Choosing Equipment for Water Kefir

Let’s discuss the last details about making water kefir at home.

What sugar should I use?

This will vary based on personal flavor preference. Darker, less refined sugars have more minerals (good for grains) but a stronger flavor profile. Even if you only like using white sugar, the grains will eventually need a boost of nutrients to stay healthy. After a few weeks, try switching to a darker sugar or blending sugars to give them that boost of minerals needed.

Weather (hence times of the year) may cause the grains to produce more rapidly or slowly. Everyone slows down a little more in the winter! More refined sugars (white sugar) seem easiest for them to process when a little sluggish.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and let me know how it goes in the comments!

And the rest of my equipment? 

Glass is always the preferred container here because it is nonpermeable and won’t leak any chemicals into your beverage (Why I also choose glass water bottles). Technically BPA-free plastic should do just fine, but the kefir can get acidic and may eat away at your plastic after awhile, exposing you to some things that might not be so healthy. 

*Make sure to not use any metal or steel around your kefir grains for the same reasoning as above. I found a nice plastic funnel/strainer combo at Target. There is also a cool strainer cap made specifically for brewing kefir in mason jars.

Sometimes grains slip through into the finished bottle which is fine. You can eat the grains directly (or add them to a smoothie), they don’t taste or feel like much. Use a finer, nylon mesh strainer online if you prefer them not to be in there. 

But what kind of glass bottles?

I use regular Mason or Ball canning jars but any glass jar will do.

For storing, airtight bottles like those with the rubber gasket and flip-top will help increase carbonation and make for easy pouring. Even when you’ve strained out all the grains, there are millions of microorganisms still in there, continuing to eat the remaining sugar and release gas. If the bottle is nicely sealed you can really build up to some nice bubbles, sometimes too much!
*You may need to “burp” or open the lid of your bottle once a day to prevent a build-up of gas and avoid a potential overflow when you do go for a drink.

There’s an interesting article written by KerryAnn on her blog One Vibrant Mama that discusses why it’s so important to have air-tight containers when fermenting and trying to build lactic acid bacteria (a main bacteria giving us all the health benefits).

Purified or Tap Water?

Because the kefir grains enjoy the minerals, using filtered or osmosis water actually does more harm than good. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with access to well, or spring water, that would be your best option. But for us city dwellers, using regular ol’ tap water is a great choice.
I do however chose to boil my tap water and let it cool. I live in LA and have found that straight tap is too harsh on my grains. They still produced fine water kefir before I began boiling but they grew faster and produced a more bubbly product once I started boiling the water.