My Newest Experiment: Homemade Kefir and Kombucha

Kefir and Kombucha are fermented drinks and are packed full of probiotics or "beneficial" bacteria for your body. Both of these drinks have seen big increases in popularity in the last few years in the United States, despite being a long time staple for many cultures around the world. Chris Kresser wrote a great article about kefir and highlighted many of its benefits here. Richard Nikoley, author of "Free the Animal: how to lose weight and fat on the Paleo diet" is also crazy about Kombucha and Kefir and had an extensive blog series about his experiment with a raw milk kefir diet.

Even though these drinks are not "perfectly" paleo they are still gaining popularity as of late within the paleosphere. I would attribute this to several different factors. First, the paleosphere is hip to the importance of a healthy gut biota which probiotics can help establish. Secondly, the fermentation process of kefir eliminates something like 99% of the lactose in milk which makes it much more paleo-friendly.

Also, we are all different and there is no one "best" diet that fits all of us. Dairy is actually tolerated by a lot of individuals. Anecdotally, many are finding that a paleo and/or gluten-eliminating diet has helped fix their intolerance to dairy. I attribute this to helping with issues like endotoxemia or a "leaky" gut and increasing the amount of gut bacteria that can produce lactase. Lactase is an enzyme that digests lactose which is missing in those that are lactose intolerant. These are some reasons why there is an acceptance of dairy by paleo dieters.


Modern yogurt has turned into an ultra-pasteurized, sugar packed, insulin pumping snack marketed for kids and obese women in their 50's who are supposed to live off the stuff according to commercials. Yogurt is marketed as a probiotic but pasteurization can kill off just as much good bacteria as bad bacteria. Kefir and Kombucha are arguably much more active and efficacious when it comes to live and beneficial cultures.


My girlfriend has been struggling with some lingering issues for a while and she could definitely benefit from some dietary probiotics. I had been going to the local organic grocery store and a few chain supermarkets to buy her this stuff. However, there's two problems with this route. One, the prices are outrageous and cost and arm and a leg when in reality the production of these drinks is virtually null compared to what it actually costs to produce them. Secondly, these commercial kefir and some kombucha products have succumb to the same problems as yogurt has. There is simply too much sugar added for sweetening (at least the non-plain flavors) and everything seems to be made with low-fat or fat-free milk. That isn't a good thing. Going with low fat versus full fat just increases the amount of sugar in the drink.


So what is the solution? Make your own kefir and kombucha. It really is a very simple and cheap process. I learned a lot about how to do this from watching this youtube video by Ben Greenfield of BenGreenfieldFitness.com and his wife, Jessa. I just bought my own starter kefir culture made by the company "Cultures for Health" from my local organic grocery store. It was a dehydrated culture so I need to reactivate it by soaking it in milk for the next few days to a week. The only thing that could make me happier is if there was a place to get raw milk where I live but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Cut-up T-shirt keeps out bugs, but allows gases to escape

There are no "grains" its just a name

They start small and look like cauliflower

Need to replace milk once every 24hrs to rehydrate

After rehydrating it will only take 24-48 hours to produce a batch of kefir

There is some delicate handling required but otherwise the culture can last pretty much forever.

As for making our own kombucha we are currently growing our first SCOBY culture which stands for a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. We did this using an original or plain bottle of G.T.'s brand kombucha and the steps outlined in the video by the Greenfield's.

The SCOBY in training, kept in a warm but dark place to allow proper culture growth.

Did I mention that this stuff tastes freaking delicious and can be good for you too? I can't wait until our homegrown batches are ready for consumption. 

Categories: cultures for health, fermented foods, gut biota, gut health, health and wellness, irritable bowel syndrome, kefir, kefir benefits, kefir grains, kefir recipe, kombucha, kombucha recipe, microorganisms, SCOBY