Cultures for Health Water Kefir Grains | DIY Fermented Probiotic Drink Powder for Stronger Gut Health | Heirloom Starter Makes Limitless Supply | Non-GMO Dairy Free Vegan Sparkling Water with Enzymes

EDIT: Changing review to 5 stars because Cultures for Health offered a refund and some value suggestions moving forward. Really bummed these water kefir grains didn't work. I know Cultures for Health is a great company but I'm disappointed that these grains did not activate. I followed the instructions exactly as written and was even in contact with their customer support for a little additional information I needed. Unfortunately after answering my questions I didn't get a response back when I sent them pictures of the grains after the 3 days initial activation. The grains are mushy and not alive at all, there is absolutely no fermentation going on with the first fermentation. I should have bought the grains directly from Cultures of Health since they offer a 60 day guarantee. Lesson learned. I was going to leave 1 star because the grains didn't activate but decided on 2 Stars because they originally had quick communication.

I should start this out by saying I’m not new to active cultured foods. I currently maintain several starters such as sourdough, kombucha, milk kefir, sour cream and lots of fermented veggies. So I’m aware that good quality dechlorinated water and the right kind of sugar are important. However, this was my first try at water kefir. I chose this brand because they seem to have a good reputation, I’ve purchased a sour cream starter culture from them in the past. I was pretty shocked though at the price of the water kefir starter, but I figured as long as I only have to buy it once, it’s worth it. I received the culture, made sure it came to room temp, and followed the detailed instructions on the packet, as well as the companies tutorial video to get started. By day 3, the kefir grains had somewhat rehydrated, though they didn’t look like plump translucent grains that I’ve seen before. They’re just brown mushy grains that have clearly disintegrated. I strained them anyway and put them in fresh sugar water to find that they’re fully disintegrated. What a mess. I’ve contacted the company to see if they’d help me troubleshoot, but so far I’ve heard nothing. I occasionally sell some of my starter cultures to people locally, and would never just leave them to figure it out in their own, and I charge a small fraction of this price. So I’ll be extremely irritated if Cultures for Health ghosts me on such a ridiculously priced product. I’ll be sure to update my review if I ever hear back.

I have so far purchased three packets of water kefir grains over the past year. The second one was a replacement for the first getting contaminated with fig seeds and the third was to increase my production capacity. The grains as received are dehydrated and usually appear very dark brown. But, after following the rehydrating procedure, they flesh out and become pearlescent and translucent. Each batch fills two liter Weck juice jars which can be found here https://smile.amazon.com/Weck-Juice-Jars-35-9-Ounce/dp/B00DHNSKAO My go-to recipe consists of adding the following to a gallon glass jar: 1/3 C of raw, unrefined sugar dissolved in 2 C of boiling filtered water; 6 C of cool, filtered water to bring the overall temperature to ~80°F; a dozen drops of Concentrace; 1 packet of rehydrated water kefir grains; and 1 fresh lemon, cut in half, NOT squeezed The top of the gallon jar is covered with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band. It is then placed on top of the fridge to keep warm. In the winter, my apartment is frigid and I haven't had difficulty maintaining kefir fermentation while on top of the fridge. The batch is then allowed to ferment up to 3 days. Over this time you'll see the water start clear and become cloudy as the kefir grains metabolize the sugar. Once the first ferment has progressed as far as I like, I proceed to the second ferment. I add 2 T of raw, unrefined sugar to a pitcher large enough for the 8 cups of liquid. I then remove the lemon halves and squeeze the juice into the pitcher, through a strainer. After cleaning the lemon guts out of the strainer, I pour the liquid into the pitcher through the strainer to catch the grains. After stirring to make sure the sugar has dissolved, I pour the batch into the carafes, cap them and place them on top of the fridge for a couple days for the second ferment. At this point, you can place the carafes in the fridge or simply leave them out on the counter. The nice thing with the Weck jars is that while they seal, I've found that the seals aren't _that_ good, meaning you're not going to have an explosion from an overactive ferment! As I watch the second ferment, I see a steady stream of bubbles rising through the liquid, so I know activity is high. Lately though, if I put the carafes in the fridge for a day or two, when I drink them, they have been totally flat! It doesn't make sense. However, if I leave them at room temperature and then pour the kefir over ice, the drink is nicely carbonated and cool. Of course, this isn't the only way to make water kefir and you can use whatever flavorings you like. These grains are an easy start to making a healthy drink that will add more probiotics to your diet! Highly recommended!!

For background info: I have been fermenting things for years, brewing kombucha and working with other cultures, all with 0 issues. That is not the case with these grains. First off, the grains were the size of pop rocks, not the size shown in the pictures. It's like they scraped the bottom of the barrel for my "grains". Next I rehydrated them as the instructions say, thought everything was good to go. I gave them 2 days even though they were translucent after 24 hours. I began my first actual crew, water was cloudy and smelled interesting so I put it in bottles for 2nd ferment with juice, this resulted in nothing at all for 3 days so I dumped it and began again. I have now done 4 brews of this with exactly 0 bubbles formed, 0 activity except for unwanted activity. There is a film on top of my 4th attempt now (2nd ferment) that looks like an oil slick. Some of my grains are floating in the large jar where I'm doing my first brew, there are yeast strands hanging, and it had only been 30 hours. Something is wrong with these grains. For $20 I would not spend your money. My sister ordered from Amazon from a different company, half the price, at the same time i ordered and she has had many successful batches. It is just this brand that is awful. I 100% would appreciate a refund. I can send you these duds back, they ate absolute trash. I've wasted so much sugar and juice trying to get these to grow with absolutely no luck.

Nice, plump kefir grains. This is the first time I've tried dehydrated grains. I bought fresh kefer grains from a seller on Amazon a month or so ago. I want to make more kefir, so ordered more grains. Thought I'd try the Cultures for Health dehydrated type. The instructions were easy to follow and I had my first jar of water kefir after 4 days. It's very easy to rehydrate. Put 1/4 cup good quality sugar in a quart jar with warm purified water. I use organic sucanat sugar for my water kefir. Let the sugar totally dissolve, then add the kefir grains. Wait 3-4 days until the grains have gotten big and translucent. Then strain off the grains, put the kefir in the fridge and start a new batch by repeating the 1/4 cup sugar in a jar of water process again. Every 48 hours, you'll have a new batch of water kefir. This is such a healthy, tasty, refreshing drink; full of natural probiotics! I understand that many people put the finished kefir into a 2nd ferment by adding fruit or fruit juice and letting it ferment another day or so. You can flavor it any way you want. The second ferment makes fizzy kefir and resembles soda. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to give it a try. These Cultures for Health kefir grains are much bigger than my other water kefir grains. The kefir tastes slightly different, but equally good. I was making milk kefir on a regular basis, but felt I was putting on weight because of the full fat milk. I switched to water kefir and I like it better because it's not so filling. Also, making water kefir is easier and cheaper than making milk kefir. Water kefir only needs "harvesting" every 48 hours, as opposed to milk kefir which ferments in 24 hours. If you're considering making your own water kefir, I highly recommend these grains.

I should have listened to over reviews. I make kombucha all the time and ferment veggies. I was so excited to try water Kefir. I purchased this brand even with the bad reviews because a lady I follow, Mary's Nest, recommended them. Rehydrated after three days, still look like applesauce, 2nd ferment with fruit, no bubbles and takes like yuck. On third ferment 1st ferment, and second 2nd ferment and the whole process is looking and smelling sicker, not revived. I have NEVER taken the time to write an Amazon review before BUT this was such an expensive WASTE of money, sugar, fruit, and time PLUS no REFUNDS. Best bet if you want to try this brand, order directly from manufacturer - with their 60 day money back guarantee. You will have to check out the details on return. On my next mission to find water kefir grains that WORK.

I have never written a review discouraging anyone from buying. However, I purchase these on June 30, it’s September 7 and these are my dehydrated water kefir cultures. Does it work, yes. But my problem with them is, according to pics on their ad, the cultures look like beautiful crystals. They claim it multiplies under proper care. I am very consistent and take great of my cultures like a child. I have done everything from only spring water, exact portions of water and sugar, alternating every three weeks I have fed it organic figs, dates and even bought the darn expensive Celtic salt to aid in growth and strength. I always use a good mesh strainer to avoid losing any grains and never used any metal strainer (not even stainless steel). As you see, this is what my grains look like. I’m almost afraid these grains are engineered not to multiply so people will have the only option to buy. It’s just strange to me how bo matter how much care, this is the result. Makes No sense. So I would am going to try a live strain from another company next time. Bummed this is it from those grains. Final note: as I said they work, they fizz, they taste good, they however are weak grains, not plumb at all - just what you see in pics. Disappointed. I hope this review helped.

After a shipping problem I finally got these in. I heard about water kefir in mother earth news and decided to try it. I followed the instruction for making the sugar water and activated the grains. After draining them after two days I started the first production run. I keep it in a small closet on top of the water heater. It stays around 74 with the door shut. After two days I took it out and drained the grains. The kefir water smelled and tasted like buttered toast. Not bad but not to my cup of tea, or in this case kefir. I will try making the soda type kefir and have ordered some grolsch bottles. UPDATE (11-19-2016) I have now made several batches of the soda kefir and added several photos. I went to a local big box store and had a hard time finding pure fruit juice. Almost all of it had high fructose corn syrup and other.......stuff that would require a PhD in linguistics just to pronounce. The only strait fruit juice was grape and I don't really like grape. The only other that was close was Juicy Juice. The only one of that brand that seemed ok to me was Strawberry Banana. Of course it was mostly apple juice and water with just enough strawberry and banana in it to pass in a court of law. I burped them once a day. The first day there was no sound or other indication of carbonation. The second day there was some off gassing when I burped them. I tried one bottle and let the other one set for another twenty four hours. It tasted a bit alcoholic without much carbonation. The next day I tried the second and it had an even stronger alcohol taste. It also let off more gas when opened but it did not have the same type of carbonation as soda. Maybe the carbonation is more dissolved? I will go to smaller stores and see if I can find real fruit juice without high fructose corn syrup, long named chemicals, or apple juice water with wacky mixes of random fruits.

Tried rehydrating and fermenting the grains 3 times and they didn't ferment. I followed the enclosed directions carefully, used distilled water and organic cane sugar. Had it in the correct growing conditions and no success. Unable to get online support from website for assistance because the purchase was through Amazon and not having an account. Disappointing.

best u can get but they don't grow as rapidly as it should may be everything we eat here is full of insecticides and pesticides and finally few months after these microcells will finally stop growing and will die.

The Product came on time as per schedule and product was received in good condition with excellent packing. Highly recommend.

The grains did not activate. They are just mush

The first problem is that they were not delivered in the right temperature/cold pack. I waited 3 to 4 days to activate the grains but they did not plump up or become translucent. The consistency was like mush. On day 2 of trying to ferment my first batch as they were, nothing changed. The grains were basically dead.