Microbiological feasibility study of kombucha flavored with passion fruit pulp

Kombucha is a fermented beverage obtained from the sweetened tea of Camellia sinensis (L.), bacteria and yeasts present in SCOBY. This study evaluated the microbiological stability of kombucha with passion fruit during the second fermentation and cold storage. To make the traditional kombucha, without flavoring, 1 liter (L) of water was heated until boiling, followed by the addition of 7% sugar and 0.5% of Camellia sinensis leaves (L.) present in the green tea of the Amaya teas brand, with slow stirring and infusion for five minutes. Then, the infusion was strained, using voile fabric, directly into a plastic pot with a capacity of 3 L, and 1.5 L of cold filtered water was added to stabilize the temperature at 35 °C and 6% of the Starter tea. The samples were divided into equal volumes and packed in two plastic jars with a capacity of 3 L and then the SCOBYS were added. The pots were covered with voile to provide an aerobic environment. The temperature-controlled (TC) sample was placed in a thermotized water bath at a temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and the ambient temperature (MT) sample was kept at room temperature up to a pH of 2.9. After the first fermentation (F1), 04 treatments were established: CTA (tea in TA), CTC (tea in TC), FTA (tea with passion fruit in TA) and FTC (tea with passion fruit in TC). After the addition of passion fruit pulp, the treatments were filled in 50 mL PET bottles to promote the second fermentation (F2). Microbiological analyses consisted of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast counts. The results were evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test at 5%