sweet and a bit tart, all of the flavours come together for a refreshing sip that’s perfect for Fall & Winter gatherings!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword bourbon cocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1 cocktail

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 10-12 frozen cranberries Just defrost the frozen cranberries first by rinsing under cold water until defrosted.
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 oz bourbon
• 4 oz ginger kombucha
• splash of cranberry juice
• thyme sprigs for garnish

Instructions

• In a mason jar or cocktail shaker, add the cranberries and honey. Smash together with a muddler, wooden spoon or fork until the cranberries release their juices.
• Add bourbon and shake well a couple of times until combined.
• Pour into a glass and top with ginger kombucha and a splash of cranberry juice for that rosy colour.
• Garnish with thyme sprig and enjoy!

Notes

**If you don't have fresh cranberries, you can use frozen. Just defrost the frozen cranberries first by rinsing under cold water until defrosted.

If you’ve been wanting to try a bourbon cocktail but have been unsure, I think this is the one for you! The honey adds a warming sweetness to the cocktail and the ginger kombucha keeps it nice and refreshing. It might just be Fall cocktail perfection in my books!

Cheers to the season friends!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

Disclaimer: Thank you to True Büch Kombucha for sponsoring this post.  Thank you for supporting the brands that I support. All opinions are my own.

The post Kombucha Cranberry Bourbon Smash appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I recently returned from a road trip with my husband where our last stop was the lovely city of Portland for their signature food event, Feast Portland!

Feast Portland is ‘a food and drink festival that celebrates everything that makes Portland and Oregon awesome.’ What I also LOVE about this festival is that there is a charitable component to it, raising funds for Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon.

We had been to Feast Portland a couple years ago but only attended one event so this time we went back with much bigger appetites!This year Feast Portland featured 134 chefs, 31 wineries, 15 breweries, 11 artisans, and 12 distilleries and we started off our experience with the Sandwich Invitational!

With 19 Chefs presenting their spin on a sandwich, we tried a delicious array of creations!

My personal favourite (and eventual winner of the night) was Lardo’s ‘Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Sandwich;’ with bacon, honey butter, sweet pickles and mayo, it hit all the spicy-sweet notes that I love!

My husband Scott loved both the Nashville Chicken AND the ‘Rib Biscuit’ from Chef Kate McMillen of the Portland restaurant Lauretta Jean’s.

The Sandwich Invitational was a great way to kick-off our Feast Portland experience on Thursday evening.

On Friday I had the pleasure of attending the media breakfast at Hotel deLuxe where I got to connect with other local and visiting media and bloggers, meeting Erica from the blog Bacon and Braids and a Canadian transplant to Portland, Lisa from the blog This Beautiful Day.

Then, I joined other media and bloggers for Health-Ade‘s Kombucha workshop which I was super pumped about since I love drinking kombucha and now I have my very own kit to make it! (thanks Health-Ade!)

Friday was a beautiful day so I went over to the Grand Tasting, where I was able to taste the afternoon away and chat with ‘chefs, vintners, brewers, bakers, cheesemakers and food artisans from the Northwest and across the country.’

Oregon Berries was one of my favourite stops of the afternoon, with a sweet and savoury dish to taste plus a ‘foodie photo booth,’ I was in food blogger heaven!

First I tried their savoury dish, Hand-pulled mozzarella, black raspberry pureé, pickled peppers with prosciutto cracklings, which was a perfect balance of salty and a bit of sweet.

Then I savoured their Boysenberry Crisp Concrete, a frozen treat with a ton of boysenberry flavour and topped with a wonderfully sweet crisp!

What was really neat about the Grand Tasting is they had Chefs cooking live throughout the day as well as Chef interviews; I was able to catch Christina Tosi, the founding Chef from the famous Milk Bar.

The day continued with a stop at the Drink Tank, where there was a much smaller gathering of attendees and an expert panel.

I attended ‘Pilsners: So Fresh and So Clean,’ and given I actually don’t know much about the beer world, I really enjoyed learning from the expert panel. And of course, tasting local beers! Now when I go back to Portland I know of some great beers to try.

Friday night we headed to the Night Market for a taste of Latin America and Spain.

Situated by the Willamette River, we had a glorious time under the stars, with upbeat music by a live DJ, tasting a ton of delicious food.

My favourite bites of the night were:

Albacore Tuna Tostadas from Chef Enrique Sanchez-Rodriguez at Local Ocean Seafoods restaurant

Prawns and Mango Ceviche from Chef Dustin Koerner at Andina

We closed out Friday with a pretty gorgeous Portland view.

Needless to say by Saturday I was getting pretty full, ha! But nothing could stop us now. We headed to a Hand’s On Class from Bon Appétit magazine, ‘Inside the Test Kitchen.’ First of all, I absolutely LOVED the venue! Upon walking in there were so many neat elements up on the walls and given I plan events for a living, all I could think about is I wish I could plan an event here!

This Hands-On class was really neat because our hosts took us through their process of how dishes are created in the Bon Appétit test kitchen. We tasted two dishes, Whole Grain Pancakes and Olive Oil Cake, that they started off with in the Test Kitchen; then they took us through the steps and stories along the way to get to what they decided was the final recipe to be published.

As an avid reader of Bon Appétit magazine, I really enjoyed hearing all of the behind-the-scene stories from our two hosts, the Test Kitchen Manager and Food Editor. Plus those Whole Grain Pancakes are definitely a recipe I’ll make again! I loved the use of actual grains like barley and quinoa, they gave the pancakes the perfect hearty punch.

Saturday was beautifully sunny so we spent some time walking around Portland before heading to Smoked! Saturday night. When walking into Smoked! we were so delighted to see it was setup like a big barbecue cookout and the smells of barbecue were intoxicating.

22 Chefs were serving up their take on barbeque along with vendors offering cocktails, wine and beers for the occasion.

It would be hard for me to say which dish was my very favourite of the night, so here’s a rundown of some of the best bites:

Smoked Brisket Sandwich from Storrs Smokehouse

Char Siu St. Louis Rib with Puffed Rice, Scallion, Jalapeno & Cilantro from Fat Rice

Matt’s BBQ Brisket, tomatoes and peaches jungle curry, garlic rice from Langbaan

Ricotta Fritter, Apple Butter, Rosemary, Pork Fat Powder from Launderette

Plus, if you don’t know already, I am a bourbon fan and Bulleit Bourbon was at the event serving up two cocktails!

My favourite cocktail was the ‘Smoke Signals’ which included Bourbon, tea concentrate, lemon juice, corazon bitters and a splash of champagne.

I always have room for brunch so Sunday morning before leaving Portland to head back to Calgary we toasted to an amazing Feast Portland weekend at Brunch Village!

I was thrilled to start off brunch with Chef Maya Lovelace’s dish as I had interviewed her before the festival all about Why We Love Brunch.

Her dish of Coffee-Rubbed Blackberry BBQ Lamb Biscuit with Okra and Smoked Black Pepper Cheddar was heavenly! The flavours were the best savoury bite you could ask for in a brunch dish.

Chef Christina Tosi was also in attendance serving up a variety of brunch treats and we also really enjoyed the ‘Fried Chicken & Donut.’

Another memorable bite was from the Broder Café, an ‘Aebleskiver,’ which is a Danish dessert and was served with a Ligonberry Jam. They were cooking these delightful bites to order so when we tried the dessert it was still warm from the oven!

I really enjoyed Brunch Village as it was a bit smaller scale than the other main events we went to. As we walked around tasting dishes and toasting with rosé we met tons of great people so it really felt like you were having brunch with a group of friends! It was truly the best sendoff to an amazing, food & drink filled Feast Portland weekend!

I know Scott and I will DEFINITELY go back again for Feast Portland and we hope to see you there!

Have questions about Feast Portland OR want to share your fav foodie travel memories, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Feast Portland – A Bloggers’ Travel Diary appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.