Effect of sucrose concentration on the products of Kombucha fermentation on molasses.

ABSTRACT

Fermentation of 1.5g/l of Indian black tea, sweetened with adequate quantities of molasses (containing approx. 70g/l, 50g/l and 35g/l of sucrose), was conducted using domestic Kombucha. Inoculation was performed with 10% of fermentation broth from a previous process. The fermentation in cylindrical vessels containing 2l of liquid phase, was carried out at 22±1°C for 14 days, with periodical sampling, to measure pH, content of acids (total, acetic and l-lactic), content of remaining sucrose, and the yield of biomass at the end of fermentation. A product with 70g/l sucrose from molasses corresponds to an optimal concentration of carbon source, which provided metabolites with high pH, a low content of less desired acetic acid, a high content of highly desired l-lactic acid, an acceptable content of total acids and the highest possible level of utilisation of sucrose.