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!!

After following ALL THE THINGS to do these just will NOT work. The milk Kefir grains are excellent...however, so disappointed in the these. Frustrating!

Edit: The company has reached out. Unfortunately, after a lot of back-and-forth trying to troubleshoot the situation. We came to the conclusion that my water is not rich enough in minerals. I am on well water that goes to a reverse osmosis system with added minerals. I’ll have to look into a different water source and try again at a later time. I appreciate the response from customer service and all their help. I’ve had these sitting in a sugar water mixture per the instructions for over 3 days with no change. So I looked on google and it said to change the sugar water every 24hrs. It’s been over 5 days and still no change.

Like many other buyers, this product did not activate after following the instructions to the letter. Very disappointed

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 grains did not activate. They are just mush

Followed instructions. After 3 days, no change. No plumping, no translucency. So DOA. I would like to try this one more time. One.

L'on m'avait dit que les grains de kéfir achetés n'étaient pas fiables, que je devais trouver quelqu'un qui faisait déjà du kéfir et que cette personne m'en donnerait des vivants. Cependant, il n'est pas évident de trouver quelqu'un qui en fait. Eh bien, c'était une erreur. Il est vrai que ceux qui font du kéfir donnent des grains (j'ai finalement trouvé après avoir reçu mes grains achetés), mais ceux achetés ont aussi très bien fonctionnés. Il faut simplement bien respecter le temps d'activation des grains (au moins 48 heures) car ils sont vendus déshydratés.