Water Kefir Quick Guide
Here is the greatly abridged water kefir guide for those who want to get started right away without being overwhelmed by details.
Steps
1. Place 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of water kefir grains into a quart sized or larger glass jar.
2. Add 4-6 tablespoons of sugar. Around 50% should be cane sugar (white sugar) and 50% should be of a good mineral rich sugar such as whole cane, rapadura or palm sugar. Alternatively, you can try 80% white sugar and 20% blackstrap molasses. If you are looking to use dried fruits or alternate sugars, read the larger main water kefir guide.
3. Pour 4 cups of spring, mineral or well water into the jar.
4. Stir to help dissolve the sugar. It doesn't have to be perfect. Some undissolved sugar is just fine. It won't hurt the grains to stir them, but you can mix the sugar before adding the grains if desired.
5. Let sit for 48 hours.
6. Strain the liquid from the grains. That liquid is the finished water kefir. If the grains have grown, place only 1/4 cup of grains back into the jar and repeat the whole process.
7. You can drink the finished kefir right away or store in a closed bottle to build carbonation or meld flavors. Or you can try a second ferment.
2. Add 4-6 tablespoons of sugar. Around 50% should be cane sugar (white sugar) and 50% should be of a good mineral rich sugar such as whole cane, rapadura or palm sugar. Alternatively, you can try 80% white sugar and 20% blackstrap molasses. If you are looking to use dried fruits or alternate sugars, read the larger main water kefir guide.
3. Pour 4 cups of spring, mineral or well water into the jar.
4. Stir to help dissolve the sugar. It doesn't have to be perfect. Some undissolved sugar is just fine. It won't hurt the grains to stir them, but you can mix the sugar before adding the grains if desired.
5. Let sit for 48 hours.
6. Strain the liquid from the grains. That liquid is the finished water kefir. If the grains have grown, place only 1/4 cup of grains back into the jar and repeat the whole process.
7. You can drink the finished kefir right away or store in a closed bottle to build carbonation or meld flavors. Or you can try a second ferment.
We recommended going back to the main water kefir guide for more details, tips, ideas, troubleshooting help, etc.