Organic cane sugar, mineral-rich spring water, and a well cared for water kefir culture. These are the only ingredients that The Kefir Chicks need to transform sugar water into a probiotic, detoxifying beverage. With some natural flavorings, the water kefir becomes a healthy substitute for sugary drinks like soda.
The mother-daughter duo of Kathy and Haley Shearer have been fermenting water kefir commercially since September 2016 in Western Pennsylvania. They call themselves The Kefir Chicks and sell mason jars of the bubbly drink in 25 different flavors, some of which are seasonal. The water kefir culture they use to ferment the beverage is one which they have taken care of for years. They rely on their own clean spring water to provide the culture with an array of minerals to assist them in fermentation. Then they add natural flavorings like ginger-turmeric, concord grape, or elderberry to introduce antioxidants, flavor, and other health benefits to each mason jar.
But water kefir is a drink that has not yet made it big in the mass market. “It’s not out there yet because it’s hard to control.” She explains, “Fermentation continues. It’s a living drink.”
The main attraction to water kefir is that it is alive. The living microbes in the drink are probiotic and help to balance the populations of bacteria in our guts. Shearer explains, “dysbiosis is the imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut.” Bad bacteria produce acids and can create an array of digestive problems. Water kefir can help to restore balance to the gut, allowing the body to heal.
But what is water kefir? And how did The Kefir Chicks come to produce such a temperamental beverage?
The drink is commonly cited as having an ancient, but obscure history. While there is no conclusive evidence as to where water kefir began, the drink has spread around the world. But it spreads slowly, from person to person, as the fermenting culture is gifted between individuals. In some places, it can be called “aquakefir” or “sugary kefir” as well.
Water kefir, unlike some beverages, is still firmly in the hands of artisanal producers globally. It is a fermented beverage made from sugar or fruit juice, water, and water kefir grains. These grains, sometimes called “tibicos,” contain a vibrant community of microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and yeast, all suspended in a polysaccharide matrix. They look like clear, gelatinous crystals and have a pale yellowish color. They smell a bit like a yeasty melon rind.
When those kefir grains are added to sugar water, the microbes begin to consume the sugar. They release organic acids, CO2, a bit of alcohol, and other compounds. In recent years, water kefir has become a popular health food. It is dairy-free (unlike milk kefir), vegan, and vegetarian. On top of this, it is hailed for its probiotic properties. The kefir grains are sieved out of the drink before consumption, but some of those bacteria and yeasts enter the beverage solution and can find a home in our guts to help digestion. The drink also contains B-complex vitamins and some amino acids. (Pendón)
This is where The Kefir Chicks come in. Like so many other artisanal producers around the world, Kathy and Haley make their water kefir at home, in the springhouse on their farm. They use the water from their spring, organic cane sugar, and the kefir grains that they have been cultivating for years. And they want to show others the health benefits of the drink.
Shearer reflects on how starting a family led her to eventually start this company with her daughter, Haley. “I grew up and my dad was very unhealthy. He was a smoker. He was addicted to sugar now that I look back.” Shearer says. “He had surgery after surgery. They bypassed the bypasses. It was extremely hard on the family.”
As she began to have children, she thought, “I have to be a healthy mom, and I have to raise healthy kids. My dad had over 30 operations when he started in his 40s until the end. I couldn’t put my kids through that. This is where I started my nutritional journey. And with each child, I got more and more into nutrition. Not the food pyramid, the underground stuff.” Along with this came an interest in fermentation.
Raising her family, Shearer made milk kefir, water kefir, kombucha, beet kvass, jun, yogurt, and sauerkraut, alongside other non-fermented homemade foods. She substituted soda in her household with the flavorful bubbly water kefirs that she made.
Her second son Eric, who owns and operates White Tree Cafe & Coffeehouse in Irwin, Pennsylvania, remembers the fermented drinks of his childhood. “My milk kefir memories–we would sort of shoot it and it would trigger the gag reflex.” Shearer acknowledges, “Sour, fizzy milk is not everyone’s cup of tea.” Some fermented beverages like milk kefir and kombucha, Eric qualifies, are an acquired taste. But water kefir is a milder, more approachable substitute.
While the flavor is tart and refreshing, health is a major focus of The Kefir Chicks’. “People are suffering from gut issues unlike any other time.” says Shearer. Over the years, Kathy and Haley have compiled a running list of testimonials from customers who have had their water kefir. They can recall positive experiences from people who struggled with Barrett’s esophagus, Crohn’s disease, dental health, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, chronic constipation, and more.
The beverage has become part of a broader focus on probiotics. Fermented foods and drinks with live cultures in them like kombucha, yogurt, or milk kefir are increasingly popular as a way to “restock” the gastrointestinal tract with healthy and viable microbes. Most modern foods that are factory made are pasteurized or tempered, a process that kills or sterilizes the microbial population that made them in the first place. Not only does this change the flavor (ask a beer geek about fresh beer versus pasteurized beer,) but it also deprives the stomach of probiotics.
The Kefir Chicks explain that water kefir can have over 30 strains of live probiotics in it. But, Shearer clarifies, “It’s an ancient food–it’s not a medication. You can drink it therapeutically, but 20 years ago, when I started giving it to my kids, it was just a drink. It was our soda.” She conceptualizes the role of the drink as a probiotic booster. “It’s going to balance your stomach bacteria.” She says, “The body heals itself.”
Because of the lack of existing water kefir brands out there, a lot of what Kathy and Haley do is educational. Their website immediately answers the question, “What is water kefir?,” and you can find them at local farmers markets explaining their product to passers by. Shearer, who homeschooled all of her children, says, “I educate all the time. “What is this?” It’s part of who I am. I educated all of my children.”
And the public has become increasingly primed to understand The Kefir Chicks’ message. Yogurt brands have done a thorough job marketing their products and promoting information about probiotics. Most customers understand gut health and the need for a balance between good and bad bacteria.
On top of this, Kathy and Haley teach folks how to make water kefir. In addition to selling ready-to-drink kefir, the mother and daughter sell water kefir making kits, emblazoned with the slogan, “Happy Kefiring!” The kits include a mason jar, a sieve, organic cane sugar, a bag of dehydrated kefir grains, and detailed instructions. The aspiring water kefir maker needs to awaken the hibernating culture, and then feed it sugar to make kefir. The Kefir Chicks are passing on the culture that got them started in the first place.
The process of fermenting water kefir is straight-forward, although there is a learning curve involved. Shearer laughs, “I have killed many, many cultures. It is really easy to set this culture in sugar water and forget it. What it does is, it consumes the sugar over the course of two days or so, and then it will sit there and get hungry and start to break down. A kombucha SCOBY is very different, it can last for a long time.” After years of experience, Shearer has a mastery over her kefir culture. In making water kefir, you get to know your culture and its needs, so that you can reliably produce the beverage.
The Kefir Chicks ferment in their springhouse, which is a common homesteading strategy at temperature control, as springhouses typically maintain fairly constant temperatures, which helps to regulate the rate that yeast and bacteria consume sugar. Still, creating a consistent product is challenging. Some batches are more fizzy, some are flatter, and then there are those that explode–particularly on hot summer days. The Kefir Chicks swear that the culture behaves differently as the seasons change.
But the two have developed strategies to make consistent products. “You can mix some that’s over fermented with some that is under fermented.” Shearer lets me in on some of their trade secrets. “Usually people will say to put a towel and rubber band over it, but we use loose fitting lids.” At the end of the day, it’s a living, growing culture that needs to be cared for and fed.
“I was born to do this, I know it.” Shearer tells me. The Kefir Chicks are on a mission to bring the product to a population that they feel needs it. They want to advocate for a healthier diet, a balanced microbiome, and a less engineered food industry. Locally made water kefir can bring probiotics to a population that needs them.
Water kefir is difficult to engineer precisely because it is alive. Because it is alive, it is good for the gut. It takes artisanal production like that of The Kefir Chicks to bring this product to the health conscious consumer.
Water kefir is a tradition that must be passed on from person to person. The Kefir Chicks are part of that transfer of tradition. Kathy and Haley offer a water kefir starter kit with detailed instructions and also sell their culture on its own. With their help, you can make water kefir at home too. After all, they got their culture from another fermenter. The community of fermenters is close knit and borrows from each other–just like the Shearer family, where fermentation is being passed down between generations, in this case from mother to daughter.
Pendón, María Dolores, et al. “Water Kefir: Factors Affecting Grain Growth and Health‐promoting Properties of the Fermented Beverage.” Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 133, no. 1, 2022, pp. 162–80, https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.15385.
Throughout much of Central America, cususa is the name for moonshine. It is synonymous to terms like guaro and lijón. In Nicaragua, corn chicha is the traditional alcohol of choice, so cususa has also been produced from corn. During a national celebration, I find some cususa for sale in Managua.
In research on rats, the critters invariably prefer to drink warm water. In fact, rats will drink more water if the water is warm. Another study focused on rats drinking cool water concludes, “that experience, rather than any innate tendency, is the basis for the usual preference of rats for cooler water.†Perhaps all creatures naturally prefer warm water, but can learn to enjoy cold water as well. Americans must just be taught to like iced water! But humans aren’t rats.Â
All civilizations must develop methods of storing water. Tribes across the American Southwest used baskets for the purpose. Using local materials, native peoples would weave baskets with long necks and then coat the inside with pitch from asphalt or tree resin. These water bottle baskets have been used for thousands of years.
Even though many readily fermentable crops existed throughout North America, alcoholic beverages were almost entirely absent from the indigenous diet north of Mexico. A few reports, all of specious character, tell of weakly alcoholic drinks made from staples such as corn or maple sap. It was not until the arrival of Europeans that widespread fermentation of native crops began.
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