BKultured water kefir: Fizzing with flavour and gut-friendly goodness 

Kombucha and milk kefir are readily available, but water kefir is starting to make inroads into the market.

While there aren’t any official dietary guidelines on fermented foods and drink, there is increasing evidence that they can benefit our gut.

Scientific research into the health of the gut microbiome — that community of organisms and bacteria that helps you digest food and may also impact your immune system, brain health, and mood — advises that consuming fermented food can have a positive impact. One easy way of doing this is with fermented drinks.

Water kefir is made by combining sweetened water with water kefir grains or culture, symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast, and allowing the liquid to ferment for 24-48 hours before straining it. 

It’s popular with people who want to avoid dairy — milk kefir is made in a similar process, using milk — or who don’t want to drink kombucha because of the stronger flavour or small amount of caffeine present. 

It’s not difficult to make at home, but it can be time-consuming: “It’s a very simple process,” says Hegarty, “but it’s frequent. That’s sometimes why people don’t stick to it: You’re making it every two days.”

Water kefir contains natural electrolytes, which can help with recovery after exercise, says Hegarty.

“It could also be something you use to replace a soft drink, if you’re trying to be conscious of your sugar intake: Kefir contains two grams of sugar per 330ml.”

A 330ml can of Coke has 35g of sugar. Super-sweet, carbonated, ultra-processed soft drinks just can’t compete with this delicious, light, sparkling beverage.

“It’s alive, and it’s living, and it is verified that there are good bacteria in there,” says Hegarty, explaining that a student doing PhD research involving her kefir found over a billion good bacteria in the 330ml bottle alone.

Hegarty discovered kefir when she did the five-week cookery course at Ballymaloe Cookery School.

“You learn everything, but fermentation was the one area I was particularly interested in. I got hooked on the water kefir that we had at lunchtime every day, and it was the one thing I continued to make afterwards.”

At that time, she was living in Dublin, working in marketing and making the kefir for her friends. When the pandemic hit, she moved back home and started her own food business under the name Niamh’s Larder, selling picnic boxes for delivery or collection and fresh, local food from her little food truck. She kept introducing people to her favourite drink: “I only had water kefir for sale.” 

Her customers tried it, slowly started to recognise it, and Hegarty realised that she had something that people wanted to buy.

Setting up production at her family home, using water from the on-site well, she launched her water kefir, which comes in two varieties — mixed berry and ginger, and turmeric, both flavoured from raw ingredients — under the name BKultured in March 2023. “The whole idea in everything that I’ve done is about nourishment,” Hegarty says.

“Even the food that I used to cook at the trailer, which had to be tasty, was still healthy. Kefir was a drink that I really enjoyed, and friends and people coming to the trailer enjoyed it. It also had this incredible health benefit.

“So often, I feel like it’s like one or the other: You can be healthy or enjoy life. But the two can sometimes work well together. And that was a key point for me.”

Some customers seek out Hegarty’s probiotic-rich kefir because they find it beneficial for issues like irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux, while others want to boost their immune defences.

“Our gut microbiome supports our immune system, and fermented drinks help to improve that, which can help defeat the bad bacteria and the viruses that are trying to attack our immune systems.”

Hegarty believes kefir is also a mood enhancer: “About 95% of serotonin, which is your happy hormone, is produced in your gut. So by improving that gut microbiota and the levels of good bacteria in there, you’re helping to increase your happiness, because of the gut-brain axis.

“Everyone has a different motivator for drinking kefir, so some people probably feel healthier. I feel happier!”

With potential health and mood benefits — as well as it being delicious to sip — there are many reasons this slightly sweet, slightly sparkling drink can be enjoyed. Or, as Hegarty says, “At the beginning of the day, the middle of the day, and the end of the day.”

• Find BKultured water kefir at Marina Market, Cork; Urru, Bandon; Ardkeen Quality Food Store, Waterford; My Kitchen By Sham Hanifa, Carrick on Shannon. For a full list of stockists and online orders, check bkultured.com