How do I make Water Kefir Soda

In this article we provide you the complete manual of how to brew your own Water Kefir Soda. Please read it carefully and/or load it down as PDF from here.

How to make water kefir soda

What do I need to make one litre of the delicious water kefir soda?

• 1 litre water
• 30g original https://www.natural-kefir-drinks.de water kefir grains
(aka. aqua kefir, water crystals, Japanese water crystals)
• 80g sugar
• 30g dried fruits (upon your request: raisins, plums, dates etc.)
• 2 thin slices of lemon (untreated organic lemon)
• 1 fermentation vessel made of glass, pottery or plastic with a suitable capacity providing the desired amount of water kefir soda
• 1 bottle made of glass, pottery or plastic with a suitable capacity providing the desired amount
of water kefir soda
• 1 elastic band
• 1 sheet of wrapping film (not breathable) to cover the fermentation vessel
• 1 sieve
• 1 funnel

How to make water kefir soda - short and simple

1. Fill the vessel with the desired volume of water, add about 80 g sugars per litre and stir it until the sugar
is completely dissolved.
2. Add the water kefir grains (30g or 2-3 Tablespoons) without the water kefir drink.
3. Add the dried fruits and the thin slices of lemon.
4. Now cover the vessel with the wrapping film and the elastic band - the formed carbonic acid must be able to escape (!).
5. Place it to at a place at room temperature.
6. After 1 - 3 days the fermentation process has completed and you can fill it into another glass or into bottles. Remove the dried fruits and the slices of lemon.
7. Rinse the water kefir grains thoroughly with cold to lukewarm water.
8. Clean the fermentation vessel thoroughly with washing up liquid and subsequently rinse it with hot water. Now you can start again from step one.

Please note the following:

If you are satisfied by the water kefir soda taste and if you would like to enjoy it for a long time there are a few things to care about. Cleanness and hygiene are the basic conditions for a successful water kefir soda production. Make sure that the required equip¬ment that gets in touch with the water kefir grains is clean. This can be ensured by thorough cleaning of all items with dishwashing liquid. Subsequently you should rinse everything with hot and clear water. This also applies to the utensils which have been cleaned with the help of dishwasher, because the chemical residues of the rinse aid can harm the water kefir grains. Please also make sure that the water kefir culture is not stored near sources of mold. This could be caused by potted plants, in which moist earth could start to mold.

How to make kombucha tea - detailed guidance

1. Fill the vessel with the desired volume of water, add about 80g sugar per litre and stir it until the sugar is completely dissolved. Fill 1 litre of tap water, non carbonated water or aerated water into a clean vessel of glass, pottery or plastic. Make sure to use lukewarm water. Now dissolve 80g of sugar in it. At the end of the fermentation process a part of the sugar will be converted into valuable substances. With regard to sugar, you can choose between raw cane sugar, whole cane sugar (contain molasses) and refined sugar. We recommend raw cane sugar, whole cane sugar and a mixture of refined sugar and molasses. This approach has proved that the molasses has a very positive impact on the water kefir grains. By the way, honey is not suitable for the production of water kefir soda.

2. Add the water kefir grains (30g or 2-3 Tablespoons) without the water kefir drink. Add the original natural-kefir-drinks.de water kefir grains to the sugar solution, but without the water kefir soda. The soda merely serves as transport liquid. The 30g water kefir grains are suitable to make 1 litre of water kefir soda.

3. Add the dried fruits and the thin slices of lemon. After adding the grains into the sugar solution you should additionally add dried fruits and thin slices of lemon. The dried fruits supply the - for the soda production necessary nitrogen and as a pleasant side effect they give an individual flavour note. Depending on your taste you can refine the water kefir soda with dates, figs, raisins, plums etc. It is crucial, however, to use non-sulphurized dried fruits.

4. Now cover the vessel with the wrapping film and the elastic band - the formed carbonic acid must be able to escape(!). The fermentation vessel should be covered; however, the formed carbonic acid must be able to escape. In the case of glasses with screw cap the cover may only be screwed slightly. If you use a glass without screw cap you can fix a wrapping film with an elastic band. Through this approach you can reduce the risk, that the water kefir culture is attacked by undesired pathogens.

5. Place it to at a place at room temperature. Now store the fermentation vessel at a place at room temperature (about 22°C / 72°F). However, immediately after you have finished preparing the fermentation vessel and it reached room temperature the water kefir soda production will start. Because of the the formed carbonic acid the crystals start ascending softly and descend again. If you place it in the sun the soda production will keep at full speed.

6. After 1 - 3 days the fermentation process has completed and you can fill it into another glass or into bottles. Remove the dried fruits and the slices of lemon. After just 1 - 3 days of fermentation the water kefir soda is ready to serve. It is hard to say how long it exactly takes. The duration depends on your individual taste. The longer the process continues, the more sugar is converted into valuable substances. In this way, of course, the natural sweetness is decreasing day after day. After one day of fermentation the drink reminds of bitter lemon. Another day later it already tastes like new wine. If you store it longer the taste becomes incre-asingly acidic. Now please fill the fermentation fluid through a thieve into another glass or bottle and remove the fruits. You can eat the swollen fruits or dispose them. It is excellent and very tasty to squeeze the juice from the lemon slices into your finished water kefir soda. If you store the finished kefir in a closed bottle you should make sure that the formed carbonic acid can escape.

7. Rinse the water kefir grains thoroughly with cold to lukewarm water. Now you have separated the crystals from the kefir beverage. After that you should rinse the crystals thoroughly with cold to lukewarm water. We recommend doing this procedure after every fermentation process. You will notice that the quantity of water kefir crystals will rise. Redundant crystals can be disposed, composted or given as a present to good friends.

8. Clean the fermentation vessel thoroughly with washing up liquid and subsequently rinse it with hot water. Now you can start again from step one. After the soda is kept under cool conditions and the crystals are cleaned thoroughly you can clean the fermentation vessel and the other equipment. Ensure that all utensils which have been cleaned with the help of washing up liquid or the dishwasher; have been rinsed with clear water, because the chemical residues can harm the water kefir grains.

Important: However, in the context of the process of fermentation a small amount of alcohol develops!

Holiday tip: If you intend to go on holiday you can store the crystals and the drink with the fermentation vessel in the basement or refrigerator (at temperatures around 10 °C / 50 °F). In this manner it can be stored over an extended period without being damaged. On returning home you should dispo¬se the ginger root beer drink and start a new fermentation.

Note: This document was compiled with great care and checked for accuracy. Nevertheless we assume
no liability for incomplete or incorrect information. The usage of our recommendations is at your own risk.

Petra Kriegener | Hinterdorf 37 | D-99735 Pützlingen
Fon: (+49) (0) 3 63 37 31 90 06 | Fax: (+49) (0) 3 21 21 47 29 39