Florida Sun Kefir 4 Brewing Bags Plus Generous Portion Cup of Live Water Kefir Grains (Tibicos) Natural Probiotics

My husband and I are hooked on water kefir! We are on our third batch of grains now after a year of making it and accidentally killing a couple batches of grains by leaving them dormant in the fridge for too long (3-4 weeks). I fondly call these grains "the dudes" that I take care of, and in return they make me delicious healthy pop.Start with 1/4 cup grains in a quart size mason jar. Once they grow to 1/2 cup, use a half gallon jar or two quart jars. Ours grew to about 1 cup after 5-6 brews.Here's our process that's been working well, since I wasn't sure how to begin when I first got grains:1. Put sugar in a mason jar (we use raw organic cane sugar), at a 1:1 ratio to the amount of grains2. Add nearly boiling water, just enough so that you can swirl the jar to completely dissolve the sugar. The hotter the water/more hot water you add at this step, the longer it will take to cool for the next step. It can take several hours to cool.3. Fill the jar almost full (leave room for the grains) and wait for the water to fall to room temp (usually 68-78 ish). You can add ice cubes to speed up the process.4. Add the grains directly to the jar (we don't use the bags - tried once and the string kept wanting to float to the top). Top with water if needed so that you have 1-2 inches of head space.5. Cover with cheese cloth and secure with a lid ring or rubber band. It needs to breathe at this stage.6. Put in a dark place for 2-3 days to ferment. I usually taste after 48 hours and the bigger the batch, the longer it takes (once we get to a half gallon jar size, it takes 3-5 days depending on the time of year/temp). We consider it done when it stops tasting like sugar water and starts tasting yeasty like bread. I use a ceramic spoon to taste.7. Pour into another jar of equal size, straining out the grains. I use a nylon strainer to avoid touching them to metal (not ideal for the grains)8. Add flavoring of choice (our favorite recipe is frozen cranberries plus the juice of 1 lemon and 1-2 limes). Add enough so that the remaining head space in the jar is less than 1". Too much head space won't yield much carbonation.9. Put the lid and ring on the jar. It needs to be sealed to create carbonation.10. Put the jar in a dark, ideally warm place for 2-3 days. The longer you wait, the fizzier it will be! If we have the crock pot going, I'll put it near that to get some residual warmth.11. Put it in the fridge to chill then enjoy some healthy pop!*After step 7, you can either start a new batch immediately and restart the process, or store them in the fridge. When starting a new batch, I measure the grains to see what volume they are, to make sure I have a 1:1 ratio with sugar. I use a glass Pyrex to measure them, since metal is not ideal.To store them, make a sugar water solution in the same way as for making a batch, but a much smaller quantity, just enough to cover them in a jar or glass container by maybe an inch of water. Make sure the water is room temp before you put the grains in! Store them in the fridge until you're ready to use again. The sugar water will feed them while they are dormant. I usually keep grains for a week, maybe two, before using again. You'll know they're goners if you try to ferment and the water still tastes like plain sugar water after a few days.

Our fourteen year old rat terrier (who has a weak immune system) has been loosing the battle with yeast ever since he had a round of antibiotics. I originally decided to get it for me as I was experiencing smelly gas after eating salad which hadn't happened before. I had started taking 3-6 Devron a day (a bottle of 100 costs $20) which worked to mask the smell but didn't cure it. Since my issues began after several rounds of antibiotics and the kefir restored my digestive balance I thought I would try it on him. He would fart so loud when napping that it would actually wake him? Poor boy would then bark frantically while looking for what made that loud noise! First tried adding the water directly to his water bowl...nope he wasn't having any of that. Went ahead and added two tablespoons liquid to his dry kibble with a little of his can food. Sorta creates a little bowl of mush which he gobbles down twice a day. Been doing this for a month and the yeast is definitely loosing the battle. Still bathing him with dandruff shampoo to remove the outside flakes but the odor is almost non-existent. Dandruff shampoo never did anything for the odor before, just cut down on the flakes so he wasn't dropping them all over the house. Will probably keep him on this regimented for the rest of his natural life. After fermenting in the closet I pour off the water and use it too cool steep green tea overnight in my fridge adding a little sugar and stevia to sweeten. What a bonus this has been! We both are doing great!Update in October, due to hurricane Irma (a week without power in Florida) we got out of the routine and forgot to refresh our kefir. Sure enough dog yeast returned so we are ordering a fresh batch now that things have settled down!

I have purchased water kefir grains from several sources and these are the best so far. They grow as expected and produce good quality kefir.We do a lot of kefir and share it with friends who really enjoy it with us. It carbonated the second ferment a lot quicker than other grains we have gotten. And the flavor is consistent.Good grains!!

Like: they came quickly and appear to be in excellent condition.Dislike: their ebook is confusing, and contrary to the directions on the little card they send you. The card says to use brown sugar and ferment 3 to 5 days.The ebook says sugar and dried organic fruit, raisins or apricots and that fermentation is 24-48 hours. NEWS FLASH 24-48 hours is 1-2 days NOT 3-5 like on the card!!!I've made water kefir one other time about 2 years ago and I do not remember adding raisins or anything other than sugar to the initial fermentation, nor did I have to use brown sugar.Also the ebook tells you not to use chlorinated water but if you use filter water you need to add a white hard boiled egg shell!!!!! WTH!!!!!I do not remember the last time I made kefir being so complicated with a bunch of double-talk so CONFUSING!!!!I'm ready to eat it or just give it to the dog or throw it out. The only reason I didn't give them one star is because1) they do answer their emails, they give you little mesh bags but NEVER TELL YOU WTH THEY ARE FOR!!! I'm sorry my frustration is erupting!!!2) I didn't want to be the only person to give them one star. If you're a newbie at making kefir or still green at the process, please buy from someone who has easier instructions, ie their grains are not so temperamental.The ebook, it's very annoying, like almost information overload mixed with notes from a class I obviously didn't take!!!

This is the first time using water Kefir. Had been reading online about it's health benefits. I really like it with fruit juice. Very easy to make, I went to YouTub for instructions & got lots of help there. This is a healthy drink I recommend Florida Sun Kefir it's the best.