Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is my second time buying from this seller. They deliver an excellent product! When you first get your grains they are going to look *very* small and nothing like the picture. There isn't anything wrong with them, this is how they are shipped so they survive the journey. You will need to spend a couple days to a week "healing" them before they're actually able to produce drinkable kefir. The way I "heal" my grains when I first get them is I put the grains straight into about two to three ounces of milk for 24 hrs and change out their milk every 12-24 hrs for about a week. For that first week the milk barely changes at all, it will be very watery and won't really ferment much. But after a couple of days, you will notice a change in your grains as they start to get plumper and grow. As they do, you'll start noticing the milk gets a bit thicker. How quickly your grains heal, grow and ferment will depend on the temperature in your home. The warmer it is the faster they ferment and vice versa. Once you get them going you will have kefir grains coming out your ears! I had jars and jars of them and had to find new homes for all the grains as I couldn't keep up! You can eat the grains as a way to keep their growth under control, it is a very cheap but potent probiotic "pill" if you will. I've been making kefir for about two years now and here are some tips for anyone interested (the seller sends some excellent directions with their product as well) Making Homemade Kefir What you need: - clean glass jars, quart size with wide mouth work great - a nonmetal sieve - Amazon sells a good nylon sieve here: [...] - a plastic spatula - freshly cleaned hands and counter surfaces - fresh non-homogenized milk The ratio of kefir grains to milk is 1:7. I usually use whole non-homogenized milk. Kefir can be fermented from 12-48 hrs at room temperature. You don't need any fancy equipment like a yogurt maker just some free counter space for your jar to sit. I usually use a 24 hr schedule for my kefir but you can experiment and find what you like, the longer it goes the stronger and tarter it will be and also the less lactose it will contain as you've given the culture a longer time to consume the lactose sugars. After it has sat undisturbed for 8 hours you can also stir it with plastic spoon to increase the fermentation speed. When you are ready to strain your kefir, wash your hands, the counter and make sure you have a clean quart jar, nylon sieve, plastic spoon (or spatula) and something to strain the kefir into such as a bowl or large measuring cup (2-4 cup capacity). Stir kefir with plastic spoon to break up the curd and make it easier to strain. Pour the kefir into the nylon sieve and tap firmly on the edge of the bowl or measuring cup to get the kefir to strain through mesh and into the bowl. The longer you've let the kefir ferment the more persistent you will have to be to get it to strain as it will be thicker. Continue filling the sieve and tapping until you only have kefir grains remain in the sieve. Place grains into your clean quart jar (I don't rinse my grains although some people do, I find my grains are "healthier" if I don't rinse them), add fresh milk and place lid lightly on top (don't screw closed). Set out of the way where the jar will not be moved or disturbed while it ferments (it needs to be undisturbed for the first 8 hrs, after which you can stir it to increase the fermentation process as noted above). Store your newly strained kefir in the fridge in a jar with a tightly fitted lid. Kefir should stay fresh for over a week at least. If you don't have a plastic sieve yet, you can use your clean fingers. Stir kefir with the plastic spoon as stated above to break up the curd then pour the contents into a shallow bowl. Use your fingers to "comb" through the kefir and fish out the individual grains and place them in a clean jar. Once you've found all your grains you can whisk the kefir left in the bowl to give it a better consistency which will help combining the kefir and whey. After whisking pour contents of bowl in glass container and store in fridge with a tightly fitted lid. Don'ts - Don't screw lid tight on jar, the kefir needs to breath, it is an aerobic culture! Set lid so it just covers jar and prevents fruit bugs and other foreign objects from contaminating kefir - Never place kefir grains in hot jar. Heat can damage and kill the kefir. If jar is hot out of the dishwasher, pour fresh milk in first before introducing grains - Don't use any metal objects with the kefir grains, only glass or plastic Dos - Do wash your hands and make sure you are working with a clean jar, surface, and plastic utensils - Only rinse grains if they get contaminated by falling on an unclean surface. Rinse in cool (never hot) filtered water - Drink kefir straight after straining while it is still room temperature, chilled and plain, mixed with honey and vanilla, or blended with honey, vanilla, and a combination of the following: coconut oil, peanut butter, dark chocolate and/or your favorite fruit! - Visit Dom's Kefir Making Website: [...] he's consider the "guru" of kefir making, you will find a lot of good info and history there There are tons of other resources out there but this is the system I found to work well with the kefir grains I bought from this seller. Hope you have fun and enjoy! :)