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Who loves water kefir?
I DO! I enjoy a glass of water kefir with dinner almost every night. It’s my delicious, fizzy little evening treat, plus it throws all those beneficial bacteria and yeasts into my gut to help my digestion and overall health. What’s not to love?
If you’re new to water kefir and don’t know how to make it, I recommend you read this “How to Make Water Kefir” post. This post will teach you the nitty gritty and get you started on your kefir brewin’ journey.
I have been asked by countless readers to share different flavor ideas for water kefir. The awesome thing about water kefir is that you can really flavor it however you want. It is very forgiving and you can be as creative as you’d like. Everything from fruit, to juice, to herbs, to flowers. The sky is the limit for creativity!
Cherry Limeade Water Kefir
Before we get started, here are a few notes:
- For all of these recipes, proportions are what I use for my 1-liter flip-top bottles (like the ones in the picture at the top of this post). If you’re using smaller or larger bottles, you can adjust the proportions. So, for each of the recipes below, you would use 1 quart of brewed water kefir.
- There really is no science to water kefir. It’s rather forgiving and very customizable.
- Always leave some head space. As you can see from the title image, I leave a few inches in my 1-liter flip-top bottles. So, I probably use about 3 cups of water kefir per 1 liter bottle.
- You’ll notice that I use lemon or lime juice in almost every recipe. For some reason, lemon or lime juice has just become customary in all of my water kefir flavors. Not sure why. You can eliminate it if you’d like.
- You can use fresh fruit or fruit juice, whichever you have on hand (frozen also works). If you use fruit, make sure it’s chopped up or puréed, so the flavors release.
- For any of these, you can create a mineral-rich stinging nettle water kefir for an added nutritional boost. Brew your nettle tea, add sugar, cool, add your water kefir grains, ferment as usual. Flavor however you like. For full instructions on how to do this, please read this post: Ferment The Nettle Harvest.
- I am sharing some of my family’s favorite flavors in the guide below, but I encourage you to try whatever combination you think sounds good! I am constantly experimenting! 🙂
Cranberry Lemonade and Peach Lemonade Water Kefir
Let’s Get Fizzy With It! Your Water Kefir Flavor Guide
All recipes for approx. 1 quart of brewed water kefir. Learn how to make water kefir here.
Basic Lemonade or Limeade (or Lemon-Lime Ade)
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and/or
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Blueberry Lemonade
- 6-10 fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Citrus Berry Blast
- 3-4 fresh or frozen blueberries
- 3-4 fresh or frozen raspberries
- 3-4 fresh or frozen blackberries
- 2-3 fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped
- 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
- 1/2 tbsp. elderberries (fresh or dried)
Cherry Limeade
- 6-8 fresh cherries (pits removed)
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Strawberry Lemon or Lime Ade
- 4-5 fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
Strawberry Peach Lemonade
- 4-5 fresh or frozen strawberries
- 2 tbsp. fresh pureed peach or 2 tbsp. peach juice
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Strawberry Kiwi Lemonade
- 4-5 fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1/2 kiwi
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Vitamin C-Booster
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
- 1 tbsp rosehips (dried or fresh)
- 1/2 tbsp. elderberries (dried or fresh)
- Zest from one organic orange
Tropical Beach in a Glass
If you’re feeling adventurous, stir in some coconut milk when serving for a slightly fizzy, creamy treat!
- 1 tbsp. pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Tangy Pomegranate Cranberry
- 1 tbsp. pomegranate juice
- 6 fresh cranberries
- 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
Cranberry Lemonade
- 10 fresh cranberries
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Strawberry Hibiscus Cooler
- 4 fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced or chopped
- 1/2 tbsp. organic hibiscus leaves
- 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
Orange Carrot Fizz
- 1 tbsp. carrot juice
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
Citrus “Mojito”
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
- 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
Fizzy Mango-Mint “Agua Fresca”
- 2 tbsp. fresh mango (chopped) or mango juice
- 1 tbsp. fresh mint leaves (chopped)
Mango Colada
- 2 tbsp. fresh mango or juice
- 2 tbsp. fresh pineapple or juice
- 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Vanilla Cream Soda
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- 1 tsp. sugar
Orange Cream Soda
If you’re feeling adventurous, stir in some coconut milk when serving for a slightly fizzy, creamy treat!
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- 2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
Ginger Lemon Cooler
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger (depends on how gingery you want it)
- 1/2 tbsp. lemon zest
Citrus Pomegranate Cooler
- 1 tbsp. grapefruit juice
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
- 1 tbsp. pomegranate juice
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. orange zest
- 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
Peachy Melon Cooler
- 1 tbsp. fresh honeydew
- 1 tbsp. fresh cantaloupe
- 1 tbsp. fresh peach
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
Peachy Lemonade
- 2 tbsp. fresh peaches or peach juice
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Blackberry Lavender Fizz (inspired by this recipe)
- 5 fresh fresh or frozen blackberries
- 1-2 tsp. lavender flowers (depends on how lavendery you want it)
Orange Spice Water Kefir
- 2 tsp. orange spice herbal tea blend (caffeine free)
Cucumber Melon Mint Fizz
- 2 tbsp. fresh honeydew
- 2 tbsp. fresh cucumber
- 1 tbsp. fresh mint leaves
Whew! That’s a lot! And, there are thousands more recipe combinations just waiting to be discovered! It’s time to get creative in the kitchen! For further reading, check out these posts:
What is your favorite water kefir flavor? Leave a comment below!
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Yum!!! We love water kefir! Thanks for the great recipes. Pinning this now.
Thanks Danielle!!! 🙂
Wow, that’s a lot of really delicious sounding water kefir recipes! After brewing my own kombucha for awhile, I recently started brewing water kefir, and I think I like it even better! It took awhile for me to get the sugar combo down and to start brewing up some good water kefir, but it still takes about 5 days to get to the level of tartness/fizz that I like! I do a secondary ferment for a day, then refrigerate, and I don’t add anything to resulting brew, I thoroughly enjoy it as is. One of these days I’m going to have to try one of these lovely sounding recipes though!
Water kefir is so adaptable. You can do just about anything with it. I usually just end up combining different things that I have on hand. Sometimes it’s a win, sometimes not. I have had a number of batches that we just downright gross! 🙂
do you blend your fruit with the kefir after? I bet that would taste better?
I personally recommend pureeing (or finely chopping) your fruit before adding it to the second ferment. I prefer it pureed, though some people don’t and like to just strain off the fruit when it’s done. I discuss that in the notes section of this post. You certainly could blend your fruit with the kefir when it was done, but if you’re going to do that, you might as well just puree it at the start! Hope that helps — happy fermenting! 🙂
So if you puree the fruit, do you just put it in your blender? do you strain it? My first attempt with whole fruit failed miserably 🙁
Hi Jessica – I usually use my food processor to make the puree. You can also use your blender. I don’t strain my water kefir, but you certainly can if you prefer. Happy fermenting!
Some creative recipes. I have been using 1/2 raw grape juice in 1 liter kefir in my second ferment because I can readily get it. Do you find using 1 tbl of carrot juice and 1 tbl of oj really makes it flavorful? Doesn’t seem like enough juice.
Jessica, how do you clean your flip-top bottles? I have to use a bottle brush to scrub my Fido jars. I haven’t seen a scrubber that would fit inside the narrow neck of a flip-top.
Thx.
Hi Gopika – I find that these proportions suit my taste best, but you could always add more or less, depending on what you want! 🙂 Regarding cleaning, I rinse my bottles out immediately, and then I will use 1 drop of non-toxic dish soap and a bottle cleaning brush to scrub them really good. Then, I either sanitize by boiling them in water, or washing them out with white vinegar. Hope that helps! 🙂
I brew my nettles with thyme and oregano…do you think they would kill off mt grains if I used that for first ferment?
Hi Diane – I have never used herbs for the first ferment, only the second. Here is a post on how to do it with nettles: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/04/52-weeks-of-bad-a-bacteria-week-17-ferment-the-nettle-harvest. You’ll want to do the first ferment with just sugar water and grains, and then add the herbal brew for the second ferment.
These are some great ideas! I tried using fresh mint leaves in my second ferment along with lemon, the leaves turned brown and unpleasant tasting. How did you use the mint?
Hi Krystal – I use the fresh leaves and strain them out before drinking. I haven’t had any problems with the taste, though I try not to use too many. Or, maybe my taste buds are not as sensitive as yours … that is very possible too! 🙂
hi, is it possible to add a link so that we can print out these suggestions????
Thanks!
Kato
Hi Kato – I will work on that this weekend! 🙂
Hi Jessica. I’m getting back into making water kefir and I’m reading all about airtight vs mason jars. Very interesting. I’m thinking of getting some fido jars or picklit jars. For the second ferment, I still use mason jars but I’m curious about using the flip top jars. It just seems that the neck is so narrow that it would be hard to put fruit in there, and to get the fruit out. Also, I’ll be putting bags of herbs in some of them. Do you find that it’s hard to get that stuff in and out of the jars? Do these jars make a big difference? Thanks!
Hi Cregan – Thanks for stopping by. I prefer to puree or very finely chop the fruit when I am using it. Honestly, pureed is my favorite. I like really fizzy water kefir and the flip-top bottles have been the only thing that has allowed me to get that. I never had good experiences with Mason jars. I have not had any problems getting the fruit out of the bottles, though I don’t use really big pieces either. To get the most benefit out of your herbs, it’s best to steep the herbs first in water, add the sugar, cool to room temp, add the WK grains, and then ferment the herb tea. One of my friends is an herbalist and she said just putting dried herbs in a second ferment of water kefir is not going to do much. Most herbs need to be steeped first to unlock the medicinal properties. Here is a tutorial on how to do that with nettles: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/04/52-weeks-of-bad-a-bacteria-week-17-ferment-the-nettle-harvest/. Does that help? 🙂
Hi there! I very recently began making kefir soda – I received my grains in the mail, “activated” them and am on my second batch. My question is this – while the kefir is fermenting, is it supposed to smell like spoiled milk? My batches have been smelling very sour and even after I bottle it with juice, it still smells sour and I haven’t been able to get any carbonation (in spite of the fact that I’m bottling the kefir soda in tight flip cap bottles). Any ideas what’s going wrong? Maybe my kefir grains aren’t all the way active yet? Thanks so much, I love your site and all the work you put into this post is very helpful!!
Hi Julia – I’ve never had that smell with my water kefir. Since they are somewhat new, I’d keep fermenting with them. Sometimes the grains, especially dehydrated grains, take a little while to get up and running when they are “brought back to life”. Once they get fully acclimated, they should start producing a better kefir. The water kefir should smell a tad sweet and kind of yeasty. Hope that helps and thanks for the kind words! 🙂
Hi! I’m now fermenting my kefir with airlock tops for 1st ferment, then moving it to 1L and 1/2L ex-cap bottles for 2nd ferment. After about 24 hours in the bottles, it gets a lot of pressure, and I have to open them very slowly. So it seems really fizzy at first, but then the fizz goes away really fast and it’s not fizzy once I put them in the fridge and want to enjoy a fizzy drink. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep the fizz? Do I need more sugar in second ferment? Or 2nd ferment longer? Should I “burp” it or would that make it lose fizz?
thanks!
Cregan
Hi Cregan – Great questions! I never open my bottles until I’m ready to drink them. So, I let the second ferment go for 1-3 days (depending on my house temp) and then move them to the fridge w/o opening them. I haven’t noticed mine going flat, as long as I drink the opened bottle within a day or two. I think water kefir can some times be finicky, b/c I’ve had batches that were completely flat after the second ferment and then other batches that spray the ceiling when I open it and I lose all of it! You could try adding a couple pinches of sugar to your second ferment and see if that improves it. Also, you could add a pinch of sugar to the bottle that you’ve opened and see if that helps re-create some fizz. I’ve never done that, but it could help. Play with the amount of sugar used and the duration of the 2nd ferment. I find that water kefir varies a lot from house to house, so what works for me might not work for you. Keep me posted and let me know what you discover. 🙂
Hello, can anyone tell me if water kefir expires or goes bad after a period of time?
Thank you.
Hi Carmen – I emailed you earlier about this, but in case you didn’t get it, here is my response:
No, it won’t spoil, though the longer it sits, the more alcohol that builds up, so keep that in mind. I have had some batches that I forgot about in the back of my fridge and when I opened them up, they were like wine. They still tasted good, but definitely had a punch, and if you were avoiding alcohol, then I wouldn’t advise drinking them. They continue to ferment for as long as they sit, so they’ll just get more and more alcoholic the longer they go.
I’d recommend drinking within in a week or two after brewing to ensure the least amount of alcohol, but that also will vary from batch to batch.
Hope that helps!
Hi Wonderful site, very informative and great recipes. I have a question about the recipes with fresh fruit. When do you remove the fruit? Some sites say fresh fruit should only be kept in 2nd ferment for 24 hours. But if you open lid to remove fruit won’t that hurt the “fizziness” of the fermetation? I did not see this as a problem with dried fruit. Thanks
Hi Joyce – I never remove the fruit (fresh or dried) in my kefir ferments. To do so in the middle of the process would definitely not be good for the ferment. I actually eat the fruit on occasion, but most of the time, I just strain it off when I go to drink the kefir. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi!!
Love the article! Can’t wait to try some of these yummy recipes!! I am new to kefir soda making. My kefir seems to be brewing well during the first fermentation. And it builds carbonation well in the second fermentation. However, after a day in the flip top bottle, my soda grows this slimy-looking stuff at the top. Is this normal? I’ve tried rinsing the grains to make sure there is no strange “bad” bacteria growing in there. Also making sure to sanitize my jars and bottles. But it keeps coming back. I’m a little scared to drink it. What are you thoughts?
Hi Katrina – I am not 100% sure what you’re seeing, but I have had my kefir grow what almost looks like a tiny kombucha scoby on the top. I’m not sure why it does this, but I’ve never had any issues drinking it. I was actually told recently that water kefir grains should never be rinsed, because you lose a lot of the beneficial yeasts/bacteria when you rinse them off. This was new info for me, since I had been taught to rise them years ago. But, I stopped rinsing mine and everything had been fine. The biggest tip with any sort of ferment is to just go by your nose. If it smells “off” at all, then don’t drink/eat it. I have had a couple batches of water kefir that have gone bad over the years and it’s a very distinct smell — you can’t miss it! Hope that helps! 🙂
Hey Jessica – thanks so much for this information and your site. Such an inspiration!
My girlfriend and I have been fermenting everything we can get our hands on for the last couple of months and absolutely love it. We sometimes worry a bit that people will think we’re crazy, but it doesn’t last long!
There’s something truly magic about just letting nature do its work, and rediscovering what our ancestors knew.
Hi Dan – Welcome! Always great to meet new fermenters and thanks for your kind words! People think I’m nuts too, but typically if I can convince them to take a bite, I can convert them! 😉 I have found that you really can ferment just about anything! Have fun and explore flavors! 🙂
Hello Jessica, I’m new to kefir making, my first batch is brewing right now…. do you leave the kefir grains in during the second ferment after you add your juice/fruit or do you remove them and then add your flavors?
Thank you
Hi Yvette – Welcome to the fun world of kefir-ing! 🙂 You will remove the grains before you do the second ferment. I always strain mine off and then start a new batch with them. Then I bottle the water kefir that I strained with whatever flavors I want and let it go for a couple days. Here is my full tutorial on how I make mine: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/07/52-weeks-of-bad-a-bacteria-week-26-how-to-make-water-kefir// Hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you!
My pleasure! 🙂
Hey Jessica.
Thank you for all the recipes! I made my 2nd batch of water kefir yesterday. I didn’t like the taste of the 1st batch so I added some ginger and lime juice for the 2nd batch. It came out very fizzy already but I still didn’t like the taste. So inspired by your recipe ideas, I used a flip-top bottle to do my second ferment with some beet and water melon juice. I left it over-night. And this morning it exploded!! My kitchen was like a murder crime scene!
Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Carrie – Sorry to hear about the explosion! That is one of the risks of fermenting! I have had my fair share of bottles explode. I would say that most likely your bottle was too full. I find that during the summer, the second ferment goes a lot faster and builds up a lot more pressure than during the colder months. I typically only fill my bottles half full during the summer for that very reason. The watermelon juice and beet juice are both going to be high in sugars, which will make the 2nd fermentation go that much faster. Hope that helps!! P.S. I always put a thick towel over my bottle when I get ready to pop the top, just in case! 🙂
Thank you Jessica!
Do the strawberries HAVE to be fresh? With all of the other berries you say fresh or frozen, but not the strawberries. Is there any particular reason why?
Hi Sarah – That was just an oversight on my part. They can be fresh or frozen. I’ve updated the post to reflect that. 🙂
Thanks! Actually, I have two other questions… One, if there are black specs in the kefir grains- is that ok? Also, is it always sweet? I let is ferment for three days and it is still pretty sweet, but I was thinking that might just be the flavor?
Hi Sarah – Sorry for the delayed response. For some reason, I did not see your comment until now. I am not sure about the black specs. That would make me a bit nervous, as I have seen black specs and it has been mold. Depending on how long you ferment it, the flavor should be mildly sweet, but not super sweet. I ferment mine for 2-3 days and it’s not very sweet at all. I am wondering if you grains have perhaps died? That would explain the black specs and the fact that the finished kefir is still on the sweet side. Are you on Facebook? If so, there is a great group that I recommend and it is run by some fermenting experts. It’s great for learning and troubleshooting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/394264567301079/
Very helpful site…so glad I found it! My friend just graciously gave me some water kefir grains and I can’t wait to start. For the second ferment, if I simply want to flavor the water and not necessarily make it fizzy, can I add my fruit and flavorings and leave the cap off? The kefir grains have already done their job and the result is already nice and healthy, so I don’t see why not. I’m just not sure what it would taste like, or if it would even work. Thanks
Hi Christine – Welcome to the fun world of water kefir! 🙂 If you don’t want it to get very fizzy, I would recommend flavoring it however you want and then just sticking it straight in the fridge. Once refrigerated, it will slow down the fermentation process so it shouldn’t build up as much carbonation. It still may get a little fizzy. I do not recommend leaving it open to the air, as oxygen exposure will destroy the beneficial probiotics that you’re trying to cultivate. Hope that helps! 🙂
Easy enough. Thanks!!
Sure thing! 🙂
very helpful indeed,i have been making kefir for a couple of months i have been having great success with using orange juice and using ginger lemon but this last batch i only did one bottle of the grape juice and the others ginger and lemon they both fizzed my daughter brought over a grape juice and thought it would be good i let it ferment for 2 and checked it no fizz i added some sugar third day and this is at the end of that and still no fizz wonder if i should add more sugar and check tomorrow night? what are your tried and true good carbonation flavors oh apricot nectar is delish as is mango nectar lots of fizz
Hi Colleen – That is strange that the grape juice did not produce a lot of fizz. Grape juice is very high in sugar, so it should have worked nicely. You could try letting it go a little longer and see. I have noticed that sometimes the amount of carbonation varies from batch to batch. I have a water kefir flavor guide here with a lot of ideas: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2013/02/lets-get-fizzy-with-it-your-water-kefir-flavor-guide/. I find that I seem to get the most fizz when I use fresh or frozen fruit. I also get a lot more fizz when the weather is warmer than I do during the fall and winter.
I have made a few batches of water kefir with great success, and I love it! But my last two batches have spoiled, rather than fermented during the second fermentation. (It seems fine until after I add my juice.) Any ideas what might be wrong? Thanks! I’m excited to try your flavors!
Hi Ivy – That is strange. I am not sure why it would be doing that. Have you used the same kind of juice each time? If so, perhaps try making another batch, but use a different juice. Maybe the juice you had was contaminated with something. That is the only thing I can think, as juices are so high sugar that they usually make the grains VERY happy! Hope that helps a tiny bit!
Hi! Love your combinations; we’ve been having fun with our flavours too. Ginger syrup is always popular. Another standby (especially when I haven’t prepped anything else) is real maple syrup. And, most exciting, I recently harvested about 10-12 wintergreen leaves, chopped them up and made a simple syrup with them and part of a vanilla bean to make a root beer! I don’t have anymore wintergreen, so we’ll have to get some more for the garden. It was yummy!
Carabeth – oooh! Those recipe combos sound intriguing! I am going to have to try those soon. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I did an experimental spiced batch and the kids and I loved it so much that we make a separate jar of it every time now. We put the spices right in with the grains during brewing, but that will leave you with grains that have the spices stuck in them, so you might want to keep them separate from your normal grains. To make it, we add about 1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp each of ground cinnamon, clove, allspice, and nutmeg (basically the same spices used to make mulled cider).
Hi Eric – Thanks for stopping by! It is not recommended to use your flavors (herbs, spices, fruit, juice, etc.) during the first ferment. Doing so can harm the long-term health of the grains. Only add those items to your second ferment. Glad everyone enjoyed! 🙂
Hi 🙂
I have been making kefir water for awhile but I seem to have varying results with the second ferment. I have one batch that I just made that when I opened it, it smelled a little like alcohol and even burned my nose. After a minute it smelled normal. I decided to taste it because I couldn’t imagine that it had gone bad. I had only left it out for 24 hours. Well….it tastes great! But I am worried about the initial smell…what do you think?
Hi Sandi – I have not experienced that issue (burning the nose) with such a short ferment, but I have had batches that I have forgotten about for a long time and it ends up tasting like wine. Any ferment will develop alcohol if left too long. I have always been told that when it comes to ferments, you go by your nose and taste buds. If it tastes OK, it’s probably fine. I would try doing a shorter second ferment, maybe 12 hours, and see how that works. The warmer your house is, the faster it will ferment. Hope that helps!
I’m waiting for my WK grains to come by mail and reading up so I can begin my new culturing adventure. Do you find that, for the 2F, you need to replace the fresh fruit daily? I heard that on the Cultures for Health website, but I haven’t read that elsewhere. Thanks for the great recipe ideas!
Hi Misty – There is no need to replace the fruit during the second ferment. That would actually defeat the whole purpose, because you would have to open the bottle, strain it out, and re-bottle it. This would allow oxygen and potential cross-contamination into the brew. Water kefir is such a fast ferment that you really should not need to let it go more than 24-36 hours for the second ferment before moving to the fridge. More than that and you will start developing alcohol. I let one batch go for a couple weeks (I forgot about it) and it was wine. WOW did that have a kick!
I have recently been introduced to the SCOBY family and love them. My husband took a liking to Kombucha very quickly and I did too. Then I was introduced to the little kefir guys and fell in love. I love all living things so this wasn’t hard to do. But I haven’t been able to find something good to make with them that my husband enjoys, until one day I needed to make a bread for supper and quick.. the only bread I could think of that sounded enjoyable at all was beer bread… but, we had no beer. Lo and behold I decided to try the water kefir and it worked amazingly! I make at least 2 loaves every week or more! lol Cheese on top and it’s delicious! But thank you for your recipes because I have never tried any fruits for the second ferment, only Cream soda which wasn’t my favorite. Tomorrow I am going to try the blueberry lemonade and a few others I found that were inticing 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Lynette – That is awesome! I had never thought of using it for bread like that. Delicious idea! I’m glad you stopped by! 🙂
Do you have recipe for that bread? Sounds delish!
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Thank you for this site! I had a question. I’ve made Kefir water only a few times. First two were unsuccessful but the next three have been nice. Fizzy and fun but still not quite the flavor I’m looking for. My last batch I had a strange problem. The brewed kefir (first brew) was so fizzy that it overflowed when I added more sugar (to make a lemonade flavor.) So obviously crazy fizzy. I added the organic sugar (cleaned up the mess of over flowed fizz) added a good bit of lemon juice and bottled it for the second brewing. 24 hours later NO FIZZ! Where did my fizz go? How could it be so fizzy after the initial brew to no fizz after the second? It tasted good just flat. Was it the sugar fizzing all the good stuff onto the table? Was it the lemon juice? I liked the flavor and want to try this version again….if I can figure out what happened to the fizz.
Hi Lorri – I have had that happen before and I can’t explain why it does it. It is so annoying though because you’d expect it to be fizzy again after a second ferment with more sugar / fruit, but it’s not. It’s very strange! If I ever figure out why it does this, I’ll let you know! Usually when this happens I mix some of the water kefir with some seltzer water so at least I get a little fizz! 🙂
could I use brewed iced tea for the flavouring? Or possibly just stick a couple teabags in? Or do I need that extra sweetener too?
Hmmm, good question! I’ve never brewed water kefir with tea. You could give it a try though. If you do, let me know how it turns out. I’m curious to know! 🙂
I’ve used Celebration herbal teas to flavor my kefir. “Hibiscus with an organic twist” is my favorite.
Awesome! Herbal teas are a great addition! 🙂
Hi I love these flavor combos. I made your cherry limeade,also a simple blueberry one with added coconut sugar.
I found that with fresh fruit the flavor isn’t really there. I’d like to experiment with dried and see what the difference is.
Am I missing something?
I’m including this page in my handout for the class im teaching in a week. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers!
Glad you like them! I think it must be a difference in our taste buds. I love both fresh and dried fruit and never have an issue with the flavor showing up. Taste is always subjective though. You could easily add more fruit to yours for more flavor. It won’t hurt the kefir at all. Have fun at your class and thanks for sharing! 🙂
WHere do you get the flip top bottles?
Hi Mishale – I have gotten them at a variety of places: Sur la Table, Ross, TJ Maxx, and even Amazon. Just make sure they are Italian or French glass. Don’t get the ones made in China, as I do not trust those to be good quality and safe for fermenting.
I like making the vanilla kefir but I cant get it to fizz and it is really way too sweet. I add the vanilla for the second ferment, but it just stays flat. Can you help.
Hi Debbie – That happens sometimes and I have never figured out the root cause. You might try adding a pinch of sugar to the bottle before the second ferment and see if that improves the fizz. Are you on Facebook? There is a great fermenting group that I recommend if you are: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CounterCultures/. Lisa, the admin, is my go-to resource for fermenting questions. She’s an expert! 🙂
I have been making water kefir for a few months now and love it. I made a new batch the other day and when I went to strain the kefir the liquid was very thick and goopy. Can you tell me what might have gone wrong?
Hi Melissa – That has happened to me before when the grains died. How does it smell? If your batch is bad, you’ll know it. The smell is atrocious. It could also be due to seasonal changes. I found that my grains would often change a bit depending on the season. Sometimes the grains themselves will be very mush and gelatinous and other times they are perfectly shaped. Are you on Facebook? There is a great fermenting group that I recommend if you are: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CounterCultures/. Lisa, the admin, is my go-to resource for fermenting questions. She’s an expert! 🙂
Great.keep it up.
Hi, I’ve only been doing this for 2 weeks, so still new to this. Cultures for health recommends a cloth or coffee filter to cover the jar during the first ferment. But I read in one of the posts above that exposure to air isn’t so good. Is that only for the second ferment? Obviously, if you want carbonation, you need to seal it off, but if you seal off the first ferment too, is that better for the grains? Mine are only just now starting to take off, I just had a second ferment get really fizzy for the first time. I used raisins and a chopped up prune for a Dr. Pepper like taste. Maybe the sugar in the raisins is what put it over the top.
Hi Tanya! Thanks for stopping by! I use anaerobic fermenting methods for all of my ferments except kombucha. I discuss why here: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/05/52-weeks-of-bad-a-bacteria-week-18-fermenting-methods-weve-had-it-all-wrong/. Hope that helps! 🙂
my kefir realty doesn’t fiz and no flavor at first 2 day fermant? If it is fermented, shouldn’t it have a different taste?
thanks
Hi Dawn! Yes, the fermented water kefir should have a mildly sweet taste, with just a slight yeasty taste. It should not be overly sweet because the cultures should eat up the sugar. It sounds like it might need to ferment a little longer. Typically water kefir ferments pretty quickly, but you often have to play around with the duration that best suits your tastes. As far as fizzy-ness, sometimes it won’t get fizzy during the first ferment which is why so many people choose to do a second ferment in air-tight bottles with a little fruit or juice to help build up the carbonation. Hope that helps! 🙂
I had a question I was hoping you might be able to help me with! I’ve just started making water kefir, and everything seems great for the first ferment. After 2 days, it smells lemony and yeasty, tastes fairly good. Then when I try a second ferment… things go downhill. It gets super fizzy, tastes wonderful, but smells so bad that I’m too worried to actually drink much of it. It smells like sulphur and bad fruit. The recipe that came with my grains said to use a cup of fruit juice to one quart of kefir. Is that just too much sugar, you think? And is it normal to get globs of what looks like yeast floating in it?
Hi Daymon! Thank you for stopping by! How strange that the second ferment is getting such an off smell. I’ve never had that happen and I am uncertain as to why it would be happening. One cup of fruit juice to one quart of kefir does seem like a lot to me, but I also tend to be on the lower sugar side of things. I usually just put a couple small pieces of fruit and maybe a squeeze of lemon or lime in mine. It sounds like things are fermenting too quickly though you said the taste is fine. Normally if something is over-fermented it will just taste more alcoholic. Yes, the yeasty globs are normal, though there shouldn’t be a ton of them. I always tend to have smaller strands or very small globs. Are you on Facebook per chance? If so, I highly recommend my friend Lisa’s group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CounterCultures/. She is a fermenting expert and I always go to her when I get stumped.
Hi,I’m very new to kefir grains and hoped you could help. How do I know when the first ferment is ready? The instructions that came with the grains say not to leave them longer than 72 hours because it starves the grains but I don’t like the tartness so anything more than 48 tastes awful to me anyway. But it’s winter and your kefir takes a longer but I don’t know really know what I’m looking for.
And my grains are growing, how do I know when to remove some? And how much? Thanks
Hi Claire! Thanks for stopping by! You will need to go by taste. It will be done when it tastes good to you. I’d say 12 hours minimum most likely and then the longer it goes after that the more tart it gets. You will just need to experiment some and see what time frame suits your taste buds best. I typically liked mine around 24-32 hours, but I also like it more on the tart side. I would always allow my grains to get to be about 3/4 – 1 cup per quart jar before I removed some. Though the more grains that are in there, the faster the milk will culture so you can play around with what amount makes the best tasting to you. Hope that helps! 🙂
I’m excited to try some of these. I just got my grains from a friend of a friend today. One question I have is, why only fresh cherries in the cherry limeade? Is there a reason I can’t use frozen? Obviously I would want to use marchino (sp?).
Hi Tonia! Thanks for stopping by! You most certainly could use frozen fruit in any of these recipes. I often do, depending on the season. I thought that was notated in the post above so I’ll go double check that! Happy brewing! 🙂
I’m just starting on this water kefir journey. My first batch finished today and it was good! The kids and I loved it. However, my husband really likes sodas and isn’t too big on fruit. Could I flavor kefir with a chocolate syrup or with a natural cola or root beer extract?
Hi Rachel! Thanks for stopping by! So glad you guys liked it! I have never used anything like that so what I would probably do is make a plain batch and then stir those flavorings in right before serving. You might be able to find more info with a Google search, I just personally have never tried anything but fruit and a few herbs. Are you on Facebook per chance? If so, check out my friend Lisa’s group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CounterCultures/. She is a fermenting guru and may have some experience in this area. Happy fermenting!! 🙂
Hello!
I have successfully used various fruit juices to produce a fizzy water kefir from the second fermentation. But whenever I use something else other than juice I don’t get the carbonation that I desire. For example, with the Vanilla Cream Soda, do get carbonation? I have not been able to get that to become fizzy. I just bought some root beer extract to make root beer kefir and I like normal I add my extract, and dissolved sugar in water to the water kefir but it is still flat. Any suggestions?
Hi Matt! The non-fruit ferments don’t typically get as fizzy as the fruit ones, but they do get fizzy in my experience. You may need to add a little more sugar than I have listed and see if that works better. Other than that, I am not 100% sure as I’ve not ran into an issue with them being flat after the second ferment. I wonder if there is something in that root beer extract that is inhibiting fermentation within the kefir? Sorry I can’t be of more help. You might try asking on the Wild Fermentation forums: http://www.wildfermentation.com. There are A LOT of people in there who may have a better suggestion. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Hi Jessica, I am a newbie at water kefir. I’m using spring water & raw coconut sugar & the kefir grains have doubled in just 2 brews!
But, how do I make it fizzy? I don’t really know what I’m doing but it tastes ok, a bit coconutty but flat.
I’m trying to heal my gut, I have autoimmune disease & ive stopped eating gluten but not feeling much better…
Please advise about how to make my water kefir fizzy??
Hi Jan! Thanks for stopping by! That is AWESOME about your grains! It sounds like they are super happy, so keep doing what you’re doing! For most people, a second ferment is required to build up carbonation. I was never able to get a fizzy water kefir with just a single ferment. The second ferment was always required.
I recommend doing this in a tightly sealed bottle (like a flip top beverage bottle). I recommend reading this post, specifically step #6 in the recipe which tells you how to go about doing a second ferment: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/07/52-weeks-of-bad-a-bacteria-week-26-how-to-make-water-kefir/.
I hope that helps! Best wishes on your healing journey! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for all the recipes. Ive been making lemon and lime flavored water kefir for awhile bc that seems to be what my family likes and I even add a few teaspoons of sugar with the second brew but it isn’t getting fizzy. And ideas why? I’ve flavored it with peach syrup from the can and the expensive unprocessed cherry juice and they both got fuzzy but the kids didn’t like the flavor. I figured the fizz came from the sugars. Do I just keep adding sugar to the lemon till it gets fizzy? Does yours get fizzy with no added sugar? Thanks for your help!!
Karen
Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, my water kefir always go fizzy during the second ferment. I used the flip-top bottles that are in the picture above and never had a batch that wasn’t fizzy. The first ferment was never fizzy for me though, so the second ferment was the only way to generate the fizz. It could depend on what you are doing your second ferment in. Any time I would use a bottle other than the ones above, it would get a tiny bit fizzy, but not enough to really be enjoyable. Hope that helps!!
Thank you so much. It has been a lot of fun trying different combos.There certainly is a lot of room for experimentation and some batches turn out better than others. I’ve tried several times to use mango or watermelon. Those seem to turn out bitter after 48 hours of fermentation. Do you think the sugars get used up faster and I should drink them after 24 hours? Or do I need to let them ferment longer?
Hi Jessie! Happy to help! It is a lot of fun! I typically try not to let my water kefir go much longer than 24 hours during the second ferment. That is the time frame that my taste buds prefer. When they go longer they can get more bitter and they longer they go the more alcohol that builds up. It’s truly about your taste preferences and what you prefer so keep experimenting and find the amount that works for you. It could also vary from ferment to ferment like you’ve noticed with mango and watermelon so you may need to adjust your fermentation time depending on the flavorings you use. Does that make sense? Hope it helps! 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply! I was under the impression the 2nd ferment should be 48, but tried at 24 hours for this batch and it was so much better! Now, to find a new rhythm of fermentation….
Hi Jessie! Happy to help! It’s really going to depend on your house temperature and your personal tastes. I do know some people who love really long ferments, but others who have an aversion to the taste. Fermenting is just one big science experiment. 🙂
How long do you second ferment with flavors?
Hi Tara – It really depends on your own taste preferences. I personally like my second ferment right at 24 hours, though anywhere between 12 and 36 hours seems to be average. The longer it ferments the more alcohol will potentially be produced so that is something to keep that in mind. Hope that helps!!
Hi, thanks for sharing all these wonderful flavor ideas. Can I check do you add your flavor to the second fermentation? I’ve read many articles with differing ideas. I’ve recently started making water kefir and only add the flavors to the second fermentation.
Hi Andrea! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I do add the flavoring during the second ferment only. I know some folks do it during the first ferment, but that ends up flavoring you grains and I prefer to keep my grains producing neutrally flavored water kefir that I can then flavor in a variety of ways. Hope that helps! 🙂
I’m relatively new to the water kefir world. I’ve had my grains for about two months, and I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of things. I found this post when looking for flavoring options and advice. So many options!
I’m interested in trying some fermented herbal tea, but I’m a little uncertain about the method. In this post, and in one of the comments here, you recommend brewing the tea and then using that in place of the water in the first ferment. But in the linked fermented nettle tea post, and also in a different comment here, you say to add it to the second ferment. Is it a matter of preference?
Thanks so much!
Hi Chalyn – Thanks for stopping by! It takes a little while to get the hang of things but once you do, it gets really easy. You could do it either way — I think it’s easier to use it in the first ferment. I do recommend reserving some of your healthy grains in case something goes awry in your brew. That way you have backups to keep you going. Hope that helps!
Thanks, Jessica! I think I’ll give it a try when I split my grains next. 🙂
Another quick question…When using fresh fruit in the second ferment, I’ve seen a couple of places recommend removing the fruit after 24 hrs., but it looks like you just leave yours in there. Seems like it would be difficult to remove the fruit if you’ve already bottled your brew. Plus, I’d think you’d lose a lot of the fizz. Is this just another preference thing?
Hi Chalyn – I leave mine in there and have never had any issues. Personally, I feel the same as you. I think removing it defeats the purpose because you’d lose so much carbonation opening the bottle to get it out. Hope things are going well! Keep me posted! 🙂
Just wondering if you could give me some pointers. Every time I use lemon or lime juice in my second fermentation (bottles with locked lids like you have) they never get fizzy. When I use apple, cherry, pomegranate or pineapple they get super fizzy. Any ideas what’s going on?
Thanks
Kim
Hi Kim! Thanks for stopping by. I am honestly not sure as I’ve never had that happen, but I am often mixing my citrus juices with higher sugar juices or fruit. Just plain lemon or lime juice may not have enough sugar on its own to really help the second ferment build up enough carbonation. Does that help at all? You could also try asking on the Wild Fermentation forum (they’re awesome) and see if anyone else is experiencing this issue: https://www.wildfermentationforum.com. 🙂