Water Kefir Recipe and How-To

A fun pastime - make a healthy, tasty beverage

There are plenty of resources to guide you through making water kefir. My goal is to make it as easy as possible to get set-up and started. I have a habit of finding the easy or most efficient solution to anything I do, and I hoping to pass that along to you. The first time I started this hobby, it was too time consuming as a father of two. I got fairly efficient, using a 5-gallon stainless steel beer brewing drum, but my second time around, I scaled back to a system I would have liked to have known as an enthusiastic beginner.

Tasty, eases digestion, and builds microbiome!

The entire process of making a new batch takes under 10-minutes and I drink about one of the smaller jugs per day.

Wa-Wa Kash (my 2-year-old son's name for water kefir)

Ingredients and supplies

Initial supplies:

• Water Kefir Grains

• Cold-brew jug for 1st ferment

• 3x cold brew jugs for 2nd ferment

• 64oz Ball Jar

  
  

Ingredients:

• Turbinado sugar provides energy / food and nutrients to the kefir grains. I have this on Subscribe and Save for 2-bags every 3-weeks.

• Dried Blueberries are flavorful and healthy, providing good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I get 1-bag every 2-months via Subscribe and Save.

• Blackstrap Molasses (sulphur free) for extra nutrients for the grains.

  
  

Section 2: 1st ferment

• Put water kefir grains in the metal mesh (coffee) filter in the large cold-brew jug

• Add 1 to 2 cups of turbinado to 64oz Ball Jar. Consider using 1 cup while the grains get activated, and see below for instructions about getting the right amount of sugar.

• Add a dollop (initially, a teaspoon would be good, but active grains could use more) of molasses to the ball jar with the sugar.

• Fill the ball jar with warm, not hot, water and stir, then pour over the water kefir grains in the large cold-brew jug. If you want all the sugar to dissolve, add the sugar to boiling water and then let it cool to room temperate. I simply dump it all in and let it dissolve naturally. Fill the ball jar with water 3x more times and add it to the large cold-brew jug. This should fill the cold-brew jug nearly to the top. Close the lid.

• Let this ferment for 2-4 days. You can taste it and when it is dry enough, continue to 2nd ferment.

Section 3: 2nd ferment

• Add a handful of dried blueberries to each of 2 of the smaller cold-brew jugs in the metal mesh (coffee) filter.

• Fill the smaller cold brew jugs with 1st ferment water kefir, holding the small jugs under the spigot. Close the lids.

• Let ferment for 2-days, then dispose of the blueberries. Refrigerate or enjoy over ice.

  
  

  Other things:

• Heat Matt if your house isn't warm enough in the winter. The taste might be off and the grains won't be very active. The kefir will remain sweet rather than becoming as dry as it should.

• Adjust the turbinado you use depending on several factors.

  • Flavor

  • How long you want to ferment. For stronger water kefir, ferment longer, but if too dry, it means you need more sugar. Less sugar is necessary for shorter 1st fermentation.

  • How aggressive are you grains? If they are very active and replicating quickly, you will need more sugar.

• If you have too many grains, give some away, eat them, sell them, throw them away or expand your production!

• Consider using swing-top bottles for more bubbles.