How to Make Water Kefir

Love water kefir? This fermented, vegan probiotic drink is easy to make at home, and is a delicious, light, and flavorful alternative to milk kefir or kombucha.

📝 Ingredients

• 8 cups water (dechlorinated water or previously boiled water)
• 1/2 cup sugar (white, turbinado, or brown)
• 1/4 cup water kefir grains ((amount approximate))
• 1 lemon, juiced
• fruit, spices
• half gallon glass jar (or multiple smaller jars)
• paper towels or napkins (avoid using cheesecloth if you have a problem with fruit-flies)
• rubber band
• mesh sieve or strainer
• funnel
• 1 2-liter soda bottles OR 3 16-oz bottles, PLASTIC or PRESSURE-RESISTANT swing top glass bottles

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Fermenting: ---
2. 2Add water and sugar to the glass jar, and mix until sugar is dissolved. (This is easiest if the water is warm.)Note: If water is hot, allow it to cool to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
3. 3Add the water kefir grains. Cover with a paper towel or napkin, and secure with a rubber band. Allow to ferment for 48-72 hours. Is it Working? There will be few, if any, signs that your kefir is fermenting until you move onto the carbonation step.Fermenting Time: The first time using your kefir grains, they may be sluggish. Give them the full 72 hours to ferment. In warm rooms, your kefir will generally ferment quickly (48 hours) and in cooler rooms, it will likely take longer (72 hours).Tip: Write the start and estimated end date on the paper towel.
4. 4Pour the kefir through a mesh sieve into a clean jar or pitcher to strain out the water kefir grains.
5. 5Add the lemon juice to the fermented water kefir.
6. 6Set the grains aside in a clean jar or bowl, and then add more sugar water to start the process over again.Tip: If you need to store the grains, store them in a new batch of sugar water, or in some of the current batch of sugar water.
7. 7--- Making Flavored Water Kefir: (Optional, but Recommended) ---
8. 8Technique 1 (2nd Fermentation):Add fruit, spices, and / or herbs to the jar of fermented water kefir. Cover with a paper towel and rubber band, and ferment another 1-2 days.Tip: Never add the fruit (or other flavorings) to the water kefir while the kefir grains are still in the jar-- it could harm the grains.Strain out any added flavorings, and proceed to the bottling step.
9. 9Technique 2 (Flavor Added to Final Bottling):Add desired amount of juice or lemonade to the kefir.
10. 10--- Bottling Water Kefir: ---
11. 11Use a funnel to pour the water kefir into bottles. Refrigerate immediately, or proceed to the carbonation step.
12. 12--- Carbonating Water Kefir: ---
13. 13Seal bottles. Check after 24 hours, or after 12 hours in warm rooms. The water kefir is ready when the plastic bottles are rock hard, or when glass bottles begin to fizz when opened.