Water Kefir FAQ | Common Questions & Troubleshooting
Welcome! This page will take you through common questions that you may have about your kefir grains and help you troubleshoot many common issues. You can buy our live organic water kefir grains here if you haven’t already. Our kefir grains are posted freshly fed and live.
How Should Water Kefir Taste?
Water kefir has a tangy, slightly sweet, and refreshing taste to it and should be slightly carbonated. However, the exact taste can be personalised through fermentation time, optional flavouring additions, and secondary fermentations.
Will My Water Kefir Grains Survive Shipping?
Our kefir grains can safely survive in transit for 2 weeks, which is in the delivery window for the vast majority of our orders. In the unlikely event of a delayed delivery, we will always make it right with you. Please note that after receiving your grains, they will need a short recovery period, which you can read about below.
My Water Kefir Grains Aren’t Working
If you bought live water kefir grains, it can take up to a week for your grains to adapt to their new environment and recover from transit. So, don’t be concerned if the first batch or two doesn’t fully ferment. This is the same case for dehydrated water kefir grains, but they also need to be rehydrated for 3 to 4 days before their first batch.
Simply make a new batch every 24 to 48 hours, as per the instructions, and keep an eye out for signs of fermentation – that being, a change in smell, taste, or small bubbles. If you have made 3 batches or more and still can’t see any signs of fermentation, please contact customer support.
What Is The Difference Between Dried Water Kefir Grains And Live Water Kefir Grains?
Live water kefir grains, often simply called water kefir grains, are grains that are hydrated, plump, and slightly slimy. They are in an active, ready-to-use state for making water kefir. The drawback of live kefir grains is that as soon as they are received by mail, they should be used immediately as they’re perishable and start to decline in health 2 weeks from the date of shipment.
On the other hand, dried water kefir grains, also called dehydrated water kefir grains, are simply live kefir grains that have had all of the moisture removed from them. This essentially puts the grains to sleep and extends their shelf life anywhere from 6 to 18 months, depending on storage conditions. However, before the grains can be used, they need to be woken up from their dormant state into a live state by rehydrating them – this process takes 3-4 days.
Because of this, it’s generally better to buy live kefir grains if you intend to make water kefir as soon as possible. However, if you live in a rural area, if the weather is particularly hot, or are buying the grains as a gift, dried water kefir grains are the better choice.
Why Aren’t My Kefir Grains Growing?
Water kefir grains have the amazing ability to grow much faster than their milk kefir grain cousins. However, the grains are also much more finicky and can stop growing if conditions aren’t ideal. While making an adjustment can sometimes cause the kefir grains to begin growing again, in other cases, they will grow very slowly or cease growing ever again. When this stage is reached, new kefir grains should be purchased. Below are some common causes for a lack of growth in kefir grains:
Infrequent Feedings
Letting your fermentations go for more than 2 days can cause damage to the kefir grains due to the high acidity that the grains are exposed to.
Not Using Chlorine-Free Water
Chlorine from tap water can damage the kefir grains. To remove the chlorine, you can let water sit in an open, empty vessel for 24 hours, use filtered water, or boil tap water and let it cool.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is one of the most common reasons for why water kefir grains stop growing. Because the grains grow fast, it’s very easy to quickly have a water kefir grain to batch ratio that is too high. We recommend having 1 tablespoon of water kefir grains for a 250 ml batch, or 8 tsp for a 500 ml batch. A ratio significantly higher than this, or a ratio moderately higher than this over an extended period of time, can result in over-fermentation. This creates an acidic environment that can damage the kefir grains. You can read more about this below.
Ambient Temperature Is Too Low Or High
An ambient temperature that is too high or low can negatively affect the growth rate of your kefir grains. The optimum temperature for fermentation is 23°C (75°F) – about room temperature. However, anything in the range of 18°C - 28°C (65°F - 85°F) is acceptable. Temperatures below this range can cause the kefir grains to become sluggish in growth, whereas temperatures above this range can start to kill the kefir grains.
Type Of Sugar
Your kefir grains will get the best growth with white, raw, or brown cane sugar due to the high levels of sucrose which the grains can easily break down. Using coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, and palm sugar can result in slow growth due to their lack of nutrients and the grains' difficulty in breaking down the sugar. The grains will also grow well with rapadura, panela, or sucanat sugar. However, the grains can be at risk of over-mineralisation when using these sugars, which you can read more about below.
Why Are My Grains Soft, Mushy Or Falling Apart?
Over-mineralisation occurs when the grains are exposed to too many minerals which can cause them to become soft and mushy, and then to eventually disintegrate. There are a few potential causes of this:
Water type: If you use spring water or if your area has hard water (likely within South Australia and Western Australia), it is easy for over-mineralisation to occur. Switch water sources, or reduce the amount of molasses used.
Sugar type: Rapadura, panela, or sucant sugar are very rich in minerals and should be used sparingly. You can also reduce the amount of molasses added to batches using these sugars.
Too much fruit: If you add fruit to your fermentations, reduce how much is added to your next batch.
Why Is My Water Kefir Thick?
Your water kefir can become thick due to using coconut sugar, maple syrup, palm sugar, or honey, or due to over-mineralisation (read above).
Why Is There White Or Brown Foam On Top Of My Water Kefir?
White or brown foam is common and normally not something to worry about. White foam is is caused by-products of the fermentation and trapped CO2 bubbles. These bubbles can take on a brown appearance, or have brown bits concentrated at the surface of the bubbles – this is just colouring or residual bits from molasses or the sugar used.
Can I Use A Metal Strainer And Spoon?
Using a stainless steel strainer and spoon is perfectly okay and will not harm your kefir grains. Do not allow the grains to come in contact with any other type of metal. Not only could it kill the grains, but there’s the potential for metal ions to leach into the water kefir, which could be harmful to your health in the long term.
I Have A Holiday/Want To Take A Break From Making Water Kefir
If you need to take a break from making water kefir, you can follow the steps under, ‘Taking A Break,’ in our water kefir instructions and recipes.