Place milk and kefir grains in a glass jar. No need to sterilize first but do make sure it’s very clean.

Seal with a lid and leave on the kitchen bench for 12-24 hours. It’s up to you how funky you let it get. It’s ready to drink when the milk has thickened slightly into a drinking yoghurt consistency (similar to whipping cream). But you can keep fermenting it until you get chunky curds and whey and the kefir is slightly sparkling like champagne.

When you’re happy with the consistency, strain to remove the kefir grains and place the kefir in a clean jar or bottle. You can drink straight away but I prefer to refrigerate before consuming because the colder it is the less funky it will taste.

Wash kefir grains under running water to remove any chunks of milk curd. Return kefir grains to the original jar (or use a clean one if you like – I generally reuse the same jar for a few rounds before getting a clean one). Add more milk. And repeat.

If you don’t want to be making kefir every day, pop it in the fridge. Will slowly ferment in the fridge. When you’re ready for more kefir just get it out and leave at room temperature for another 12 -24 hours or until you’re happy as in step 2. I generally make a batch once a week.

Over time your grains will grow, when you have more than 2-3 heaped tablespoons, it’s time to either increase your batch size or get rid of some of the grains. Either pass on to a friend, compost, feed to your chickens or place in the freezer as a backup in case something happens to your main kefir grains.