Yemoos Nourishing Cultures Forum

Its probably a little out of balance for some reason. If you've just changed something, I would give it time to rebalance naturally. If not, give the grains a good rinse and rest in the fridge for a few days.

Alex

Interesting! I never knew dried grains could last that long. I thought several months, probably a year. But to come back after 3 years is impressive. Bubbles and any floating grains are a good sign and it sounds like they may just make a full recovery. The best sign is growth. Any growth yet?

Alex

I think some basic common sense separation is all that is needed. A good wash is probably enough. I've actually never heard of milk and water kefir grains contaminating each other or crossing with each other. I think they are just too different. I would not worry too much about it.

There's no real way to know if they are alive other than doing a couple batches and seeing how they do. Go by the taste instead of visual cues. You should be able to taste some kind of fermentation. 105 degree water may have caused some damage, but if it wasn't too hot for too long, they may be able...

If they came back strong and alive for a while and then slowly decreased and then started smelling bad, it sounds to me like they are just not handling something right. It's possible that the drying process weakened them and now they can't handle the recipe or water or ingredients well enough to thr...

Hello and welcome. Nothing should happen. Water kefir grains are strong and can handle a day without sugar. Just redo the batch with sugar and they should be fine.

Alex

I believe Kevita is a weak imitation of water kefir. They use manufactured strains (not direclty form a culture) and then flavored with stevia and extracts / flavoring. I don't think the carbonation is from the natural fermentation either. The added vinegar, extracts and lactic acid is to make it se...

You are right about the muslin bags. It sounds like a great idea, but it just doesn't ferment as well. It's possible to make something else, but I would caution against using anything plastic. I personally do not trust plastic (even food grade plastic) for long term contact with kefir as it is very ...

It may just be the yeasts developing. Without minerals, the yeast would have greatly suffered and its likely struggling to come back. The grains and liquid will change color based off the sugar color, so that is normal. It may take a few batches to rebalance from what you were doing.

Alex

Well, water kefir can technically last for years and won't go bad. It will just keep slowly fermenting, even capped and refrigerated. It will just keep using up the last of the sugar, until it becomes mostly acids / vinegar. Even then if you add some sugar, you could probably still drink it.

Alex