I have never been a lover of hot drinks, which is quite unusually, seeing as I come from Ireland and a nice hot cup of tea, is something us Irish folk drink a lot of. Well most of us anyway. I am still offered tea, when I return to my homeland, because it would be considered rude not to offer and who knows maybe it had suddenly grown on me.
But no, hot drinks and caffeine never appealed to me, so I have never drunk traditional tea or coffee.
It was not until I first became pregnant, that I started to explore herbal teas and their many wonderful properties, depending on the plant or plants. But I do not drink them often. Water is what I drink the most, but when I crave something with a bit more flavour, I drink Water Kefir. Which is something I have been making, for quite a while now.
Which also happens to be really good for you, as it is full of probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that you find in your gut and they play a integral part in our overall health. Really helping to keep your body in balance.
In the picture above, you can see everything I need to make my Water Kefir. The bottle in the picture, has been fermenting for
a couple of days already and contains the kefir grains I need to brew some more.
This is it, full of bubbles and ready to be strained. I strain the liquid into a glass, using a plastic sieve. Never use metal, when making kefir, as it damages the grains. (Which unfortunately left me with having to use a plastic sieve, as that was all I could source.)
The lemon and raisins that I strained off are added to the compost. The kefir grains feed off the raisins, so they are left with no flavour, once they have been used. I rinse the grains with spring water and set them aside.
I add a few slices of fresh ginger to the liquid that I have already strained, so that it can begin it's second fermentation. You can add other fruits at this stage, but I love ginger. During the summer months, there is nothing more refreshing to me, than a cold glass of Ginger Water Kefir.
The original bottle has been rinsed in warm water and has dried. I add the grains to the bottle, so that I can start the process all over again. They need sugar to feed off, so I add a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and a few raisins. You can use only sugar, but I like to add raisins as well, making use of the wonderful natural sugars they contain.
Then I fill that bottle up with water and add a slice of lemon. The lemon is optional as well, but I really love lemons, they add such a wonderful flavour and also help fight off bacteria, which can affect your fermentation.
I keep this bottle in the fridge, during the summer months, as it would be ready within the day if I left it out in the heat. The fridge slows it down, so that it is ready within 2 days. You can tell when it is ready, because it starts to fizz and the raisins rise to the top of the bottle.
This is my entry into the latest, Ladies Of Hive Community Contest, where I had a choice of two questions and chose the following .......
Coffee? Tea? Both are renowned around the world! Which is your favorite to drink daily, and how do you take it? Recipes, please, and if you are not a fan of either, what is your favorite daily drink?
