Once you receive your water kefir grains from us, it’s important to get them fermenting as soon as possible. If you’re unable to do that right away store them in the fridge until you are ready to start using them.

STRAINER/SIEVE: You also need a strainer/sieve.
WATER FILTER: We also recommend you buy a water filter to remove the chlorine from your tap water or use boiled cold water - not use when is hot.
JAR COVER: You also need something to cover your jar with. We recommend paper kitchen towels as they are easy to discard and replace.
GLASS BOTTLES: You also need some bottles to store your water kefir in. Again we recommend using glass bottles.
It is important when using glass bottles to check and burp (release some of the gas build-up) on a regular basis to minimise the risk of explosions.
FUNNEL: It is useful to get a funnel to help pour the liquid into the bottles.
GLASS/PLASTIC MEASURING JUG:  It is also useful to have something to decant your strained mixture into.

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED?


When using water, it must not be chlorinated. This is very important as chlorine will kill your water kefir culture overtime.

It is best to use cane sugar. Cane sugar is easily broken down by the culture. However, you do not have to use organic sugar if you do not want too, as refined white sugar also works well. You can also use beet sugar.

Unrefined brown sugar can over mineralise your grains over time. When this happens, grains will start to swell and then break apart forming a mush like layer. This is unhealthy for your grains. We recommend not feeding water kefir grains on dark refined sugars.

As water kefir is a living product, no one can predict how your grains will behave. In time you will learn what works best for your culture.

IMPORTANT: Even though coconut water contains naturally occurring sugars, you will still need to add additional sugar when making coconut water kefir. Coconut water alone does not contain enough sugar for water kefir to successfully ferment. Please add the same amounts of sugar as instructed below.


THE FIRST FERMENTATION:

Pour 1000ml of non-chlorinated water/coconut water per 40g of water kefir grains into your jar. Add 3 tablespoon of sugar (45g) per 40g of water kefir grains and stir, so the sugar begins to dissolve. Never use hot water. This will harm the water kefir grains. Always allow any water to cool back down to room temperature (20c).
Never leave any fermenting product in direct sunlight. This can lead to unwanted bacteria and pathogens forming.

Add your water kefir grains to the mixture. Cover the jar and leave it at room temperature (20c) out of direct sunlight for 48 hours. During colder times when the optimum temperature is not being met, you may need to leave the grains longer (72-96 hours) to ferment. We always recommended leaving the grains in the warmest possible location. If this is not possible, it may be worth considering investing in a heat mat or similar device.

At this stage, the water kefir should still taste sweet. This is normal. The sugar left is required to carry out good carbonation (see the second fermentation below).

Strain the water kefir grains out of the mixture using your plastic strainer, decanting the liquid into your measuring jug. This strained liquid is your drinkable water kefir. You can drink this right away if you wish. However, we would advise that you carry out the second fermentation stage on this liquid. Not only will it allow for carbonation (which makes it taste great), it will also increase the bacteria count and reduce the sugar levels further.

If you do not wish to carbonate your water kefir or carry out a second fermentation. We would recommend leaving the strained liquid unsealed at room temperature for a further 3-5 days to increase the bacteria count and reduce sugar levels further.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE GRAINS NOW:

Place the water kefir grains back into your fermentation jar and repeat the process to make a fresh batch of water kefir.

If you wish to take a break from this cycle, place the grains into the fresh sugar water and place them in the fridge. They can rest in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Please be aware that an activation process is usually required to revive the somewhat dormant grains from the fridge.

Your grains will grow quite quickly. During the warm summer months, you may find they double in weight every 3-5 days. During the winter, they will usually double in size every 2 weeks.


THE SECOND FERMENTATION:

It is now time to flavour your strained water kefir. At this point, your water kefir should still taste sweet. This is expected and does not mean your fermentation has failed. It is important for some sugar to remain for the carbonation process to work.

You can use many different things to flavour water kefir. Chopped fruit (cut small so it can be added to the bottles), fruit juice and herbal tea are some of the most common.

THE CARBONATION PROCESS:

Using your plastic funnel, pour the flavoured liquid into your glass bottles and then seal them by closing the lids The bottles need to be 100% airtight. In the summer leave the bottles for 3-5 days until carbonated. During the winter it can take up to 10 days. Check the bottles every 3 days for signs of carbonation by gently opening the lids to listen for gas. Water kefir can get very fizzy in the summer. Always ensure you use bottles designed to hold carbonated drinks to avoid the risk of explosions.

For fizzy water kefir, it is important to use something fully airtight in the second fermentation process. If you are not getting much fizz, this usually means air is escaping from your container. It could also mean that the bacteria have already used all the sugar in your mixture. A small amount of sugar needs to be present to allow gases to be produced by the fermentation process. Usually, if you’re adding fruit, this will contain the additional sugar required anyway.

The water kefir is now ready to drink. Place your bottles in the fridge to cool. Be very careful when opening the bottles as water kefir produces a very fizzy beverage.

Water kefir will keep in the fridge for around 30 days unopened. Once opened, it is best consumed within 3 days.