# Very Good Tepache

Tepache is a fermented beverage from Mexico made with pineapple, unrefined sugarcane, and spices, with origins in pre-Columbian Mexico.

- Cuisine: Mexican
- Category: Drink
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 1 Organic Pineapple (Skins and all)
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 4 Cups Water
- 1 Cup Black Tea (Earl Grey)
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 Star Anise

## Instructions

1. Brew about 1 cup of strong black tea and set it aside to cool.
2. Turn the sugar into syrup by heating a small portion of your water with the sugar over medium heat in a saucepan until dissolved, then add it back into the rest of the water to cool it quickly.
3. Remove the fronds and cut off the top and bottom of your pineapple with a sharp knife.
4. Go around the pineapple slicing off the skin until it’s all removed.
5. Cut the pineapple into quarters lengthwise, then remove the core of each piece and set aside.
6. Add the skins and core of the pineapple to your vessel along with your water/sugar mixture.
7. Add in any aromatics such as cinnamon or star anise, as well as the cooled black tea, and give everything a good stir!
8. Allow primary fermentation to go on for 3-5 days.
9. Once primary fermentation is complete and your tepache is fermented to your preferred sweetness/alcohol level, it’s time to bottle for secondary fermentation and carbonation.
10. If there is significant sweetness left in your tepache and fermentation is still vigorous, you should be able to bottle your tepache and achieve good levels of carbonation.
11. If you’ve opted for a drier and higher (ABV) tepache, you may need to “bottle condition” your tepache with additional fermentable sugar.
12. Add around 4.5 grams of sugar (about a sugar cube’s worth) per liter to achieve a pleasant level of carbonation.
13. This carbonation phase should take around 3-5 days more, depending on the ambient temperature.
14. Once your tepache is bottle conditioned, it’s time to refrigerate or “cold crash” the tepache to slow the fermentation to a halt for 24 hours.
15. Store your unopened tepache in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

## Equipment

- 1 gallon glass jars with an airlock or PET/BPA-free plastic containers
- Saucepan
- Sharp knife
- Fermentation-grade bottles

## Tips

- Experiment with different sugars like coconut sugar, palm sugar, or muscavado to create different flavors.
- Use organically grown pineapples.
- Save the leafy top of the pineapple and set the exposed side in water until it grows roots to grow a pineapple plant.
- Include the sliced-up flesh of the pineapple for a punchier and fruitier tepache!
- Using flavored simple syrups in second fermentation is a fun way of jazzing up your tepache with different flavors.
- Try wrapping your fermentation vessel in an old sweater to keep it warm and bubbling if you live in a particularly cold climate.
- Store your unopened tepache in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

## Source

- Original video: https://verygooddrinks.co/the-ultimate-guide-to-tepache/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/b6c4fe6f-2a6c-4239-80a4-cba46970f29e
- Extracted: 2025-05-16

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt