What Is Water Kefir And Why You Should Make Your Own At Home

Welcome back y’all, today I’m going to share with you something I’m super passionate about, water kefir & water kefir grains! I could literally talk to anyone about water kefir and the fun I have with it all the time. There is really nothing like it out there. I make my own homemade sodas with my water kefir grains & they are so delicious. You can read here about how you can make an elderberry kefir soda, it’s one of our favorites! Need kefir grains to get started? Find them on my Etsy here!

While I love my milk kefir grains, I really love my water kefir grains. I know how great they are for our overall health, and you can’t really find much water kefir in health food stores either.

The history of water kefir grains

So the history of water kefir grains and their origins are unknown! There has been little written about them and their history but, there is documented evidence of it in the late 19th century. Speculation points to their origins being in Mexico and people using them for fermented beverages. Other names that are used for water kefir are also tibicos, Japanese water crystals, California bees, and sugar kefir grains.

What are kefir grains?

To start, water kefir grains are usually made of lactic acid bacteria. Water kefir or “Tibicos” is a traditional fermented drink made with water, natural sugars, and a symbiotic culture of yeasts and good bacteria. These grains sit in a mixture of sugar and water at room temperature to create a probiotic-rich drink.

These grains go through a fermentation process for 24-48 hours and provide you with a fizzy and fresh fermented beverage.

Water kefir grains aren’t really grains at all. They’re living things, kind of like a kombucha scoby. These are colonies of colonies that feed off of sugar and water.

With kefir, you can first ferment and do a second fermentation. During the secondary fermentation, you can add fruit juice, fresh fruit, dried fruit, and a whole bunch of other inclusions in your second ferment. It doesn’t take much sugar in the second fermentation either, sometimes you don’t have to use any.

What are the benefits of kefir?

There are SO many benefits of drinking this delicious fizzy drink. The live cultures in the kefir grains provide us with beneficial bacteria that are so good for us. I love it for my digestive system and it helps provide me with a healthy gut.

From healthline.com, it has so many wonderful things to say about this probiotic drink. You can read the full article here:

While I love my milk kefir grains, I really love my water kefir grains. I know how great they are for our overall health, and you can’t really find much water kefir in health food stores either.

How to make kefir from grains

While it’s possible to grow your own kefir grains at home, it’s not easy. I prefer buying online from Etsy and helping someone out. All the tools you need to get started are:

Water kefir grains

Organic raw sugar (cane sugar)

A glass bottle or jar

Rubber band

Coffee filter

Molasses

Grolsh style bottles – I like to use ones that are specifically made for fermentation.

Fine mesh strainer

First ferment

Step 1:

Once you’ve received your kefir grains, bring one cup of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar or organic cane sugar and 1 tsp of molasses to the water and stir until it’s dissolved. Allow it to completely cool.

Step 2:

Once it’s cool or at room temperature, add the water mixture to your kefir grains. Fill the jar up the rest of the way with filtered water. The grains will feast on the sugars and do their magic.

Step 3:

Cover the jar with a rubber band and a coffee filter (I used a linen cloth) for 24-48 hours. You can drink it after the first 24-48 hours or you can follow the steps below for a secondary ferment to flavor it. I prefer flavor!

Second ferment

After the first ferment, now it’s time to add your favorite flavors. So, there are so many different options you can do with your kefir in its second ferment such as:

Elderberry

Strawberry

Raspberry

Blueberry

Lemon

Step 1:

Repeat the first ferment steps above to feed your kefir grains again.

Step 2:

Strain your grains and place the kefir into a bowl or container.

Step 3:

Pour your plain water kefir into your bottle – I used a small funnel for this step to make it easier.

Step 4:

Next, place your fruit or 1/4 cup of juice of choice into your bottles. Fill the rest of your pop-top bottle with plain kefir. Leave an inch or two of headspace in the bottle. If you’d like to add 1-2 tbsp of sugar to your water kefir instead of juice, you can do this as well. A juice with organic and natural sugars is a great way to add flavor and sugar to your drink making it fizzy (aka creating carbon dioxide).

Step 5:

Allow it to ferment further for 2-4 days until you’ve reached the desired fizz. Please see below the tips and tricks to prevent your kefir from exploding.

Tips and tricks with water kefir

When you’re fermenting, you will want to use flip-top bottles that are made specifically for fermenting. Bottles that can handle the pressure of the fermenting process of the kefir.

So, sometimes a lot of pressure can build up in these bottles, so you will want to make sure you “burp” the bottles once a day. Sometimes, if it’s really pressurized, you’ll need to “burp” it twice a day. When you burp, you’re simply just popping the lid and letting some gasses release from the bottle. So, I went over 24 hours once without opening the bottle and I had kefir everywhere! It doesn’t happen every time, but if you do have an over-excited kefir ferment then just use caution.

When you’re fermenting these at room temperature, you can also place them on the door of your fridge until they’re cold if you’d like a cold beverage. I like to do this to get it cold! Additionally, I’ve found that when I pour my room-temperature kefir over ice, it makes the fizzy go away. I prefer my kefir with all the fizz!

If you’d like to make a flavored water kefir, see my post about how you can make your own elderberry soda right at home! It’s delicious and easy. You can also read here about my milk kefir and milk kefir grains.

I hope this process doesn’t seem too daunting for you because it’s so easy! Also, when I tell you that you can’t really mess this up, you can’t. They’re very strong little colonies. Now, go forth and make your own delicious homemade kefir!

Thank y’all for stoppin’ by and I hope you love water kefir as much as I do!

How to make elderberry water kefir soda

What is milk kefir and why you should make your own

Fluffy milk kefir pancakes (from scratch recipe)