I am not a fan of Kombucha. Kombucha is a beverage with great probiotic benefits, but you either love it or hate it. Kefir is another great option, but many can’t do the dairy. That’s why I make water kefir. It’s naturally gluten and dairy free and most anyone that tries it loves it, including kids.
Kefir is a probiotic beverage that is super easy to make and cost effective. Probiotic pills are pricey and they carry much less strains of good bacteria than kefir does. Plus, when you make your own water kefir, you control the temperature and environment it’s in, where as probiotics are rarely stored properly in shipping trucks and back rooms of stores, so oftentimes the good bacteria are destroyed.
Making water kefir was super intimidating to me though. I followed bad directions two times and finally gave up and paid a friend to make me bottles each week. When we moved across the country and I could no longer buy from my friend, I had to figure it out. Having the directions for making water kefir laid out for me step by step by her was so helpful, and I realized how easy it really is to make water kefir.
If you’re looking for the benefits of probiotics without the price tag, water kefir is an excellent and delicious option. Here’s how you can get started.
Supplies You’ll Need
You’ll need to have these supplies on hand to begin making water kefir. Once you have these supplies, the only ongoing expense you’ll have is for organic sugar and juice. You reuse the grains over and over, I’ve had mine for years.
- Water Kefir Grains. I prefer Cultures for Health. You can order them on Amazon or you can order directly from their site.
- A quality stainless steel mini strainer (I have this set and use the smallest one)
- Stainless steel funnel
- A 32. oz glass mason jar
- Chlorine-free coffee filter and rubberband
- Organic cane sugar
- A stainless steel pot for bowling water (I designate a small pot like this one just for the kefir so there’s no cross contamination in my kefir).
- Long neck, flip top glass bottles
- Organic tart cherry juice or another juice of choice
- Long neck bottle brushes
- Filtered or spring water
Getting Started- Activating Your Water Kefir Grains
Once you have your grains, you’re going to need to activate them.
- Boil 1/2 cup of filtered water.
- Add 1/3 cup of organic sugar and boiled water to your 32 oz. mason jar and let it dissolve.
- Once dissolved fill the mason jar to the top with room temperature filtered water.
- Add your dry grains.
- Cover with a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
- Place in a dark, warm place, like a cabinet near the oven and let ferment for 72 hours.
Making Water Kefir
- After 72 hours the water the grains are in should start to have bubbles on the top and the grains should be pretty translucent and plump.
- Dump the grains into a strainer and discard the water.
- Rinse the grains lightly with filtered water in the strainer.
- Boil 1/2 cup of filtered water.
- Add 1/3 cup of organic sugar and boiled water to your 32 oz. mason jar and let it dissolve.
- Once dissolved fill the mason jar to the top with room temperature filtered water.
- Add your rinsed grains.
- Cover with a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
- Place in a dark, warm place, like a cabinet near the oven and let ferment for 24 to 48 hours.
- Check it after 24 hours. Once the top of the water is pretty bubbly, it is fermented and you’re ready for the second ferment.
- Place a funnel in a long neck bottle with a mini strainer inside the funnel.
- Pour the water kefir into the long neck bottle.
- Lighly rinse the grains in the strainer with filtered water.
- Repeat these steps with the grains every 24 to 48 hours.
Second Fermentation
A second fermentation is not necessary, but it does make the water kefir more enjoyable to drink and tastier. You can drink the water kefir that’s now in the long neck bottle now or you can do the second ferment.
- With the funnel still in the long neck bottle, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of organic tart cherry juice to the fermented kefir.
- Secure the lid and let ferment for another 24-48 hours, on the countertop.
- Release the pressure frequently once you start to see bubbles.
- Once the top of the kefir is very bubbly it is fully fermented and ready to drink.
- Store in the refrigerator and frequently release pressure.
Making kefir takes about 5-7 minutes every 24-48 hours, it’s really simple to do. Just make sure you don’t let the kefir ferment in the jar beyond 48 hours or the grains could go bad. Water kefir ferments more quickly in the summer and takes more time in the winter. If you are out of town or unable to make the kefir for an extended time, you can store the grains in the sugar water for up to 6 weeks in the mason jar with the lid in the back of the refrigerator.
It’s really important to frequently release the pressure once it’s in the long neck bottle, as it can cause quite a mess (I know this from first hand experience unfortunately!) if left too long. Once I opened mine after not releasing pressure for too long and there was kefir on me, my clothes and my ceiling!
Cleaning Your Bottles
For cleaning the long neck bottles, you’ll need these cleaning brushes. These reach down to the bottom and clean the sides of the bottle as well. Just add some hot water and a bit of non-toxic dish soap (I like Seventh Generation) and shake then scrub with the brush.
The best time to drink water kefir, to gain the most benefits from the probiotics, is in the morning 20 minutes before food and in the evening 2 hours after eating. My kids love the kefir, so they also drink it twice a day. They like it better before the second fermentation is complete (it’s less fizzy) where as I enjoy it fully fermented. It tastes like sparkling juice.
Enjoy the savings on making your own water kefir compared to probiotics! Feel free to comment below with any questions or troubleshooting.
