Microbial Community Composition and Quality Characteristics of a Tea and Jujube Blend Kombucha Beverage

BACKGROUND: Despite the high nutritional value of jujubes, their product diversification remains limited. Developing a new functional fermented beverage is a promising strategy for enhancing their economic value and expanding their market appeal. OBJECTIVE: To enhance the value-added processing of jujubes, this study developed a novel co-fermentation process for producing kombucha using both jujubes and tea. Furthermore, the individual and synergistic impacts of these substrates on the microbial, sensory, and physicochemical properties of the final beverage were systematically evaluated. METHODS: Three kombucha types were prepared: traditional (C), pure jujube (Z), and tea-jujube blend (CZ). They were comprehensively characterized by evaluating their physicochemical profiles, microbial compositions, and sensory attributes. RESULTS: Group CZ displayed significantly higher contents of total flavonoids and reduced sugars after fermentation. The addition of jujubes also restructured the microbial community, introducing Saccharomyces and significantly increasing the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Group CZ achieved the highest sensory acceptance scores. The ethanol content of group CZ conformed to the commercial standard for nonalcoholic beverages. CONCLUSIONS: Co-fermentation with jujubes and tea significantly enhances both the functional properties and the palatability of kombucha, presenting a promising strategy for creating high-value fermented products. HIGHLIGHTS: The synergistic fermentation of tea and jujubes significantly enhances the functional properties and nutritional value of the product; jujubes optimize the microbial community structure during kombucha fermentation.