Water Kefir Grains: The Tiny Titans of Fermentation
Have you ever wondered where water kefir grains come from? Also known as Tibicos, water kefir is a bubbly, cultured drink with origins in Mexico. The story goes that these grains first appeared naturally on the pads of Opuntia cacti, thriving on the sugars and water in the succulent plant. Now, people cultivate these grains worldwide, offering a fun and healthful way to ferment beverages.
Do Water Kefir Grains Multiply? Absolutely!
When you mix sugar water with water kefir grains, magic (fermentation) happens. These grains (not actual grains but symbiotic communities of microbes) reside in a polysaccharide matrix that they create. They’re like tiny architects, building their micro-homes and multiplying as conditions allow. This process is quite different from kombucha, which leans more on yeasts and acetic acid bacteria; water kefir, in contrast, teems with a wide variety of beneficial lactic acid bacteria.
A Closer Look at the Microbial Makeup
The probiotic powerhouses within water kefir grains include Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus hordei, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides, to name a few. These microbes support gut health and produce beneficial byproducts, known as postbiotics, during the fermentation of sugar water into water kefir.
Reusable and Generous: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
One of the best parts about water kefir grains? They are forever reusable. Take good care of them; they’ll help you brew endless gallons of water kefir. You can even share them with friends, spreading the joy of water kefir fermentation far and wide.
What Color are Water Kefir Grains?
These grains come in various shades, from clear to dark golden brown. Their color largely depends on what you feed them. For example, grains fed with molasses tend to take on a golden hue, while those fed with plain organic cane sugar are more likely to be translucent white.
How to Feed and Store Water Kefir Grains
My typical recipe for primary fermentation includes a pinch of salt, some organic unsulphured molasses, and sugar water. This mix not only feeds the grains but selects for the most beneficial bacteria. Here’s a quick guide to my feeding recipe for about 1 quart of water kefir:
Ingredients:
- 2 grams of sea salt
- 50 grams organic, unrefined cane sugar
- 5 grams organic molasses (or substitute with honey, apple juice, or maple syrup)
- 1000 grams of filtered water
Method:
- Combine all ingredients and stir until dissolved.
- Bring to a boil, then allow to cool. Then this mixture is ready for you to feed to your water kefir grains.
Occasionally, I let the grains ferment at room temperature for a week in this mixture, enhancing their growth and structural integrity. This resting period promotes the activity of microaerophilic and anaerobic bacteria, which is vital for developing firm, healthy grains.
Things You May Need:
Storing Extra Kefir Grains
To keep your grains active, refresh them in a new batch of sugar water mix every 24-48 hours. For a break, hibernate them in the fridge in fresh sugar water, changing it every two to three weeks. They can also be dehydrated for long-term storage—a technique I share in The Cultured Guru School of Fermentation.
Where to Buy Water Kefir Grains
I love getting natural cultures from small businesses. I used to love Cultures for Health, but I think their quality has declined greatly over the years as their business grew.
Easy Recipes You Should Try & More Blogs to Read
- The Difference Between Water Kefir and Kombucha; Which One is Healthier?
- Fermented Pomegranate Orange Adrenal Cocktail
- How to Make Coconut Water Kefir
Water Kefir Primary Fermentation Recipe
Are your kefir grains too small and not multiplying? Are you looking to add more bubbles to your water kefir? Learn how to grow water kefir grains and keep them healthy with this water kefir primary fermentation recipe.
- Prep: 10 minutes
- ferment: 48 hours
- Cook: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 grams sea salt
- 50 grams cane sugar, organic
- 5 grams molasses, organic and unsulphured*
- 1000 grams filtered water
- about 1/4 cup water kefir grains (~ 50 grams)
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients
- Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar, molasses (optional), and cane sugar in the water.
- Remove from heat and allow the sugar water mixture to cool. It should be room temperature before moving on to the next step.
- Once it is cool, add the water kefir grains. Some may float, others may sink to the bottom, either way it’s fine.
- Cover the jar with a cloth lid and rubber-band. You must use a cloth lid to allow oxygen flow. (It’s best to use a tight-weave cloth to prevent bugs)
- Keep at a moderate room temperature, out of direct sunlight for 48 hours. Temperature should be between 65-78 degrees F.
- After 48 hours you should see some bubbles floating up from the kefir grains when you move the jar a little.
- Make a fresh batch of sugar water as in the previous directions.
- Strain the water kefir grains from the fermented sugar water and place them in the jar of fresh sugar water. Set the fermented sugar water aside for bottling. Add a tablespoon of already fermented water kefir to the fresh batch.
- The fermented sugar water is now ready for flavoring and bottling (secondary fermentation)
- For secondary fermentation, you need pressure safe glass bottles and fruit juice for flavoring. I typically fill the bottles 3/4th of the way with fermented sugar water and the rest of the way with juice. Once the bottles are sealed, carbonation builds in the bottles. Secondary fermentation can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours depending on the temperature and amount of juice added.
Notes
- You can sub the molasses for apple juice or honey or a pitted date
- the molasses is optional.
- to see better growth and stronger grains, rest the grains for a week or two in the same sugar water before feeding fresh sugar water.
- Click here for live water kefir grains
So grateful, thank you! Incredibly helpful, esp on the week long ferment for grain health.
Big thanks from me and my community, who are all benefiting from your sage advice and microbiotic expertise…
Hello
If I was to buy one of those cactus plants, is there anything I would need to do to the grains the produce to safely use them? I like their look.
I’ve never done this, and I’m not sure how to. I think the grains naturally form in the juice and on the pads of the cacti when they are harvested and prepared for nopales.
Good day! I trust you all are well! I have read your lovely articles about water kefir but I still feel somewhat lost. I bought dried water kefir grains and started to rehydrate them. I followed the instructions (more or less…) I used organic raw cane sugar and a slice of lemon (it wasn’t in the instructions). The grains were small and brownish. After a few cycles (about 4 to 5) they completely disintegrated like sand and the water stayed sweet.
I threw them away. I live in the UAE and the “room temperature” was over 30 degree centigrade, maybe 36 or so. (Outside temperature hits 48 occasionally and it might goes up to 55 some days in August…)
I started it again with new dehydrated grains. I keep the bottle in airconditioned room where the temperature is 28 degree Celsius maximum. After three cycles the grains are still brownish and small but not like sand (just a little bit…) I still feed them with organic raw cane sugar (as per the instructions) and with a slice of lemon. I poured out the first batch. The water after the second and third feeding and fermentation (2 days) was not sweet anymore. However the grains are still brownish and very small and on the bottom it looks like sand.
I don’t know if I am on the right way.
What is the maximum temperature I can keep the culture without any problem?
How long does it take for the culture to recover?
Is it suitable for consumption?
I don’t even know what it should taste like! (But I am desperate!)
Could you please help me? I would appreciate your advice!
Many thanks and regards
I can’t offer much advice if you don’t follow the directions I provide here. It sounds like you have not tried the suggestions in this blog post. I suggest following all the advice I’ve provided in this blog.
Thanks! I had been looking for help after having problems and found your site… I didn’t have time yet to try your instructions. But I will!
Hi Kaitlynn, I followed the instructions in the feeding recipe. I used organic maple syrup because it was available here. The taste after the first fermentation was very strange so I didn’t use it. The appearance of the grains didn’t change. (I would post the before-after pics if I could.) Should I repeat the protocol until the grains start growing and look better? How long might it take for the grains to recover?
Hello Kaitlynn, hope you are well!
I’ve been following you for a while, and thanks to you I decided to try and add more fermented foods to my diet.
I bought a batch of water kefir grains and since they looked small and somewhat weak, I fed them using your recipe with salt and molasses to help them perk up, three consecutive times.
They’re slowly gaining more volume but to my very big surprise, there’s a scooby on top. The grains still look well, and the smell is not unpleasant or anything.
Did I do something wrong? Is it still okay to use them?
Many thanks
that’s normal and can happen occasionally! Just scoop it off and continue.
This is awesome 👌 I have a scoby on top of mine too.
Hi Kaitlynn and thank you for your awesome blog. I am now beginning my water kefir journey and there seems to be some mixed opinions on if you can use metal with your kefir grains, such as metal strain.
What are your thoughts on that?
Again thanks so much for all your recipes and info
It’s a myth. Mostly all utensils are made of non-reactive metal, so it doesn’t matter. I use a fine mesh strainer made of stainless steel and it works great.
Hello! Your notes mention that we don’t have to feed like this every time, but if we do is that okay? Is there any risk of over mineralizing the grains?
You can feed like this every time. Sometimes I switch to just sugar when brewing specific flavors of water kefir.
I used this recipe to feed my kefir grains. Its been 4 days and I have a floating mother on top. Is this normal/ok? The grains are at the bottom and look pretty happy.
pretty common! all grains are different, so some do this and some don’t. As long as it’s not fuzzy or chalky its perfectly fine.
Hello!
My wife and I are starting our water kefir journey… but having a bit of trouble getting a good result. A couple odd things we’ve noticed after about a month of using the dehydrated starter grains.
1) our grains aren’t multiplying or even growing. They are still aboit the same size they were when we rehydrated them
2) the smell seems a bit odd to me… It doesn’t quite smell quite how others describe it online. To me, it doesnt smell very tangy. Rather, it has a mildly cheesy smell… Maybe that’s the yeast?. But I’m used to kombucha and the tangy smell that it has when fermented. I don’t smell much of that here.
Appreciate any thoughts. Been loving the cultured guru and a science based approach to ferments!
It’s normal for water kefir grains to have a slightly more funky smell than kombucha because it’s totally different microbes. Have you used the recipe here to feed them?
We’ve tried variations on it in the past before finding your site. At the time we found your site, we were using 250 to 500 ml coconut water then the rest regular filtered water (1000ml liquid in total). Then of course the sugar.
We’ve switched to using your recipe for the last several batches but don’t notice any growth or multiplication yet. Figuring it may need more time…?
Hello, I have been following your recipe and the Kefir tastes great, however even when left to carbonate for 5 days it does not get fizzy. Would you have any advice on this ? Thanks
I am new at making kefir, your information is very helpful, thank you. If there are no bubbles from the first fermentation is it still good to use?
yeah, you wont have bubbles until you carbonate it in a second fermentation
Thank you for your guidance! Once the second fermentation is complete, how long can the bottles be stored in the refrigerator?
at least a couple months!
After the secondary ferment, do the sealed bottles need to be burped? If so, how frequently? I followed the directions and lost more than half of the water kefir due to the carbonation (thankfully I owned them outside!)
They don’t usually need to be burped when stored in the fridge. When opening, don’t just flip the top off willy nilly. You should carefully open it by holding the lid firmly down before releasing the clip, then rock your hand back and forth to slowly let out the gas.
Thanks for the reply! To confirm, once I add the fruit juice for the secondary ferment, the bottles should stay at room temp? I’m trying to figure out how to avoid the huge fizzy overflow when I tried to open after 72 hours (did not burp).
Have you ever traveled with your grains? I am about to move continents and wonder what the best method to get them moved via airplane might be! Thanks!!
I have traveled with some to give to a friend! Dehydrating them is the best way! You can put them on a lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 100 F until fully dry. Then you can pack them in your carry on or check bag!
Hi Kaitlynn! Thank you so much for offering all this information for free. I’m about to start water kefir and I’m wondering… Why do you boil the sugar mixture first? Is there an important reason behind this? Also, does the sugar water in the second fermentation also have to be boiled? Thank you!
I boil it then cool so that I don’t contaminate my grains. I secondary flavor/ferment with bottled pasteurized juice.