2 TBSP Milk Kefir Grains and ebook “Milk Kefir Unleashed by Thomas Egbert” - Fresh Live Active Probiotic Starter Cultures

This product was recommended to me by a friend who started drinking kefir after hearing a local doctor sing its praises as a preventative measure for COVID. I had been drinking Trader Joe's Kefir for years, but the nearest store is an hour away, and with the pandemic the drive just isn't possible. So, after hearing how much he liked these, I gave them a try. In a word: Awesome.REVIVING THE GRAINSThe grains arrived promptly, well packaged and protected from leaking during transport. I had read many reviews saying to quickly get them in milk, so I did so. Make sure you read the directions enclosed. They are thorough and following them will ensure that your grains revive and start producing great kefir. Particularly, letting them go for 36 hours on the first two go-rounds seems important – this allows the bacteria/yeast ratio to balance out. I was impatient and didn’t let it go long enough the first time, and the yeast was just overwhelming. Allowing the next batch to ferment longer eliminated the imbalance and left a pleasing, mild yeasty aroma. If the whey is separating, that's the time to move forward, but the first two seem to take a bit longer than subsequent batches as the grains recover from their travels through the postal system.TASTEThis is NOT grocery store kefir! The results are a bit yeasty, pleasantly sour and (this was a surprise to my wife and myself) effervescent. Grocery store kefirs are not effervescent (apparently) because the containers would explode. To prevent this, it seems that only a fraction of the good bacteria and yeast are actually present in commercial kefirs. Be prepared for a tremendously different taste experience.We found the first fermentation thin, so I quickly started doing a second ferment on all batches made for drinking. Adding a SMALL amount of “pre-biotic” (a couple of berries or other source of sugar for the second ferment) will add a LOT of flavor. Lemon peel (I only used the peel, since it’s quite strong) or a slice or two of an orange adds a really nice flavor. Whatever you add – especially strawberries or other fruits – strain before storing. The acid in the kefir quickly works to degrade the fruit, leaving an unpleasant texture. Add fruit when drinking later, but I would definitely not recommend leaving it in after the second ferment is accomplished. Be careful with vanilla extract, etc. It does not take much to be too much.GRAIN GROWTHThese rascals are healthy! These added grains so fast that after two weeks I was having to make a half gallon each day just to keep up. In my research, I read that you can take extra grains and “rest them” so you don’t have to keep using all of them. Also mentioned was the need to keep them active for 4 weeks at first to keep them healthy while they rest. Since a half gallon is more than we can consume just drinking, I used this extra kefir to make cream cheese – super simple with a strainer and a couple of coffee filters. Excellent cheese and as fresh as it gets.After getting to nearly three Tbsp of grains, I split the kefir grains and used 1 Tbsp to continue making a reduced quantity of kefir daily (1 Tbsp for a quart, which we can keep up with) and the rest to experiment with half and half instead of whole milk. This produces something closer to sour cream. I made a batch, strained out the grains, and they are now resting in the refrigerator.Highly recommend this product – it’s hard to believe that we can now enjoy fresh and healthy kefir forever at the cost of milk. I visited our local health food store and they wanted $6.95 for a quart.As a final note, I purchased some freeze-dried kefir packets from another vendor – they produced a tasty product, but not in the same universe as the results of these wonderful grains.Thanks to Fusion Teas for a great, reasonably priced product.

Well, the grains came in a sealed foil pouch inside a protective package. Bear in mind I am a complete amateur at this Kefir stuff. But...all went well.I let them recover in two consecutive batches of milk (1 pint each time) before attempting to make Kefir to drink. The grains were healthy and I probably could have started making Kefir to drink on the second batch, but I wanted to be careful. So those first two batches went down the sink. Again, just to be sure.The third batch came out very well. I tasted plain before blending the kefir with berries, as I usually drink them. Since then, I have made over a dozen batches and the grains grow so fast I must have over a cup of them in a couple months time. I have to throw away some periodically as I will have too many for the 1 Qt. of milk I ferment at a time.The Kefir produced is not quite as thick as I hoped. Nor does it make Kefir quite as tasty as the store-bought Lifeway type. However, I suspect that kind of Kefir is more like a yogurt. Otherwise, I have no complaints. When I want to slow them down, I put the next batch in the fridge for a few days. It is easy to pick up production again just by taking them out.I even made some Kefir cheese that tasted pretty good.The digestive benefits were also very significant. When I drink this regularly, I have far less issues than when I don't. I just wished I liked milk products more than I do. It usually doesn't stick around too long though -- my whole family is now drinking the stuff when I make it. I make it with regular store-brand Whole Milk or 2%. The grains do not seem to care and thrive in both.I recommend this supplier.

A perfect transaction. The grains arrived as promised, and after a couple small batches, they were up and running in a frenzy. They've already grown quite a bit, and I'm making a ton of kefir every day for the family. In fact, I need to find something to do with the excess grains...The ebook is a nice bonus. Well-written, in simple terms with a number of nice recipes. It also includes helpful pictures, like pictures of healthy kefir grains vs. dead ones, etc. The book really gave me the confidence to go forward making kefir.A couple things that people _might_ miss: first off, DO NOT USE ultra-pasteurized milk. I made the mistake of getting some organic ultra-pasteurized milk prior to using the grains, but upon a closer reading of the instructions, I saw that you need to avoid that. So now I've got a bit of milk sitting around that I don't need. For whatever reason, I didn't have any trouble finding organic pasteurized milk, once I was looking, but I am now aware that most organic milk is ultra-pasteurized, and hence unsuitable for making kefir.Secondly, except for stainless steel, do not use metal with these grains (or any other kefir grains). So prior to ordering make sure you've got plastic or nylon strainers handy, and a few glass canning jars. I was surprised at how hard it was to find a strainer that was appropriate - the local groceries only carried metal ones that didn't identify what they were made of. Fortunately, I found a couple plastic ones at Tuesday Morning that work just fine.One last point - start slow if you haven't been taking probiotics. I'm downing a couple of cups of kefir a day, and that's trillions of probiotics - far more than in many supplements. I had a minor issue the first day, but I've been on some pretty good probiotics for a number of months.A minor downside to this particular strain of kefir is that it doesn't list the specific probiotics. That said, Fusion Teas says that they have combined a number of different strains, and I have no reason not to believe them. From my research, some kefir contains over 30 strains of probiotics, which is more than I can remember seeing in any supplements. I can say that I feel energized, and I'm really sleeping well (kefir also contains tryptophan).In all, I don't think I could have changed anything for the better.