Ingredients

• 15g water kefir grains
• 15g good quality sugar (we recommend organic unprocessed Rapadura sugar)*
• 500ml of cold water (avoid filtered water)
• 1 pinch of bicarb soda*
• 1/4 teaspoon of molasses*
• Slice of lemon

You will also need a glass jar or a Kefirko Kefir maker (available on our website) for fermenting

* These items can be substituted for 15g of our water kefir growth premix (available from our website)

Instructions

#Start fermenting as soon as you received your grains. It takes a few batches for grains to acclimatise to your environment and consistency is the key to success.

1. In a glass jar or Kefir Maker, add water. Dissolve the sugar, molasses and bicarb soda in water
2. When ingredients are dissolved, add the 15g water kefir grains and slice of lemon
3. Loosely cover jar with lid. If using a kefir maker, leave lid slightly open.

**To keep alcohol as low as possible, ferment with kefir maker lid slightly open

4. Shake bottle regularly ( a good way to remember if every time you walk pass)

5. Leave on the counter or cupboard (preferably at 20 to 24 degrees celsius) for 48 hours (in hot weather, it ferments faster) - sip it as you go to get a feel for what 1 day water kefir and 2 days water kefir tastes like. The longer you leave it, the more sugar ferments out and the more sour the kefir, so if you are limiting carbs, we recommend a minimum of 48 hours. Do not leave longer than 4 days as this can starve grains.
6. After 48 hours (depending on your taste), strain the water kefir grains through a mesh strainer (or the in-built strainer if you have a Kefirko kefir maker), pouring the liquid into a resealable container.
7. Restart the process from step 1.
8. To make the water kefir carbonated (also known as secondary ferment), take the water kefir that you have just strained and add 50ml of fruit juice of your choice (such as grape, apple, pomegranate, orange, pineapple etc), add any herbs and spices eg. ginger, turmeric etc. Once you've added the juice and other ingredients, bottle and cap in a second ferment bottle (available on our website). leave on the counter for an additional 2 to 7 days until it is fizzy as you like it. Caution: Burp jar regularly during this stage to release pressure. Refrigerate and consume as required.

Caution: Water kefir may become very fizzy so be careful when opening lid after fermentation. Due to the amount of pressure generated there is a risk that cheap bottles can explode. Please use a good quality glass bottle. We recommend using our second ferment bottle.

Dosage

We recommend consuming one cup per day for health benefits

Storage

When you are not fermenting, please keep grains refrigerated (for up to two week) in fridge. Please note that after cold storage, the water kefir grains will take a few batches before returning to original potency. Ideally you should be fermenting as often as possible to keep grains fully active and thriving.

The decanted water kefir is best consumed within two weeks.

For long term storage we recommend air drying or dehydrating in a dehydrator on the lowest setting preferably less than 40 degrees celcius. Do not freeze water kefir grains. Studies have shown that freezing does damage to water kefir grains.

**Advisory Statement

All fermented foods may contain trace amounts of alcohol. If fermented foods are being prepared for children, breastfeeding mothers, or pregnant women please seek medical advice from a trained medical practitioner before consuming these products.

To keep alcohol as low as possible, make sure that:

- in step 3 the kefir maker lid was slight open

- the water kefir used in first ferment is sour to taste

- use no more than 50ml fruit juice per 500ml water kefir

- second ferment your water kefir for 48 hours max, chill and consume within 24 hours ( you will not get as much fizz but alcohol will be as low as possible

Ingredients

Instructions

Dosage

Storage

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