Cultures for Health Water Kefir Grains | DIY Fermented Probiotic Drink Powder for Stronger Gut Health | Heirloom Starter Makes Limitless Supply | Non-GMO Dairy Free Vegan Sparkling Water with Enzymes

I should start this out by saying I’m not new to active cultured foods. I currently maintain several starters such as sourdough, kombucha, milk kefir, sour cream and lots of fermented veggies. So I’m aware that good quality dechlorinated water and the right kind of sugar are important. However, this was my first try at water kefir. I chose this brand because they seem to have a good reputation, I’ve purchased a sour cream starter culture from them in the past. I was pretty shocked though at the price of the water kefir starter, but I figured as long as I only have to buy it once, it’s worth it. I received the culture, made sure it came to room temp, and followed the detailed instructions on the packet, as well as the companies tutorial video to get started. By day 3, the kefir grains had somewhat rehydrated, though they didn’t look like plump translucent grains that I’ve seen before. They’re just brown mushy grains that have clearly disintegrated. I strained them anyway and put them in fresh sugar water to find that they’re fully disintegrated. What a mess. I’ve contacted the company to see if they’d help me troubleshoot, but so far I’ve heard nothing. I occasionally sell some of my starter cultures to people locally, and would never just leave them to figure it out in their own, and I charge a small fraction of this price. So I’ll be extremely irritated if Cultures for Health ghosts me on such a ridiculously priced product. I’ll be sure to update my review if I ever hear back.

I have so far purchased three packets of water kefir grains over the past year. The second one was a replacement for the first getting contaminated with fig seeds and the third was to increase my production capacity. The grains as received are dehydrated and usually appear very dark brown. But, after following the rehydrating procedure, they flesh out and become pearlescent and translucent. Each batch fills two liter Weck juice jars which can be found here https://smile.amazon.com/Weck-Juice-Jars-35-9-Ounce/dp/B00DHNSKAO My go-to recipe consists of adding the following to a gallon glass jar: 1/3 C of raw, unrefined sugar dissolved in 2 C of boiling filtered water; 6 C of cool, filtered water to bring the overall temperature to ~80°F; a dozen drops of Concentrace; 1 packet of rehydrated water kefir grains; and 1 fresh lemon, cut in half, NOT squeezed The top of the gallon jar is covered with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band. It is then placed on top of the fridge to keep warm. In the winter, my apartment is frigid and I haven't had difficulty maintaining kefir fermentation while on top of the fridge. The batch is then allowed to ferment up to 3 days. Over this time you'll see the water start clear and become cloudy as the kefir grains metabolize the sugar. Once the first ferment has progressed as far as I like, I proceed to the second ferment. I add 2 T of raw, unrefined sugar to a pitcher large enough for the 8 cups of liquid. I then remove the lemon halves and squeeze the juice into the pitcher, through a strainer. After cleaning the lemon guts out of the strainer, I pour the liquid into the pitcher through the strainer to catch the grains. After stirring to make sure the sugar has dissolved, I pour the batch into the carafes, cap them and place them on top of the fridge for a couple days for the second ferment. At this point, you can place the carafes in the fridge or simply leave them out on the counter. The nice thing with the Weck jars is that while they seal, I've found that the seals aren't _that_ good, meaning you're not going to have an explosion from an overactive ferment! As I watch the second ferment, I see a steady stream of bubbles rising through the liquid, so I know activity is high. Lately though, if I put the carafes in the fridge for a day or two, when I drink them, they have been totally flat! It doesn't make sense. However, if I leave them at room temperature and then pour the kefir over ice, the drink is nicely carbonated and cool. Of course, this isn't the only way to make water kefir and you can use whatever flavorings you like. These grains are an easy start to making a healthy drink that will add more probiotics to your diet! Highly recommended!!

They're dead. I'm on my 8th cycle and still nothing. Even the QR code on the package links to a site that doesn't exist.

Nice, plump kefir grains. This is the first time I've tried dehydrated grains. I bought fresh kefer grains from a seller on Amazon a month or so ago. I want to make more kefir, so ordered more grains. Thought I'd try the Cultures for Health dehydrated type. The instructions were easy to follow and I had my first jar of water kefir after 4 days. It's very easy to rehydrate. Put 1/4 cup good quality sugar in a quart jar with warm purified water. I use organic sucanat sugar for my water kefir. Let the sugar totally dissolve, then add the kefir grains. Wait 3-4 days until the grains have gotten big and translucent. Then strain off the grains, put the kefir in the fridge and start a new batch by repeating the 1/4 cup sugar in a jar of water process again. Every 48 hours, you'll have a new batch of water kefir. This is such a healthy, tasty, refreshing drink; full of natural probiotics! I understand that many people put the finished kefir into a 2nd ferment by adding fruit or fruit juice and letting it ferment another day or so. You can flavor it any way you want. The second ferment makes fizzy kefir and resembles soda. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to give it a try. These Cultures for Health kefir grains are much bigger than my other water kefir grains. The kefir tastes slightly different, but equally good. I was making milk kefir on a regular basis, but felt I was putting on weight because of the full fat milk. I switched to water kefir and I like it better because it's not so filling. Also, making water kefir is easier and cheaper than making milk kefir. Water kefir only needs "harvesting" every 48 hours, as opposed to milk kefir which ferments in 24 hours. If you're considering making your own water kefir, I highly recommend these grains.

These grains never became viable. I followed the instructions perfectly and they are just not activating. For reference, I have successfully fermented kombucha, milk kefir, and sourdough so I am comfortable with the fermentation process. I also make my own vanilla extract and hot sauce. Note that this product is not returnable so save your money.

I love my kefir!!! I am new to water kefir, and really wasn't sure if I would even like it. But I have become a believer! I have not yet given up my sodas. But give me time 😁. These little grains arrived dehydrated, but sprang to life very quickly, and within a week I was able to enjoy kefir beverages daily. The grains did seem to start out healthy. Which I am sure helps alot. And as long as you follow all the instructions and helpful hints that come with them from the company, I don't see how anyone could go wrong. Very simple to maintain. It just takes persistent care and some informed guidance. Which this company has in spades! They have youtube videos galore. And entire sections of their website devoted to recipes, and cold weather advice, hot weather advice, troubleshooting, what you should expect, what everything should look and act like, and additional fermentation products and advice. Honestly even if I hadn't bought my grains from them I'd still want to use their site for all it's wonderful advice! I am so happy with my purchase and to be supporting this company. The grains have done so well I'm actually at the point of trying to figure out what to do with all my extra grains now!! They are multiplying like crazy! I just can't say enough good things about this company! If your looking for kefir grains, then buy from these guys! You will be glad you did! I sure am 💞💕❤

Grains did activate but after two attempts. Gave it plenty of time both time. Go to better reviewed products.

After a shipping problem I finally got these in. I heard about water kefir in mother earth news and decided to try it. I followed the instruction for making the sugar water and activated the grains. After draining them after two days I started the first production run. I keep it in a small closet on top of the water heater. It stays around 74 with the door shut. After two days I took it out and drained the grains. The kefir water smelled and tasted like buttered toast. Not bad but not to my cup of tea, or in this case kefir. I will try making the soda type kefir and have ordered some grolsch bottles. UPDATE (11-19-2016) I have now made several batches of the soda kefir and added several photos. I went to a local big box store and had a hard time finding pure fruit juice. Almost all of it had high fructose corn syrup and other.......stuff that would require a PhD in linguistics just to pronounce. The only strait fruit juice was grape and I don't really like grape. The only other that was close was Juicy Juice. The only one of that brand that seemed ok to me was Strawberry Banana. Of course it was mostly apple juice and water with just enough strawberry and banana in it to pass in a court of law. I burped them once a day. The first day there was no sound or other indication of carbonation. The second day there was some off gassing when I burped them. I tried one bottle and let the other one set for another twenty four hours. It tasted a bit alcoholic without much carbonation. The next day I tried the second and it had an even stronger alcohol taste. It also let off more gas when opened but it did not have the same type of carbonation as soda. Maybe the carbonation is more dissolved? I will go to smaller stores and see if I can find real fruit juice without high fructose corn syrup, long named chemicals, or apple juice water with wacky mixes of random fruits.