Lavender-based fermented kombucha beverage technology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31617/2.2026(57)07Keywords:
kombucha, fermentation, lavender, phenolic compounds.Abstract
The industrial production of fermented beverages such as kombucha is a relevant area in the food industry, which is rapidly gaining popularity and attracting interest among scientists, producers, and consumers due to the combination of naturalness, refreshing taste, and potential beneficial effects, including probiotic properties. In the scientific literature, in addition to traditional ingredients such as green or black leaf tea, alternative raw materials (fruits, flowers, juices, spices) are used, which not only makes it possible to expand the assortment of kombucha but also to give the beverage other functional properties. The aim of the article is to highlight the results of obtaining an alternative kombucha using local raw materials and enriching the finished beverage with phenolic compounds. A scientific hypothesis has been formulated, which suggests that replacing loose-leaf tea with dried lavender flowers (Lavandula angustifolia) as the fermentation substrate base will influence the dynamics of chemical composition changes during fermentation by the symbiotic culture Medusomyces gisevii in the production of the fermented beverage. To verify the hypothesis, generally accepted physicochemical methods were applied to study dry matter, acidity, and polyphenolic compounds. It has been proven that lavender flower-based kombucha, after five days of fermentation, intensively accumulated dry matter and reached a value of 4.75%, thereby increasing the dry matter yield by 22%. Accordingly, the total acidity of the drink increased fivefold to 0.198 mg/100 g recalculated as acetic acid, and the pH decreased by 25% to a value of 3.8. During fermentation, polyphenolic compounds actively accumulated, their amount increased to 56.8 mg GAE/100 mL, which is twice as much as in the control sample. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility and appropriateness of using lavender flowers as a base for fermentation in the technology of fermented beverages. The flowers did not inhibit the fermentation process and enabled the creation of a beverage with high organoleptic characteristics, rich color, and moderate CO₂ accumulation.
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