How to make Water kefir! A happy bubbly, fruit-infused sparkling water, that is packed full of healthy probiotics that will energize the body and help heal the gut.
Hi, I’d like you to introduce you to happy, bubbly WATER KEFIR! A delicious, effervescent, fruit-infused water, full of healthy probiotics, that heal the gut, clear the skin and energize the whole body. AND THE BEST PART…..IT’S SO EASY TO MAKE at home! And in my humble opinion tastes WAY better than Kombucha, with so much less fuss.
I hadn’t heard of water kefir until a friend of mine, Bee (from H is For Love), introduced it to me a few months ago, and since then, I’ve been crazy, head-over-heels in love with it. Here’s an easy guide to help you get on your way to making this delicious drink at home!
How to Make Water Kefir! ( 45 second video)
It is similar to kombucha in that it’s lightly fermented, but it is made with live water kefir grains, which actually come from a cactus. So not only is this a dairy-free probiotic, it’s gluten-free. And even the water kefir grains are “fed” with sugar, very little sugar ends up in the finished product. The water kefir grains actually metabolize (consume) most of the sugar out. 
There are so many versions to make….. the possibilities are endless! The first photo above was made with concord grapes. And here is Strawberry Water Kefir with Chia Seeds– energizing and refreshing!
During a normal day, right around 2 pm or 3pm, I get what I call “the sleepies.” I hit a wall and my brain shuts off. Normally I’ll make a cup of green tea and muscle my way through it, but lately I’ve been having a glass of water kefir, and I feel so refreshed and awake after drinking it.
It takes about 3 days to make, with only 5 minutes of prep time. You can flavor and infuse it how you like, adding your favorite seasonal fruits. During the summer, infuse with fresh strawberries, raspberries, strawberries, plums or peaches. During fall, I’ve been infusing this with pears, apples and concord grapes.
You can add ginger, and other spice flavorings. It’s simple to make and actually a really fun process – most of all, a natural, healthy way to get your probiotics.
This is Bee. She came over a while back and walked me through the simple steps to make water kefir– which I’ll share with you here. It’s so easy! Besides the water kefir grains, which you can purchase here, you really only need a few things that you probably already have at home.
Three large mason jars
a strainer
Fruit
Water!
And just a heads up, I like this Yemoos site – such a great resource for more detailed information on how to make water kefir. They also have sourdough starters, kombucha starters and a myriad of other interesting things.
To start, these are what the water kefir grains look like. They are soft and gelatinous and actually grow when healthy and fed, so you can give some to a friend, like how Bee gave me some of hers. They are thought to originate from Mexico where it thrived in the sugary water of the Ountia (prickly pear) cactus.
To start you will need ½ cup of these water kefir grains.
Then fill up two ½ gallon sized mason jars, half- way full with water.
These are the extra-large two-quart jars.
Here locally in the Northwest, our regular tap water works well and keeps the kefir grains happy.
Here are some facts regarding water from the Yeemos Site:
“Water kefir generally prefers a nutritious highly mineralized water (also called hard water, or mineral water / spring water if it’s from a bottle). Soft water, filtered water, carbon-activated, ionized or otherwise altered water does not seem to encourage the same amount of growth or vitality in our observations.”
“Reverse osmosis water has in most of our observations led to eventual kefir grain death even. It just doesn’t contain enough of the various and vital minerals found in normal tap, spring or mineral water. Also, chlorine can be an issue and should be avoided if possible. To remove some of the chlorine you can let your water set out (without a lid) and it will evaporate in about 24 hours.”
“Water Kefir grains typically love well water as it is usually high in good minerals – usually much more minerals than you find in a typical spring water bottle. ”
To the water, you will mix in ¼ cup of organic cane sugar into each jar. Bee likes to make a sugar mixture dedicated to kefir making, which increases the mineral content — mixing 4 cups cane sugar with 1 cup coconut sugar, and a tablespoon of Himalyan sea salt.
Now before you start thinking (like I did) that there is so much sugar in this, and how it must be so high in calories, remember, the kefir grains metabolize the sugar, which means they basically “eat” the sugar, (this is what feeds them) taking it out of the water. Once it’s done doing its thing, the water is only very mildly sweet, which I find completely and utterly fascinating.
“Kefir grains are an amazing symbiotic matrix of bacteria and yeast that work together to feed off the natural sugars (and sometimes proteins and fats too, especially in the case of milk kefir) found present in the sugar-water and dried fruits. The yeast and bacteria co-operate, making the nutrients that are inaccessible to one digested into accessible nutrients for the other. Yeasts break down the simple sugars like glucose and fructose, turning them into ethanol and acetic acid. Lactic and acid-producing bacteria (such as lactobacilli) convert sugars (such as sucrose) and complex carbohydrates (starches, etc) into simpler sugars and lactic acid. Lactic and acetic acids naturally preserve as well as stave off harmful foreign bacteria. The result is a drink that has had much of the sugar converted to simpler sugars, lactic and acetic acids, carbon dioxide and ethanol. It also contains millions of probiotics and is more nutritious in some regards because of the more bio-available and digestible nutrients from the sugars and dried fruits including an increase in vitamin C and many B vitamins.” From Yemoos
So, stir in ¼ cup organic sugar (or a mixture of organic can sugar, coconut sugar and sea salt) into each jar of water.
Here are other sugars/sweeteners you can use: Sucanat, Rapadura, Muscavado, Demarara, Panela, Jaggery, Turbinado, brown sugar , molasses, pure maple syrup, white sugar, sugar cane juice, whole cane sugar, raw sugar, powdered sugar, basic white sugar, and Piloncillo (evaporated sugar cane juice in a cone-shape found in Mexican markets).
Stir with a wood spoon until dissolved.
Add the water kefir grains.
Give a gentle stir.
Add a slice of lemon to each and one prune. Now if you are alergic to lemons, or dont have prunes….it’s totally ok to leave them out. These are for flavor.
Cover with a thin kitchen towel. It needs to breath, but you want to prevent little fruit flies from getting in.
Let these sit on the kitchen counter for 2-3 days. Two days if it’s warm out (in the summer), 3 days if it’s cold. Right now in fall, I’m leaving it out for 2 ½ days.
So after 2-3 days your kefir water will have fermented slightly, but there is one more step which gives it flavor and makes it effervescent and bubbly.
Get your third mason jar and place 1- 1 1/2 cups fresh fruit in it — like fresh berries, peaches, apricots, pineapple, plums, concord grapes, apples or pears. You can also add fresh herbs. Then strain both jars of the fermenting kefir into the third clean jar with the fresh fruit in it, straining out the kefir grains (set them aside) filling the jar to a ½ inch from the top. Then cover tightly with a lid, and leave on the counter another 24 hours. Your kefir will start bubbling.
I will tell you that these metal lids like in this photo, are not ideal. Plastic lids are best.
The water kefir is creating gas and building pressure, which you want it to do – this makes it nice and bubbly, but with the metal lids, you must let out some of the pressure, “burping it” every 6 hours or so, so the lid doesn’t bend open (yes this happened to me). With a plastic lid, it stays on fine.
After 24 hours, the fruit will float the surface and it’s time to refrigerate it. Once it’s chilled, give it a try. You can eat the fruit, it won’t hurt you, but I generally just strain it as I pour.
The kefir grains that you strained out earlier can be stored in a smaller jar, in the fridge in sugar water or the extra water kefir you will have after you merge the two jars into one. When refrigerated, you want to feed the grains at least once a week, to keep them healthy and alive. They are happiest when they are actually making water kefir, so I just make a jar a week.
“Water kefir needs to be fed at least every 48 hours (every other day). Kefir grains need to be strained every 24-48 hours (24 hours being hot summer weather, most of the time they can go to 48 or even another day in the cold winter months) and put in a fresh mix of water and sugar. If you or your grains would like to take a break, stick them in the fridge, refreshing them weekly with fresh water and sugar or simply put them in their finished kefir juice for up to a week or two. This can be done for a couple of weeks, then they should be brought back out to room temperature. “ Yeemos Site
Bubbly, sparkling and raspberry infused Water kefir- it’s seriously the best!!!
Here is a ginger plum Water Kefir.
And strawberry Water kefir!
Get some water kefir grains and give it a try!
How to make Water Kefir
A simple guide to make Water Kefir-a refreshing probiotic fruit-infused drink made with water kefir grains ( cactus) that is bubbly, effervescent and so healthy!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 72 hours
- Total Time: 72 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: fermented
- Cuisine: Northwest
Ingredients
- ½ cup live water kefir grains
- 8 cups water- divided
- ½ cup sugar (divided) organic cane, coconut, or a mixture ( this will be metabolized by the kefir grains, so it will NOT end up in the finished drink!!!)
- ½ lemon
- 2 prunes
- ——-
- Tools- Three x 2 quart Mason Jars, plastic lids, strainer, kitchen towel – see notes!
- ——–
- Fruit- 1- 2 cups fresh fruit or fruit juice. Optional additions- ginger, whole spices, herbs.
Instructions
- Fill two, half gallon mason jars with 4 cups cool water in each.
- Add ¼ cup sugar in each, stirring to mostly dissolve.
- Add ¼ cup kefir grains to each jar.
- Add ¼ kefir water to each jar (optional–you can obviously only do this after your first batch of kefir, so just leave it out for the first batch.)
- Add ¼ of a lemon wedge to each jar.
- Add 1 prune to each jar.
- Cover both jars with a thin kitchen cloth and leave on the counter for 2-4 days. 2 days if warm out, 3-4 days if cold. This 2-4 day time period allows the grains “to eat” the sugar, so most of the sugar will actually be metabolized, and not end up in the drink itself. You want the water to get the point where it is not sweet anymore, but tastes a little tangy. So taste it before moving to the next step. If it tastes sweet, it’s not ready. When it’s cold this takes longer.
- After 2-3 days the kefir will have fermented slightly, taste tangy or lightly sour, but there is one more step which gives it flavor and makes it effervescent and bubbly.
- Get your third jar ready and place 1- 1 1/2 cups fresh, ripe fruit in it– like fresh berries, peaches, mango, pineapple, plums, concord grapes, apples, pears – I muddle them up a bit to release their juices. Add a few thin slices of ginger, or whole spices if you wish. Or add 1 cup fruit juice – especially nice in winter when fresh fruit is limited.
- Strain both jars of the fermenting kefir water into the third clean jar with the fresh fruit in it, straining out the kefir grains ( set them aside) filling the clean jar( with the fruit in it) to a ½ inch from the top. Then cover tightly with a metal lid, and leave this on the counter another 24 hours, allowing pressure to build up yet, burping them ( releasing the pressure), every 8 hours or so, especially if warm.
- I will warn you that these metal lids like in the photos above, have pros and cons. They allow pressure to build up, creating bubbly effervescent kefir, but they can explode if the pressure is not released occasionally. Plastic lids are “self-burping”, which if you are away from home for over 8 hours, I would recommend using. The down side is the plastic lids do not let the pressure build quite enough in my opinion so kefir is not quite as bubbly. Sometimes I switch between both, depending if I am planning to be gone.
- To reiterate- During the 2nd phase, the water kefir is creating gas and building pressure, which you want it to do – this makes it nice and bubbly, but with the metal lids, you must let out some of the pressure, “burping it” every 6-8 hours or so, so the lid doesn’t bend or blast open (yes this happened to me). With a plastic lid, it stays on fine, it self burps, but it’s less bubbly.
- After 24 hours, the fruit will float to the the surface and it’s time to refrigerate it. Burp it, place it in the fridge. Once it’s chilled, give it a try. You can strain this and put it in a different pourable container, or just strain as you pour, leaving the fruit in for maximum infusion. Up to you.
- The kefir grains that you strained out earlier should be stored in a smaller jar, in the extra kefir water you will have after you merge the two jars into one. You can refrigerate them and feed with a teaspoon or two of sugar, every week –or if trying to grow more grains to give away, store the jar on the counter, feeding every couple of days. They grow faster at room temp, and grow slower in the fridge. They are happiest when they are actually making water kefir, so I usually make a jar a week.
Nutrition
- Calories: 85
Keywords: water kefir, how to make water kefir, what is water kefir, water kefir recipes,
I have water kefir grains In my frig for 2 years. Will they be OK ?
Only if you been feeding them ( with sugar) regularly.
Hello! I just got done with the second part of the directions (putting the fermented water into one jar and storing the water kefir grains in the left over water in the refrigerator). Quick question for you:
When storing the water kefir grains in the jar in the refrigerator, do you put a lid on it or keep a towel over it? So far I left the towel with rubber bands over the top, but ideally I’d like to put a lid on it. I just don’t want to “hurt” the grains. Haha
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I put a lid on it but don’t tighten it.
Thank you!
Do I need the 3 types of different sugar, or I could I just add one type?
One type is just fine!
Thank you Sylvia
My son needs the probiotics but doesn’t like the fiz So.. I ferment only once – kefir, sugar water and fruit – then remove the floating fruit and strain the kefir.
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That sounds perfect!
Do I need to sterilise the jars first?
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No just use clean jars. 🙂
Can you share me Ginger plum recipe?
I just add 1-2 cups juicy plums (mashed a little) and 1/4 cup sliced fresh ginger!
Hi!
Love your site and your recipes!
Just realized today however that I had forgotten the part about the kefir water added in until I just reviewed the recipe for a friend. Have been using your recipe for a couple of weeks now without the added kefir water and have been making the 2nd ferments with the full amount. Is the kefir water strictly necessary? Does it add a lot to the flavor and fermentation?
Also, I’d heard in the past that the grains should never touch actual grains of sugar. When you’re feeding the grains with the couple of teaspoons sugar do you just add those directly to the grains and water or dissolve first?
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Hi, Thanks for the comment! I think as long as you have been getting active fermentation, omitting the water kefir is probably fine. Try adding it the next time, and see if you see a difference. It may help with speeding up the fermentation process. I’ve recently heard that too about the sugar,but I still just put it directly in, stirring until dissolved. It hasn’t affected it.
Thank you Sylvia
My son needs the probiotics but doesn’t like the fiz So.. I ferment only once – kefir, sugar water and fruit – then remove the floating fruit and strain the kefir.
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I love this recipe! My friend made it and it turned out great for her.
I was wondering if I could substitute something for the lemon? I am allergic to lemons/limes. Can orange, pinapple,
or grapefruit be used? Thx!!
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You can just leave the lemon out!
Awesome! Thank you!
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Awesome! Thank you!
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Thank you for the recipe, I’m just waiting for my first batch to be finished!!
For the second step, where you add fresh fruits, is it also an option to add frozen fruit?
Thank you!
Yes feel free!
Wet easy to understand explanations and instructions. Great job. I had ordered water kefir grains and then had to be admitted to the hospital before they arrived. My hubby put them in the fridge but forgot to tell me and there they sat for 3 weeks. I found the yesterday ! They are in a sealed plastic bags, no liquid of any kind. They look and smell fine. Do you think they are IK to use?
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Just start feeling them -and see if they begin multiplying.
(Feeding)
For maintenance of the strained kefir grains:
1. Does it matter how long you leave them in the jar?
2. Should you try to change/use up the Kefir water regularly to maintain the health of these grains or does it not matter?
3. Does it matter how long the grains sit there? Do older grains become more alcoholic or less/more effective?
4. How often do you restart your kefir water? Do you mean you restart this recipe once a week?
Thanks!
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For maintenance: I leave them in the same jar, covered in water, stored in the fridge and feed them weekly, with roughly 2 teaspoons sugar. Feel free to strain and use fresh water on occasion adding sugar when you do. Older grains just get bigger and multiply, they dont get more alcoholic. It doesn’t matter how long the grains sit there (in the fridge) as long as they are fed regularly. If Im going on a long 2-3 trip, I will double or triple the sugar before I leave, but best to feed weekly. T see if you are feeding them the right amount of sugar – taste the water, and if is overly sour, a week after feeding, you will know they have consumed all sugar and need to be fed and maybe even give a little more sugar. If the water is still sweet a week later, you can cut back on the sugar. I make Kefir water every once in a while. So like once a month. Maintaining them in the fridge between uses.
Am I getting fewer probiotics in the first ferment?…I’m a liver transplant and alcohol averse, so I want as little alcohol as poss. I’m now making plain second ferment and happy with the “FIZZ”, but I taste more alcohol…so, my original question in first line…) email: myuli2000@yahoo.com… I am saving your instructions in “pocket” best I’ve seen so far…kudos )
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Hi Tony- yes full of healthy probiotics. Like Kombucha there may be trace amounts of alcohol in this. But low enough to label it non-alcoholic. The fermentaion does produce small amounts of alcohol. The longer the ferment, higher the level- but still low. Are you able to drink commercial kombucha- if so, this should be ok but please use your best judgment? I’m not experienced enough to know the answer to this.
Hi What’s the idea of splitting the 1st ferment in half? Why not do 1 half gallon ferment?
Thanks
Stu
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That is a good question- and to be honest- I’m not sure. This is the way I was taught. I will try just using one half-gallon jar and see what happens and let you know here in a few days. 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I got my grains yesterday, they are already in water-sugar solution. Can’t wait to see the result, although it may take a while because it’s cold here! Already thinking about cool flavor combinations, like mango-mint or apple-cinnamon!
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I love this and want to try this!! I have two questions…
1-where do I buy the grains?
2- have you ever tried “the easy fermenter” lids that keep oxygen out but let the carbon dioxide out?
Could I use these lids with this recipe?
Thanks for you wisdom and your time!
There are links in the post for the grains, in green. Also yes, use the fermentation lids. I haven’t personally used but have heard they are great!
Hi, I am wondering how long the finished product lasts in the fridge? I am seeing 1 month tops, is there an exception to the rule?
Thanks so much
That sounds about right. I don’t think it will go bad, but it may lose its delicious effervescence.
Looking forward to trying this recipe.
I have milk kefir seeds but found I much prefer water kefir. If I clean them well can I use them to make water kefir?
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I think they are a different kind of kefir!
You need a different kind of kefir grain, for water kefir. It is not the same.
Will do my own kefir in the next few weeks. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Help!! I have made 2 batches now and each time that i have opened the bottle on the second ferment, it has exploded out leaving me less than half of the kefir water to enjoy!! Not to mention the mess in my kitchen! The second ferment on my first batch included frozen blueberries and a bit of grape juice and was left only 24 hours. The second batch had candied ginger (about 4 pieces) and some apple juice…again only left for 22 hours. I am almost ready to give up on making this unless i can figure out why i keep getting this reaction and what i can do to fix it. Any advise you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
hi Laurie, Wow! So…the good news is your kefir is alive and very happy! Sorry about the explosion. You just need to release the pressure ( open the lid and burp it) sooner, like after 12-14 hours. Then seal again to build up the carbonation. You could also use a self-burping lid. You want it build up some pressure, so you get good carbonation – but it sounds like yours is building too much, so just try releasing it sooner, after 12 hours. Reseal for 12, try that. 😉
I just bought some water kefir grains, and really did not understand how it works, or can be rested, until I found this page and recipe. A huge thank you for putting all the information together. and making me less scared of messing it up.
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Can you make apple cider using apple juice instead of fruit in this recipe? Thank you.
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Im not sure, give it a try?
Hi!
I think I already screwed this up. ?♀️ I used a jar with a plastic lid for the first step of fermentation. It’s day 2 and I switched to a kitchen towel. Is it salvageable?
Thanks
totally! keep going!
I only gave it 4 stars because all that I have read tell me that I only add fruit into my second fermenting and I don’t understand the addition into the first fermenting.
Other than that, I love it and have copied and sent it to me via Email, so I will have it to keep my Water Kefir Grains healthy and happy for years to come.
Thanks for the information and help in “Raising my Grains”
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Hi Sharon, the fruit is added to the second fermentation. The lemon and prune are not considered the actual “fruit”, they just seem to add extra flavor- optional!