Gut-friendly, probiotic, fizzy water kefir is naturally fermented and bursting with flavor! This ultimate guide to all things water kefir will answer your burning questions — how to make it, store it, flavor and bottle it for a second ferment… plus troubleshooting and my 5 best brewing tips!
Trying to kick the soda habit?
Water kefir is an incredibly delicious fermented drink — the perfect natural soda!
Think gut-friendly probiotics + refreshing fizz + endless flavor possibilities… AND it doesn’t leave you with a sickly sweet upset stomach. 🙂
We’ve been teaching TCS members how to make water kefir for over a decade now, and along the way we’ve accumulated quite the list of FAQs, like…
- Which sweetener is best?
- How long to ferment?
- How to flavor it?
- Is it different than Kombucha?
- Is it different than dairy (or milk) kefir?
- And sooooo many more!
So, in the same spirit as our ultimate Kombucha guide, we’ve put together the ULTIMATE water kefir guide to answer all of your burning questions, help you troubleshoot, and share brewing tips!
Let’s start at the beginning…
Table Of Contents
What is water kefir?
Similar to Kombucha (although not quite as popular), water kefir is a fermented beverage. It is…
- dairy-free
- rich with probiotics to aid a healthy digestive system
- quick to brew
- a beneficial alternative to soda with endless flavor possibilities!
Essentially, we put water kefir grains (a symbiotic colony of lactobacilli and yeast) into a sugar water solution. The beneficial bacteria and yeast eat the sugar (sucrose), and over two to three days of fermentation the sugar water transforms into a mild, fizzy drink.
So, even though we start with sugar water… by the end, very little sugar is left!
We can then flavor it with fruit during a second fermentation to create a unique drink of whatever flavor you choose! We love grape, cherry (like this cherry-lemon flavor!), and ginger.
The second ferment is what makes water kefir really fizzy, so I do recommend making the extra effort to do this step. It’s well worth it, I promise.
As long as you take care of your grains, they can be used indefinitely. This means natural soda is frugal as well as healthy!
pictured, left to right: milk kefir grains, water kefir grains
Water Kefir Vs. Milk Kefir (Dairy Kefir)
Water kefir is not the same as milk or dairy kefir.
In both types of kefir, the grains feed on sugar, leaving behind an acidic, fermented, slightly alcoholic (less than 1%), probiotic-rich beverage. Water kefir grains feed on whatever sugar is used in the sugar-water base, while dairy kefir grains feed on the milk sugar lactose.
They do both have a mother culture called “grains”, which are colonies of bacteria and yeast living together symbiotically. However, because the microbes vary in each culture, they look different.
Dairy kefir grains are rubbery, whitish clumps that look like cauliflower. Water kefir grains are somewhat translucent crystals or sharp little pebbles, and remain separate from each other.
Of course, the most obvious difference between them both is… the dairy! Water kefir is dairy-free, dairy kefir is not.
And guess what? You can actually use dairy kefir grains to make water kefir through a conversion process.
The same grains won’t work indefinitely, but since dairy kefir grains grow like gangbusters in milk, if you keep them going in milk on the side, you’ll have an endless supply — without investing in water kefir grains!
Learn how to make dairy kefir here!
pictured, left to right: Kombucha scoby, bottled water kefir
Water Kefir Vs. Kombucha
Water kefir and Kombucha are also different. Although, both fermented beverages yield fizzy, probiotic, deliciously flavored drinks! 🙂
Yet, the mother cultures differ, and therefore the finished drinks do, too.
As mentioned above, the process of making water kefir relies on water kefir grains (a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast), whereas Kombucha requires a SCOBY (a differentsymbiotic colony of bacteria and yeasts).
Other differences include…
- Water kefir is quicker to brew than Kombucha.
- Kombucha typically has caffeine due to using green tea or black tea in the base liquid.
- Water kefir has a more plain base liquid (from the first fermentation), making it more adaptable to soda flavors that most people like and expect. Both can be an acquired taste, but water kefir less so!
Learn how to make Kombucha here!
5 Brewing Tips For The Best Water Kefir
Water kefir can be a bit finicky. The grains don’t grow as quickly as dairy kefir, and they tend to need a few special things to truly thrive.
Let’s talk about 5 tips for keeping your grains happy. 🙂
#1 — The Best Water
Water kefir grains love minerals, so the best water to use is clean, pure, and mineral-rich spring water, well water, or filtered water.
If your water lacks minerals (such as water filtered by reverse osmosis), you can use mineral drops or a clean, rinsed eggshell to add minerals back in. From a food safety standpoint, you will have more confidence when using a raw, but rinsed, pastured egg shell if it comes from a healthy poultry farm.
The water purification system from Radiant Life that we personally use has a remineralization step built in, making it the perfect water for ferments! More info here.
Is chlorinated municipal water all you have? Boil it, allowing the chlorine to vaporize. Then let the water cool to room temperature before making water kefir. Another option is to use a blender and blend the water; the aeration will encourage the chlorine to vaporize.
#2 — The Best Sweeteners
Water kefir grains love minerals!
So, the less refined (and mineral-rich) your sweetener, the better. Rapadura or Sucanat (unrefined cane sugar) are best.
However, this sugar has a distinct flavor that some may not enjoy… so you can also use evaporated cane juice which is more refined with a milder flavor, yet still contains minerals!
Considering using alternative sweeteners? Check out this article to answer the question “Can I Use Alternative Sweeteners in Ferments?”
#3 — The Best Flavor Ingredients
For the health of the mother culture, please choose organic ingredients as much as possible. Chemical residues on conventional fruits and sugars can harm the culture.
During the second fermentation (which is optional), you have an opportunity to “flavor” your water kefir with fresh or frozen fruit or fruit juices. Choose organic for these, too!
#4 — The Best Tools
Choose non-reactive utensils and containers. This means glass jars and wood, plastic, or stainless steel utensils and strainers.
If you’re going to use stainless steel, keep its contact with the grains to a minimum — quick stirring or straining rather than prolonged contact. (Stainless steel is the least reactive of the possible metals you will find in kitchen utensils.)
Most people, whose grains don’t multiply rapidly, will benefit from using a cotton muslin bag for holding and keeping grains together. Not only can you transfer the grains from batch to batch easily, but you won’t have to spend time and effort separating them from the egg shells.
However, if your grains are thriving and multiplying rapidly they can fill the bag quickly, and cease to thrive. For those whose grains are growing by leaps and bounds (both through multiplying and through individual grains growing large) it is actually best to let the grains bounce free in the batch.
They will literally bounce up and down in the jar during fermentation if they’re happy! It’s fun for children to watch!
#5 — The Best Environment
Brew at least 5 feet away from other cultures, to prevent cross-contamination. (Learn more how to tell if your ferment has become contaminated in this article.)
Water kefir needs an environment around room temperature to ferment well. Ideal room temperatures are between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fermentation times will be longer with the cooler temperatures and faster with warmer temperatures. With temperatures much over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, be vigilant to prevent spoiling.
When water kefir ferments too long, you can tell because the grains and the beverage seem “slimy” or syrupy and possibly more yeasty in smell and taste. This doesn’t always mean it has gone bad, but letting the kefir get to this point should be avoided because it’s not pleasant to drink.
Rehydrating The Grains
Unless someone shares grains with you, you’ll have to purchase water kefir grains. (We recommend getting them from Cultures for Health.)
Rehydrate according to the package directions. It takes 3 to 5 days in sweet water to rehydrate them and get them going again. The package from Cultures for Health gives enough grains to make around 3/4 gallon of water kefir at a time.
How To Store Water Kefir Grains
Water kefir grains may be stored, when not in use, in the refrigerator in a small amount of sugar water.
Dissolve 1-1/2 teaspoons of sugar in 1/2 cup of water. Allow to cool, then pour into an airtight glass bowl.
Add the bag of kefir grains (about 1/4 cup) and put the container in the refrigerator. This will keep for one or two weeks.
If stored much longer, I recommend draining the liquid and replacing it with fresh, cool sugar water, or transferring the grains to the freezer for long-term storage.
How To Flavor Water Kefir
Flavoring water kefir is also known as second fermentation, or bottling.
It’s really easy, and means that your homemade natural soda will have WAY more fizz!
You can use almost anything to infuse water kefir with delicious flavors:
- fresh, frozen, or dried fruit
- fruit juices, like grape or cherry
- splash of homemade vanilla extract
- fresh rhizomes and herbs, like grated ginger
To bottle (aka second ferment), all you need are glass swing-top bottles and fruits and/or spices of choice. Simply place 6 to 10 pieces of cut up, dried fruit (or about 1/4 cup fresh or frozen) into the bottoms of the glass bottles.
Then, fill with water kefir, close, and set in a warm place for 1 to 3 days. If your home is cold, a seedling warming mat will help.
How To Store Finished Water Kefir
Though you can’t see them, water kefir contains tiny bacteria and yeasts that will continue to feed on the remaining sugars, even after the brew is finished. As long as it has warmth, sugar, and oxygen, the fermentation process will continue.
Remove one of these factors, and fermentation stops… Which is vital if your water kefir tastes just like you want it to and you’re ready to store it!
Thus, it is necessary to store finished batches in airtight containers in the fridge, especially so they don’t explode after building carbonation for days on end!
The best way to store it? Glass, swing-top bottles in the fridge!
These are airtight, and you can safely store finished water kefir in them in the refrigerator for months and months.
If you don’t want to purchase swing-top bottles, the next best thing is brand-new seals for Mason jars. It doesn’t matter if the ring is new or not; but the seal needs to have plenty of wax on it to keep air out.
Water Kefir Troubleshooting
If you ever find yourself scratching your head, wondering, “Where did I go wrong?!” on your water kefir journey, you’re not alone! And, we’re here to help.
Let’s run through the common water kefir issues and how to troubleshoot them.
Why Is It Still Sweet?
There are a few reasons this could be happening, like…
It hasn’t fermented long enough. If this is the case, give it a few more days or move it to a warmer spot to speed up fermentation.
Your location wasn’t warm enough. As with all ferments, water kefir loves a warm — not hot — spot. Its ideal temperature is between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Colder months can be an especially hard time for kefir grains because they’re cold if your house is cold. Try relocating them to above your fridge or oven, to an upstairs room, or to a high shelf.
This is also when you might find a seedling warming mathandy!
The grains aren’t getting enough minerals. Minerals are a MUST with water kefir! Revisit my best tips, above, to see if your water and sugar choices could be tweaked. Perhaps you need to add an egg shell or mineral drops to boost mineral content?
Your grains need more time to acclimate. Assuming that there are plenty of minerals (egg shell, water, sweetener), it is possible that your grains are still getting used to your setup.
You can start fresh, perhaps with a smaller batch of sweet water, and keep acclimating them until they’re working. If your setup lacks minerals, investigate increasing the amount of minerals — through mineral drops, adding a bit of molasses, using an egg shell, and a less refined sweetener.
Why Isn’t It Fizzy?
It’s a huge let-down to hear all about the wonderful bubbliness of homemade natural sodas… only to experience flat water kefir when you make it yourself. Here are a few reasons why you might experience a lack of fizz:
It hasn’t fermented at all or hasn’t fermented long enough.No fermenting = no fizz. Again, give it more time and/or move it to a warmer spot to encourage those bacteria and yeasts to get to work.
It isn’t warm enough. Water kefir ferments best at a temperature between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Give the beneficial microorganisms a boost by relocating them to above your fridge or oven, to an upstairs room, or to a high shelf.
This is also when you might find a seedling warming mathandy!
Your grains aren’t getting enough minerals. They need to be eating and growing to create a nicely carbonated beverage. Add an egg shell, mineral drops, or molasses to boost minerals.
Or, change to a more mineral-rich sweetener like Rapadura. Make sure you’re not using reverse osmosis water, too.
The container for the second ferment isn’t air-tight. If air can get out, it can’t build up.
That’s why we recommend doing a second ferment in glass, swing-top bottles or in Mason jars with tight lids. Just make sure not to leave them at room or warm temperature too long or you *might* have explosions.
Why Aren’t My Grains Growing?
Here are the most common reasons kefir grains could fail to thrive.
Not enough minerals. Make sure you’re using mineral-rich water and sugar (see my best tips, above). Also, consider adding an egg shell, mineral drops, or molasses to further increase minerals.
They’re out-growing their muslin bag. Although a muslin bag can be helpful to keep your water kefir grains all in one place, if you’re using one and your grains were thriving but suddenly they aren’t anymore, this could be why.
Ditch the bag and let your grains float freely instead.
They’re running out of food. Water kefir grains are more sensitive to being neglected — whether in the fridge where they need to be fed every one to two weeks or at room temperature where they should be fed about every two days.
Keep to a normal routine, as detailed in this post, to make sure your grains are healthy and fed!
Why Is It Slimy, Thick, or Syrupy?
Slimy water kefir is another common issue. Here are a few reasons this could happen.
It fermented too long. Allowing your kefir to ferment for longer than necessary (24 to 48 hours, or up to 5 days if the temperature is cool) can encourage an imbalance of yeast to grow, resulting in a slimy, thick, syrupy beverage with a yeasty smell or taste.
It may take a few batches to fix this, but persevere. Stop the first ferment earlier, and either move your water kefir to the fridge, or proceed to the bottling step.
You can also rinse your grains in pure, uncontaminated water before beginning another batch. If the issue doesn’t resolve within a few batches, I would toss the grains and start with fresh ones.
The temperature is too warm. Fermentation happens much more quickly at warm temperatures, and for water kefir, you have to be vigilant to prevent spoiling at temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
The signs of over-fermenting due to temperature are the same as above: slimy or syrup-y beverage, and possibly a yeasty smell or taste. Move your ferment to a cooler place if possible.
Over the course of a few batches, stop the first ferment sooner. You can also try rinsing your grains in pure, uncontaminated water to help reset the microorganism balance.
Again, if the issue doesn’t resolve within a few batches, toss the grains and start over.
Can I Do Anything Else With Water Kefir?
Besides drinking it, you mean? 😉
Sure! If you really have lots of extra water kefir, here are some ideas…
- Use it as the acidic medium for soaking grains and beans, like you would with Kombucha or raw apple cider vinegar.
- Use instead of whey as a dairy-free starter culture for ferments such as cranberry relish.
- Make a water kefir granita.
- Use it as the liquid base for smoothies.
- Make water kefir tea.
- Boost your gluten-free sourdough starter (flavored or unflavored water kefir works for this!).
3.75 from 16 votes
Homemade Water Kefir
Gut-friendly, probiotic, fizzy water kefir is naturally fermented and bursting with flavor!
CourseBeverage, Ferment
CuisineTraditional
Prep Time 10 minutes
Fermenting Time 4 days
Servings 1 gallon
Author Wardee Harmon
Ingredients
- 1/4cupwater kefir grainsfully hydrated
- 3/4gallonpure water
- 3/4cupsweetener
- 1/2pastured or organic egg shellrinsed
- 2cupsgrape juiceorganic; or other flavoring options (see Notes)
Instructions
For the first ferment...
Dissolve 3/4 cup of sugar in about 1 cup of water, by bringing it all to a boil in a 3 to 4 quart pot.
Fill a gallon-sized glass jar with about halfway with cold water.
Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat, and pour sugar water solution into the gallon jar.
Add additional cold water to fill the gallon jar to about 3/4 full, or about to the shoulder of the jar.
Add 1/4 cup of hydrated water kefir grains to the jar. These can be free-floating, or in a cotton muslin bag.
Add egg shell (or mineral drops stirred into the water before adding the grains).
Cover with a paper towel or cloth napkin and secure with rubber band.
Let water kefir culture, at room temperature, away from other ferments, for 24 to 48 hours, or even up to 5 days if temperatures are cool. The amount of sugar will decrease over time, as the grains consume it.
Stop this fermentation when you’re happy with the amount of remaining sweetness. There may or may not be bubbles. Don’t depend on bubbles for a sign that this is working — depend on reduction in amount of sweetness.
When you are happy with the first fermentation, remove water kefir grains* (either pull out the muslin bag or use a strainer to separate them from the water kefir).
Store grains in the refrigerator or freezer (see Recipe Notes below), or use to start another batch. All you need is 1/4 cup of water kefir grains to make 1 gallon of water kefir, so feel free to share any extra with friends!
Retrieve the egg shell(s) with a wooden spoon.
For the second ferment...
To the gallon jar, add organic grape juice.
Carefully (using a funnel) pour the flavored water kefir into Grolsch-style swing-top bottles. VERY IMPORTANT: Fill only to the shoulder, or slightly below! Leave room for the carbonation to build. Do not overfill.
Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 to 3 days.
Burp every 12 hours or so, using caution to release the pent-up gases. You can do this in a large bowl to catch overflow so it's not wasted.
When you're happy with the flavor and carbonation level, store in the refrigerator or in cool storage. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Water Kefir Grain Storage
Water kefir grains may be stored, when not in use, in the refrigerator in a small amount of sugar water.
- Dissolve 1-1/2 teaspoons of sugar in 1/2 cup of water.
- Allow to cool, then pour into an airtight glass bowl.
- Add the bag of kefir grains and put the container in the refrigerator. This will keep for one or two weeks.
If stored much longer, I recommend draining the liquid and replacing it with fresh, cool sugar water, or transferring the grains to the freezer for long-term storage.
Flavor Ideas
- 1/2 cupraisins+ 1-1/2 tablespoons ofvanilla
- 1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates + 1-1/2 tablespoons ofvanilla
- 2 to 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger + 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice + a splash ofvanilla
- 1/2 cup dried fig pieces + 1-1/2 tablespoons ofvanilla
- 6 dried peach slices + splash ofvanilla
Looking for more yummy probiotic-rich drinks?
- Honey-Sweetened Ginger Beer {probiotic, non-alcoholic, GAPS-friendly natural soda!}
- Is Jun Right For You? All Your Questions Answered!
- How To Make Beet Kvass
- Spontaneously Fermented Sparkling Apple Cider
- 5-Minute Probiotic Mixed Berry Switchel {paleo, GAPS, AIP}
- Gut-Healthy Cherry Lemon Water Kefir (refreshing natural soda!)
- The ULTIMATE Kombucha Guide {how to make it, store it, flavor it, SCOBY care, troubleshooting, and MORE!}
This post was originally published and written by Wardee Harmon on 12/17/09. It was updated and republished on 7/03/20.
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