Raw Organic Organic Milk Kefir Grains Tibetan Mushroom 15g

I purchased the grains 4 months ago and am very pleased I did.For anyone who's considering starting their own kefir production, it will take you a while to get used to it. It took me a couple of weeks to stop worrying if I was doing it right - how much milk to use, how long to leave them fermenting, how to take a break from daily kefir making, etc.The very hot summer didn't help, because they ferment a lot faster in hot weather. I now keep two jars going at the same time and one - as backup in cold storage in the fridge. We have entirely replaced buying yoghurt, we use kefir instead - and you can control whether it's thick like Greek Yoghurt, or thin and runny, like ordinary natural yoghurt. I have made kefir cheese with salt, chives and tarragon - a bit of a palaver but worth it. I make cream cheese (similar to Philadelphia in texture), which is great for dips and potato salads, and salad dressings. A good dollop in soups is delicious. The by-product of the kefir cream cheese is the kefir whey, which is lovely as a skin astringent, and seems to do wonders for my slightly cracked heels. Whey also has a lot of other uses which I haven't tried out yet (e.g. plant food, starter for fermenting vegetables (next year maybe).Our digestion has improved a lot, especially my brother's - he suffers a lot from constipation and takes medication for it, but it never worked - after he started on a daily serving of kefir instead of yoghurt, there was a very noticeable improvement - he's very happy. Our 84 yr old mum has a glass of kefir in the afternoons, and pulls faces when she drinks it - she says it's sour and fizzy, but she loves it, and demands it if I forget to give it to her.In theory, kefir is also very good for the immune system - I can't prove it, but we seem to have fewer colds and flus (probably because we're shielding from Covid-19!).There is one downside - the grains are very prolific - I now have excellent kefir grains multiplying like rabbits (I must be doing something right...). I think of them as my domestic pets, but when I have too much for my needs, I have to throw some away, which is heartbreaking. I tried giving it to friends, but they weren't interested because they're too busy to spare 20-30 minutes per day, or more when making cheese. One friend said she loves the kefir, will take off me any that I have to spare, but is worried about making her own kefir from grains in case she gets it wrong!In summary, if you're a total fermentation novice, don't worry and stick with it - after a couple of weeks you'll get to know how the grains behave and how much time they need. Give them good full cream milk, use only glass and plastics (no metal) and your grains will love you back and give you lots of lovely healthy kefir yoghurt and cheese!----------- Update 9 months later -----------------Kefit grains still going great! This was the best investment ever - we love our kefir, couldn't live without it.Very healthy stuff - My bro swears it's more effective than Lactulose, and his constipation is much better - I don't want to go into gruesome detail, but he keeps a diary and should know what he's talking about. Also, eating lots of veg helps.As far as the taste is concerned, we couldn't go back to yoghurt now. During a recent cold period, we ran out of kefir and had to buy a jar of yoghurt to have with breakfast - the taste of the shop bought yoghurt was a pale imitation of the real kefir, it tasted weak and watery and unpleasantly sweet. Luckily by next morning I had prepared the next batch of real kefir, so hopefully we'll never have to use commercial yoghurt.The kefir is just as prolific as it was before, and I'm still gutted when I have to throw the surplus away. But I am now making three jars. I also like to leave it to ferment a little longer so we get a thicker yoghurt and slightly more whey. The kefir is lovely , thick and delicious, and we use whey a lot for cosmetic purposes - I often pour some into a basin of warm water and soak my feet in it for 20 mins. Last summer I had slightly cracked heels, but no more - it's doing wonders to condition the skin.Highly recommended seller - we got excellent quality kefir!

I ordered the product on a Friday and received it first post Monday. It was protected in a bubble wrap envelope and the contents very well sealed to ensure there was no escape of the Kefir grains. When you open the tiny package it is hard to imagine that they will ever do anything, they are tiny and come with a little milk solution to ensure they are kept alive. When you open the sachet ensure that every last drop is emptied into a clean jar, as I say the grains are tiny. Then just fill to within an inch or two of the top of the jar, I used an old Douwe Egberts 190g jar. As I am not drinking cow's milk I am making the Kefir with goat's milk and it works very well and I would recommend using whole milk. I covered the top with a muslin cloth and secured with an elastic band. Then left it to ferment in a corner on my kitchen worktop. Within 24 hours the grains were noticeably clumping on the top and there were some bubbles around the edge of the top surface. All that is needed, is nothing fancy just a nylon sieve, glass bowl or china bowl and a wooden spoon. Empty contents of jar into sieve over the bowl and gently move any remaining liquid through the sieve with the spoon. I wouldn't use a metal spoon for this as it could taint it. There will be soft cauliflower looking grains left behind in the sieve, just tip these into another clean jar and begin the process again. It really is simple. No need to wash the grains nor the jar inbetween fermentation sessions. Depending on where the fermentation takes place it could take another few hours or even another day if it is not warm enough, probably the kitchen worktop or airing cupboard is fine or even in a cupboard in the kitchen. As soon as the clumps start forming on the top of the liquid then it is ready. The milk to be drunk can be kept in the refridgerator. I live a few miles from Greenwich and it is much warmer in the south so for anyone living in a slighter chillier spot the fermentation could take a little longer, but no need to panic, it will happen. I couldn't believe it when after my first attempt the grains had more than doubled in size and in quantity. My second attempt and they seem to have a mind of their own and have now grown much larger and a quantity I can easily share with friends. The package arrived on probably one of the coldest and wettest days of the year and the grains survived. The taste is slightly sour and there is a fizz to it and served chilled from the refridgerator it is refreshing. I should think that these grains have been well cared for and are excellent quality because they are living up to all my expectations and multiplying by the minute.

Responded very quickly to my questions. The kefir tastes great and the grains are doubling at such a fast rate!

I have 3 years of experience working with kefir grains back when I was living in the US. There were quite a few occasions when I needed to restart my batch. In every restart, it took 2-3 days to start seeing results, including the first time I activated them.With those grains, a week of replacing milk every day and the consistency of the milk remained as it was, thin and without any change to texture.I have no doubt that I got "dead" grains which were not stored appropriately and have long been fed milk.I have asked for a refund as the product clearly doesn't work and got refused with a reason saying "Grocery product", well, I'm pretty sure that if I bought a defective grocery item from the supermarket I would have got a refund with no question ask.So, beware. I strongly recommend not to buy from this seller. don't be tempted by the amount of grains, all you actually need is 4-6 gram to start your batches. This seller is not reliable and doesn't take responsibility for the product he/she sells.