Anyone Make Water Kefir?

[Justaperson]

Hey everyone,

I couldn't exactly find a subforum for it, but thought the kombucha forum would be my best bet. I've just recently started making water kefir and had some questions concerning it that I can't seem to find on through Google. If I could get a bit of help, that'd be great

My big question is what is it supposed to taste like? I received the grains by mail within 2 days of ordering them (not dehydrated) and I've made 2 batches since then (a cup of grains and cup of white sugar per gallon of dechlorinated water). I've fermented each batch for 2-3 days and I suppose I could mostly compare it to oversweetened coconut water, though not quite. How sweet should it be exactly? The temperature of my home is anywhere from 65-72 degrees, and I read this should be just fine for fermentation, yet even after a few days the kefir still tastes quite sweet. I hope I could get a least a couple of answers on this.

Thank you!

 

[skadalajara]

Try searching Google for "tibicos". That's the real term for water kefir.
2nd, if it's sweet, it probably isn't ready yet. You may need to let it work up to a full week.
It's also possible you received a non-viable culture.
This is all based on knowledge of other fermented beverages. I have not made (or even had) tibicos as of yet.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Owly055]

I've made water kefir, milk kefir, kombucha, etc........... I didn't care for the lacto sourness in water kefir......... It works in milk, but it just seemed unsatisfying to me. What I did find what that the grains took a long time to activate. I prefer the far more complex flavor profile of kombucha, and make a lot of it.

H.W.

Hey everyone,

I couldn't exactly find a subforum for it, but thought the kombucha forum would be my best bet. I've just recently started making water kefir and had some questions concerning it that I can't seem to find on through Google. If I could get a bit of help, that'd be great

My big question is what is it supposed to taste like? I received the grains by mail within 2 days of ordering them (not dehydrated) and I've made 2 batches since then (a cup of grains and cup of white sugar per gallon of dechlorinated water). I've fermented each batch for 2-3 days and I suppose I could mostly compare it to oversweetened coconut water, though not quite. How sweet should it be exactly? The temperature of my home is anywhere from 65-72 degrees, and I read this should be just fine for fermentation, yet even after a few days the kefir still tastes quite sweet. I hope I could get a least a couple of answers on this.

Thank you!

 

[peatmoss]

I've done milk kefir, water kefir, and am slowly building the worlds thickest / most neglected kombucha scoby Just a point of clarification on water kefir and the two different organisms that create a drink called water kefir.

Tibicos, a.k.a. water kefir grains, are smallish and sort of look like translucent bath crystals (maybe .5-1cm across). They will not culture milk. They are a different thing than milk kefir grains. Milk kefir grains sort of look like spongy cauliflower florets and are larger, up to about the size of your thumb, occasionally bigger. These can be used to culture milk. Confusingly, they can also be used to culture sugary water solutions. People refer to the byproducts of both as water kefir. Best bet is to use google images to search for both and see which you've got. I've used both and like milk kefir as well as water kefir produced from tibicos. The results are very different though!

I find the best water kefir has been aged for a couple of weeks in the fridge. It can get quite dry! You can accelerate fermentation by moving to a secondary fermenter and leaving out at cool room temps for a week or so. I use flip top soda bottles, but don't lock them down during this second phase. Some time before they stop producing bubbles, I lock the lids down, wait a day, then put them in the fridge to age a while. This gets me the carbonation I'm looking for.