Making Tepache - The Secondary Fermentation

How to Bottle Tepache for Natural Fizz, Flavor & Continuous Batches

If you’ve already made tepache, this is where everything comes together.

This step takes your base ferment and turns it into a naturally fizzy, refreshing drink — a simple way to create a homemade natural soda right in your own kitchen.

But more importantly, this is where tepache stops being a one-time recipe and becomes a repeatable kitchen system.

🌿 Watch the Full Video

🌿 What You’re Doing in This Step

This stage is called the second ferment (F2).

You’re taking your finished tepache (F1) and:

• bottling it

• building natural carbonation

• optionally adding flavor

• preparing to continue the next batch

• 
  

🌿 Before You Begin

Your tepache should be:

✔ lightly sweet✔ gently tangy✔ actively fermented (you’ve seen bubbles)

If it’s still very sweet → let it sit longer if it’s very sour → shorten your next batch

👉 Trust taste, not just time

🌿 Step 1 — Bottle for Natural Fizz

1. Strain your tepache to remove solids

2. Pour into clean bottles

3. Leave 1–2 inches of headspace

4. Seal bottles

Place at room temperature.

⏳ How Long to Ferment

• 24–48 hours for carbonation

• Check daily

👉 This stage moves faster than the first ferment

⚠️ Safety Note

Fermentation creates pressure.

• Open bottles once daily if unsure

• Refrigerate once you reach your desired fizz

👉 Cold slows fermentation and stabilizes the drink

🌿 Step 2 — Turn It Into a Natural Soda

This is where things get fun.

Before sealing your bottles, you can add:

• frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries)

• citrus slices or peel

• fresh herbs

• syrups or preserves

👉 Use what you already have on hand

This is not about perfect recipes — it’s about building flavor from your larder.

🌿 Step 3 — Reserve for the Next Batch

Before bottling everything, set aside:

👉 ½ to 1 cup of finished tepache

You’ll use this to kickstart your next batch.

🌿 How to Start the Next Batch

In a fresh jar:

• add new pineapple

• add sugar

• add water

• add your reserved tepache

This jumpstarts fermentation and helps create more consistent results.

👉 This is not a permanent starter👉 It’s a simple way to keep the process moving forward

🌿 Optional: Second Run from the Same Fruit

You can reuse the same pineapple once:

• add fresh water + sugar

• ferment again

👉 This produces a lighter, less complex batch👉 Do not reuse beyond this

🌿 What This Builds Over Time

When you use this method, your kitchen shifts from:

👉 making a recipe

to:

👉 running a system

You begin to:

• build a base

• flavor from what you have

• carry fermentation forward

• reduce waste

• improve consistency

• 
  

🌿 Troubleshooting

Too sweet:Let ferment longer

Too sour:Shorten fermentation next time

No fizz:Room too cold or not enough time

Overly fizzy:Refrigerate sooner next time

FOR THE PRINTABLE - CLICK HERE

🌿 The Rhythm of Tepache

Make itBottle itEnjoy itStart again

🌿 Final Kitchen Note

Tepache is meant to be simple.

It doesn’t need to be overmanaged or overthought.

👉 Watch it👉 Taste it👉 Trust it