Can I mix 2 different sources of water kefir grains?

[PooiMun]

Hi, I have a question I hope someone can help me with. I have some water kefir grains I have been culturing for 6 months but they do not seem to grow.

Then my friend kindly passed me another tablespoon of her water kefir grains as hers were growing quite fast. I did a first fermentation with my wkg and her wkg separately. It looks like my wkg are actually more active with more bubbles, compared to hers.

My question is...can I mix my water kefir grains with her water kefir grains and ferment them all together? Or should I just stick to one and eat the other? Thanks

[AlexP]

Yes you can combine grains, but its hard to predict the end result. Most of the time the more dominate, active grains will win out or they can become the best of both worlds. Try using just part of the grains to test it first if you are concerned. It sounds like your grains may have greater yeast activity with all those bubbles, but from what I understand, its more about the bacteria activity that determines the rate of growth.

Alex