This is my favorite kefir soda. It is the mulling spices that make the taste something special. So much better for you than regular soda or holiday drinks. This has kefir cultures in it which gives your body probiotics, and consumes some of the sugar, so you get a delicious drink without tons of sugar. You don’t have to use cranberry peach juice. Pick any flavored juice you like; cranberry, apple, or pomegranate and just add the mulling spice tea bags, culture and water.
Kefir soda is so easy to make and gets super bubbly. Keep tabs on it, because it can get super carbonated. It calms down when you put it in the fridge. Open slowly and it is best to use clamp down bottles to let the carbonation escape naturally. Never use bottles that are not thick glass made for brewing. Be careful pulling out the tea bag when ready. It can tear and go into the soda. It taste like the holidays with the mulling spices, but I will be drinking this soda all year-long. I bought 2 boxes of mulling spice tea bags to make sure I had enough to last me through out the year. This way I can make the holidays last all year-long.
Happy New Year Kefir Soda
Makes 1 liter
2 cups cranberry peach juice (I purchased this at whole foods)
2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh kefir whey or 1 kefir culture package
I tea bag with Mulling spices or 1 tsp of Mulling spices sealed in a tea bag. (I purchased this at whole foods but have also seen it at my regular grocery store by the apple cider.)
Place kefir pack in water and mix well.
Add all ingredients into a 1-liter bottle with a clamp down lid. Add the tea bag last and it will float at the top so you can remove it when you are done fermenting. Be careful pulling the tea bag out. It can rip and tear open.
If you use the culture package let sit for 2 to 3 days or until bubbly and fizzy. If you use the kefir wheyit can take longer 2 to 5 days to become fizzy. You should check it by opening the lid and you will hear and see the fizz. Then it is ready. It should also not be overly sweet but a little tart. Check these bottles everyday to make sure that there is not too much pressure in them. They can build up pressure and explode if left for to long. Make sure you use bottles such as grolsch bottles or Bormioli thick glass bottles. Bottles bought at craft stores can explode.
Then place in refrigerator.
You can take 1/3 cup of this fermented soda mixture and add some more peach juice, water and Mullen spices and ferment again. It will ferment faster, usually in a day and sometimes even faster. I have even let it ferment in the fridge. If you use the Kefir culture packages you can do this up to 10 or more times or until it stops becoming fizzy. Then you will need another culture package. If using kefir whey you will have to add more kefir whey (fresh) every couple of batches.
[...] it occupational habit and one of the ways I express myself. That night I got out a large bottle of kefir soda and these nuts. By the time the night was over we had consumed the entire bottle of soda and a [...]
Donna, do you always use the body ecology kefir starter? I’ve used it in the past but it’s a bit pricey for me, and i wondered what your opinion is of the yogourmet brand kefir starter. i just bought some because it was much cheaper than body ecology and i wanted to see if it would be as good. i’m pretty sure there aren’t the same strains in it,or as many, but i’m wondering what your opinion is about it… i do love the taste of the body ecology kefir in milk better than kefir grains.
Nicole, I do use the body ecology starter and you are right the yogourmet one is not as strong and does not work well at all. Each package makes a t least 20 bottles from the BES and it’s the only one I use. You can also do this with kefir of water kefir crystals if you have them.
Hi Donna,
This will be the next step on my adventure with Kefir! Thank you! If I use fruit juice with no sugar (like a real cranberry juice that is quite bitter) will this work? Or do i need to add sugar? Thanks and happy holidays to you and yours! ~Sara
It works but will be really tart.
Hi it’s belinda. I have now logged in properly. Just one question??? i will b using the little round keifer grains. can they be used instead the whey and powders usuggest in your keifer soda’s??
thank u x
Hi Belinda,
I am glad you were able to log in.
Are you grains water kefir grains or the milk kefir grains? You can use both but the milk kefir grains will not survive very well without being in milk. It is better to use the whey.The water kefir grains will be fine and can last indefinitely. Do you know the difference?
Donna, I just asked you a question a couple minutes ago, but thought of another idea. Is it possible to take coconut kefir and strain it through a coffee filter,( like I do with milk kefir) in order to have a coconut type wHEY, to ferment with? I wonder if that would work?
Thanks again for your great advice!
Yes you can try that and I think that would work.
My daughter is dairy intolerant, and can’t have caffine. She would like to make fermented drinks, your salsa, etc. Is it possible to make a ferment of sugar and lemon juice ( I don’t know the correct amounts of each), for a day and then add that (instead of whey) into the fruit juice or coconut water, or salsa or whatever in order to ferment the juice or food? I realize there are starters you can purchase but they are expensive, and she doesn’t care for the taste of drinks made with water kefir grains. I know this sounds complicated but I hope you can help. We just LOVE your book and website! Thanks for your help.
donna, my soda is working out great!! since i am a newbie i have another question or two. should i burp it or not? it has a nice ‘head’ on it. now everyone has me concerned about exploding bottles haha it has been 3 days, i loosened the lid last night and it had a nice carbonated sound, and just a little spewed out. so i recapped it and there is a nice layer of bubbles today. i am wondering do i refridgerate it when the bubbles are high, or thick they are about 1/2′ high, do i burp it and let it ferment a bit more? ( i think i read that lets out the carbonation) i will do further reseach on it later when i have the time. thank you so much for your time and answers.
It is ready to be refrigerated if it is doing all of that. Yes you should let the pressure out and burb it. I am putting a kefir soda video on my member site in about a week. Lots of fun stuff on there about how to make kefir sodas.
i am confused if i am making the soda with fresh kefir whey do i still use the 2 cups of water?? or is the water for the powdered culture mix? i tried making my first soda, but i am unsure of this particular …..combination. i had 2 cups water 2 cups juice 1/2 c whey. please let me know so if i need to start over i can..am very excited to try this.
You are correct. 2 cups water 2 cups juice 1/2 c whey, perfect!
My first attempt at the kefir soda I used purple grape juice and milk kefir whey. Since it was my first time I was not sure what it was supposed to look like and when it started to get “stuff” on top I was not sure if it was “mold” so I threw it out. my second attempt I used white grapejuice and it seems to be doing the same thing, however I smelled it and it did not smell “rotten” it smelled like yeast, so I tried it, it seems to be ok. How do you know if it is ok or growing mold? mine seemed to take a lot longer to fizz, a few days, is that because I used milk kefir whey?
It does take longer when you use kefir whey. The fresher the whey the faster it ferments. What I think you are seeing is not mold but yeast cells consuming the sugars. If it gets fizzzy and tart it is working and there is no need to worry about molds and such.
I used day old whey, so wasn’t sure it would turn out. I left it a day longer than I should have, since it didn’t “look” like it had done much of anything. While I went to the feed mill to get layer ration for the hens, my husband had quite an exciting time here at home. Thankfully, nobody was in the kitchen. My kefir soda (I made a quadruple batch in a large wine jug) exploded. Glass was everywhere. My wall is dented and gouged. My countertop across the kitchen has a gouge from flying glass. I’m so thankful that nobody was in the kitchen, or there could have been some serious injuries! I suppose it is common sense that this gets pressurized, but with all that’s going on here right now, I seem to have misplaced my common sense! Next time I try this, I will not be putting a lid on it. I’ll put a balloon over the top and rubber band it down. That way, when the gas in it starts to expand, I’ll see it from an inflated balloon, and not have a soda bomb in my house! With 4 small children, you can imagine how upset and frightening this was!!! After a couple of hours, we think we have almost all the glass cleaned up.
I have heard of it exploding and cracking the bottles but nothing like this. This soda does need to be check regularly. The bigger bottles can have more pressure in them especially if you leave a lot of room for air in them. I am glad no one was hurt. Thanks for sharing and I added more caution to my post.
There was more room for air. Hmm. I had it about 2/3 full. I typically like to make larger batches of things (my spaghetti sauce recipe calls for a gallon of tomato sauce), so perhaps this is one time I should stick to the recipe rather than enlarge!
The more room you have for air the more pressure it creates. Make sure you fill it and just leave about an inch at the top.
[...] Kefir Soda with Mulling Spices – from Cultured Food for Life [...]
I love your book I got it yesterday and I am enjoying it so much. It is easy to read and you get right to the point and give good info. I have been into fermenting foods for a month now I love all the great recipes.
This is the best book so far I have. Thanks again
Crate & Barrel in Overland Park, KS has one size of a swing top bottle. They also they have some glass Wek glass jars w/ clamp down lids!
At Feldman’s here in Blue Springs I found a “decorative” gallon size Ball jar with a nice stainless steel lid. I’ve made some sauerkraut in it. It should be about ready to eat.
I’m going to try this recipe, I picked up some of the spiced bags yesterday. Can’t wait…. Donna, Thank you Thank You Thank YOU!!!
Tammi, that is great, and thanks for sharing the info!
This looks great!
Where’s a good place to get the bottles? I can’t wait to try it.
Is it also okay for people with candida?
If you have candida I would drink milk kefir and cultured veggies until healed. These are the most effective for candida. This is great after you have it under control. Although a lot of the sugar is eaten out of the soda making it tart there is still some because of the juice. I would wait a few weeks and build up the good bacterias and yeast with kefir and cultured veggies then add the soda. I have found these bottles at Tjmax and Marshalls. They are the Bormioli Square Swing Bottle that have the thick glass. You can also find them here. http://astore.amazon.com/culturedfoodlife-20/detail/B0000CFMBL
You can also use old Gts kombucha bottles. Just make sure what ever you use is good thick glass that is made to handle the pressure.
Wow, this looks good. I’ll have to check with my naturopath, because I’m not sure I can have this yet on the GAPS intro diet..but for sure on full GAPS…..I hope…this looks great!!! It’s like getting a healthy version of Martinelli’s
Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 
