Mango Water Kefir

The ideal mocktail. Packed with probiotics. A delicious homemade lemonade.

Ingredients

1 L sugar water (1 L water + 50 g sugar)
½ organic lemon, sliced
1 organic dried fig or apricot (optional)
2 tbsp water kefir grains

Equipment

1 L glass swing-top bottle
Funnel
Cheesecloth or muslin cloth
1.5 L glass jar
Napkin or paper towel
Rubber band

Method

Briefly bring the water to a boil, dissolve the sugar in it, and let the liquid cool completely. Pour the water into a glass jar, add the lemon, fig, and kefir grains, and cover with a napkin or piece of paper towel. Secure with a rubber band. Place the jar in a light spot and leave it to ferment for 24–48 hours.

If the lemon slices and fig float to the top, that’s good news: gas is forming and fermentation is well underway.

Next, strain the mixture through a funnel lined with cheesecloth into a swing-top bottle. Rinse the water kefir grains and store them in a jar with cold water and a little sugar in the refrigerator for several weeks.

For a truly sparkling drink, leave the sealed bottle at room temperature for one more day after this first fermentation. You can also add herbs or fruit at this stage to give your water kefir extra flavor. Mango with crushed cardamom pods is a lovely combination. Ginger and pineapple is another great option.

Instead of sugar water, you can also try coconut water or sweetened hibiscus tea.

Note: Always open the bottle very carefully. Especially on warm days, the second fermentation can create extra gas and pressure, causing the drink to spray out of the bottle.