Infrequently Asked Questions

Can I use almond milk?

You can but your kefir grains won't last. They will lose the growth factor in non-milks  and some times they will disintegrate until they are gone. Your strategy is to take some of your extra grains and feed them dairy milk in a dedicated jar. That way you have a back up. Kefir grains are able to ferment any beverage, they just won't  grow in it unless it is real milk.

If you want to use almond milk or any of the plant milks I highly recommend you get water kefir grains. The instructions that come with water kefir grains tell you how to make plant milks in your blender. Water kefir grains grow like gangbusters in all plant milk as long as you add 1 tablespoon of sugar per cup..

I want to feed my kefir grains coconut milk. Will that work?

I  suggest you put the kefir grains in real milk for a week to get some  growth then switch half of them to coconut milk for slow growth, or to  coconut water for no more growth. If you keep them in real milk they  will grow forever. All the beverages will ferment with milk kefir grains  but not all liquids allow them to grow.

Kefir Karma

The  misinterpretation of the behavior of kefir grains happens often enough  that you should read this in case your first batches of kefir are  questionable.

Customer:  Unfortunately, the heat must have killed the kefir grains.  I have  tried three different batches and the result tastes putrid.  Could you  please replace them and let me know when you send them so that I can  make sure they don't sit in the mailbox?

(I sent her new ones and got this message shortly after she got them.)

Unfortunately,  the kefir grains were dead again when they arrived.  They did not get  here until Monday and I was waiting at the mailbox and met the mail lady  and immediately brought them in the house and put them in milk but to  no avail.  Perhaps if you shipped them so that they would get here  quicker or put them in some milk to sustain them along with way?  It was  not particularly hot over the weekend but regardless, they are  unusable. Thoughts?

My answer
Under  the care of the post office they do not die. They die in overheated  mailboxes. So they were not dead when they arrived. 

Probably best to get them from someone else. It will just happen again. Do you want your money back?

Cuistomer:  I am not sure what happened then.  I was standing there waiting for the  mail lady and took the package directly from her and went immediately  into the house and put the grains in milk.  They were never put in the  mailbox at all.

I guess you should just send me my money back.  I am sorry that it didn't work out.  They looked lovely.
Marilyn: They were fine then. What makes you think they aren't working?
Customer:  I put them in fresh milk yesterday and the milk is putrid today, just  like last time.  I can change it out and give it another 24 hours if you  like but I don't think it will help.
Marilyn: Glad you didn't throw  them out. Rinse them with water; they sound yeasty. They will be fine. A  few rinsing before the next couple of batches will rinse away that  excess yeast. Yeast tastes nasty so I know what you mean.
Customer: I will give it a try and let you know.
Customer  two days later: You were correct!  After a couple of days of rinsing  they have started to revive and make kefir.  Thank you for helping me  troubleshoot.  I thought they were goners!