INSTRUCTIONS on How to Make Water Kefir and Coconut Kefir
Water kefir (WK) Recipe
Ingredients:
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4 Tablespoons of Water Kefir Grains (WKG)
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4 Tablespoons of Sugar (Brown Cane Sugar, Organic if possible)
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4 Cups of Water (Bottled Mineral, Spring water, well water, or Carbon filtered tap water)
Add-ons
If using filtered water, you can add these additional ingredients to help re-mineralise the water:
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1/4 tsp of Himalayan or Inca Salt (Mineral Rich Salt)
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1/8 tsp of Unsulphured Molasses (Organic if possible)
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6 unsulphered raisin, dried apricot or dried dates
Equipment:
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An airtight jar/glass vessel for (1F ) with a broad mouth (e.g. glass water jug or pitcher with a lid)
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Plastic/Silicon Measuring tablespoons and cups
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Plastic/Wooden mixing spoon
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Plastic/Nylon sieve
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Plastic/Silicon funnel
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1L bottle for Secondary Fermentation (2F)– this can be a flip top bottle or any other airtight bottle
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250ml Glass Jar to Store WK grains
Note: We recommend that no metal should be in contact with the grains, specially reactive metal, both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your Kefir and weaken the grains over time. If you must use metal avoid prolonged contact with the grains or SCOBY
Instructions:
Primary Fermentation (1F)
Put water and sugar in glass vessel for Primary Ferment and stir so that they are mixed in well together. (If adding salt or molasses, add now and stir in)
Finally, add the Water Kefir Grains
Cover with an airtight lid
Leave to ferment in a cool, dark place or wrap a kitchen towel around the vessel and keep on the counter in cool place. Some people put the vessel on top of their fridge (so when opening or closing the fridge, the vessel shakes, and kefir grains like to be shaken once in a while), so go ahead shake the vessel every time you pass by it
Fermentation time: 16 to 24 Hours (depending on the temperature in your home.) After 16 to 24 Hours, strain the kefir.
Straining the WK
Place the funnel over your 2nd Ferment bottle and the sieve on top of the funnel. Pour the contents of your glass vessel into your airtight bottle. The Water Kefir Grains will be left behind in the sieve
Storing the grains:
Place the Water Kefir grains in a glass jar with some sugar water solution,(1cup water/1Tbsp sugar) close the lid loosely and place the jar in your fridge for storage. Change the water solution every 3 days or so if not using the grains to ferment.
Secondary Ferment: (2F)
Option 1: Water Kefir Lemonade
For a simple Water Kefir Lemonade, you can just squeeze in half a lemon or lime (equal to about 2 tbsp of lemon/lime juice) into the bottle with your finished Water Kefir, close the airtight lid, and pup the bottle into the fridge for a few hours to chill.
Option 2: Orange Water Kefir
(Ratio is ¼ cup of juice per a cup of finished Kefir, or 10% up to 30 %of Juice)
If you would like to experiment with a fancier 2nd ferment, you can use fresh or dried fruits, a fruit puree, or juice. For this recipe, we will use 1/2 cup of Orange Juice. Grab 2 to 4 Oranges, squeeze the juice, than add 1/2 cup of this juice into the airtight bottle straight into the water kefir. Close the airtight lid. Place it back in the same spot that you chose for your first ferment.
2nd Fermentation time is between 6-12 Hours. Be aware Thailand heat is quite intense. You can leave it up to 12 H but be careful of the amount of carbonation it generates. If opting for 12 H 2nd Ferment please burp the bottle every 3 hours or so. After 6 to 12 Hours, burp it first before putting the bottle into the fridge. Let it chill for a while, then enjoy your cold Orange WK ! While in the fridge burp once a day if not drinking the kefir that day.
There are so many ways to flavor your kefir drink, once the kefir is strained, simply add in your desired ingredients or flavors and then let the kefir sit for 6-12 hours before consuming.
This can be done by letting it sit out on the counter for 6-12 hours and then putting it into the fridge for another 6-12 hours, or putting it straight into the fridge for 12-24 hours.
We've noticed the flavor to be more developed between the 12-24 hour mark. Adding chopped mangoes, pineapples, strawberries, mangosteen, lychee, and ginger are some of our favorite secondary fermentation flavors! To add dried fruit, simply put in about 6 pieces of dried mangos, apricot, or any other fruit you like.
You can also easily flavor with extracts, just add 2-4 drops is enough for 3-4 cups of kefir (vanilla, almond, coconut, lemon etc!)
Our favorite way to do 2F is to add fruit juices- simply pour in about ½ cup to 1 cup of juice per 4 cups of kefir. Pineapple and passion fruit juice make a very fizzy and delicious Kefir, one of our favorite Kefir drinks.
Kefir truly has endless possibilities for flavoring. As you experiment you'll notice some flavors will work much better than others. Just keep experimenting you will find a flavor that you and your family like.
After your first few batches:
As you continue to make water kefir, your grains will grow. At that point, you can make big batches, eat the grains, donate grains to your friends or store them (it's always a good idea to have some back-up grains stored in the fridge.)
Eating the grains is another way to get a mega-dose of probiotics. Start with a very small amount of balanced, healthy grains and see how your body responds. They taste very pleasant like a sweet candy. You can also blend them in with your kefir or kefir smoothies (throw in some bananas and strawberries for fun!) Everyone is different and some people may be sensitive or not quite used to the sheer number of good bacteria and yeast contained in the grains. As with all things, listen first to your body.
How to store your extra grains:
Freezing - best for medium to long term storage
To freeze, rinse your grains if you wish with water (no chlorine, no heat) and then gently pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. You can take them directly out of a finished batch of kefir and just pat them dry of kefir (they will be more sticky, but rinsing is not absolutely necessary.)They will still be damp, but now take them and put them in a plastic container with sugar in it. First, put the grains in and then top it off with more sugar on top to bury them in it, close the container, to protect them from air, moisture and freezer burn, and now put the container in the freezer.
Dom, a kefir-guru recommends grains should spend no longer than six months in the freezer.
Refrigerating- Taking a break from making kefir
If you need to store the grains temporarily, you can always put them in a glass jar with some sugar water solution (1cup water/1Tbsp sugar), close the lid loosely and place the jar in your fridge for storage. Change the water solution every 3 days or so if not using the grains to ferment.
This is the best method of storage if you're planning to take a break of about a month or less. When you plan to make kefir again, after 15 days or more it may take a few batches to fully reactivate the grains.
If you’re planning to take a longer break, dehydrating, or freezing the grains is recommended.
Coconut Water Kefir aka Coconut Kefir
Coconut kefir is coconut water that has been fermented with water kefir grains. Beneficial probiotics feed on the sugar in the coconut water and leave a slightly fizzy and delicious beverage. Coconut water is incredibly nutritious and it provides electrolytes that replenish the body.
Ingredients:
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4 Tablespoons of kefir grains
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4 cups young coconut water, fresh is best but store-bought coconut water is good too. (If using water of fresh coconut it’s about 4 small coconuts, will yield 4 cups of coconut water)
Instructions:
Primary Fermentation (1F)
Pour the coconut water and the grains in a glass jar/ pitcher. Please note that we do not add any sweetener
Cover the jar/pitcher with a lid
Leave to ferment in a cool, dark place or wrap a kitchen towel around the vessel and keep on the counter in cool place. Some people put the vessel on top of their fridge (so when opening or closing the fridge, the vessel shakes, and kefir grains like to be shaken once in a while), so go ahead shake the vessel every time you pass by it
Fermentation time: 6 to 12Hours (depending on the temperature in your home.) If you’re fermenting the kefir in a warm room the process may be quicker than 12 hours. After 6 to 12 Hours, Strain the coconut water kefir and reserve the grains for another batch of water kefir
Second Fermentation: this step makes your coconut water kefir fizzy/ carbonated
Pour coconut kefir into an air tight bottle (flip top bottle is best)
Allow the coconut kefir to ferment on the counter for up to 12 hours or until it’s fizzy.
Store your bottles of coconut water kefir in the refrigerator
Storing the Grains after making coconut water Kefir
Place the Water Kefir grains in a glass jar with some resting solution, (1 cup of water/2Tbsp of sugar) close the lid loosely ,and place the jar in your fridge for storage
Do not use these same grains to make coconut water for at least 2 days or so, in order to give the grains a rest and get the nutrient they need from sugar water solution. The sugar water will feed and refresh the kefir grains and keep them healthy
However, these grains can be used right away to ferment sugary Water Kefir.
