Raspberry Gobsmacking Delicious Water Kefir

I first tried water kefir in the spring with a friend here on the page. It was very tasty. I decided to try my hands at making my own & I am so hooked! 

The last 10-14 days I have been experimenting and working with water kefir grains.
First, I order some organic water kefir grains from Amazon.



The kefir grains arrived in this package, which included a website to get download and print a pdf with instructions. All I did was follow the instructions. Easy enough. 1 quart non-chlorinated water, 1/4 c. sugar and the water kefir grains.

 
Aren't they cute?

Since it was the first batch, it took about 5 days to become effervescent enough. I had it fermenting in a warm place, out of direct sunlight. I tasted the kefir water every 24 hrs., until I thought I liked the level of effervesce. 

After five days, I stained the grains out and added another quart of water, 1/4 cup sugar to the kefir grains to get batch 2 rolling. 

The first batch, second fermentation...I split the water kefir in half. Added ginger water ice cubes (melted) from when I was processing ginger the previous week & the other half I added hardy kiwis. 

Honestly, these batches we just o.k. Operator error I am sure, but good enough. But, the second batch, oh my goodness!!!

The second batch took 5 days days to effervesce. I drained out the water kefir grains added 1 quart water, 1/4 sugar to the grains and started the third batch.
Then I added dehydrated raspberries to the second batch, for a second fermentation...  

The second fermentation with the raspberries added took two days to reach the right level of happiness (you are tasting a little bit each day).

Let me tell you. This raspberry batch is gobsmacking delicious!!! I needed add just a little more sugar for my taste. now my only concern is having enough kefir water in process to keep up with drinking. 

I still keep up with my milk kefir, but I find for me I prefer not to drink it. But, that probably has to do with the fact that I am not a fan of drinking milk to start with. I continue to grow it slowly and use the well drained milk to add to various dishes I cook, like lasagna.

Water and milk kefir are a great way to add probiotics to your diet, which in turn get your "gut" healthy. This is one of the steps I am actively pursuing to build my immune system into tip top shape to help me protect myself from various illness and "viruses" that are abounding currently. I also hope Mr. Perky likes it enough to cut back on his strong soda/pop addiction. 

In conclusion, this is something I really glad I tried. These same grains will continue to multiply and can have an unlimited life span if taken care of properly.

Water Kefir Part 2