Water Kefir/Tibicos anywhere between Adjuntas and Ponce?

Water Kefir is new to me. As you probably know Kombucha is available in the area. The only places that I know of that might have it is someone from MANP the agriculture market on Saturday in downtown Ponce. Now I am interested in brewing some with coconut water when I get back. I will probably order the culture online unless you will have it for sale. Thanks for piquing my interest.

Have you tried Mavi?
If is a fermented drink also, made from the bark of the Mavi tree. popular in Puerto Rico and very refreshing. The drink foams up as it ferments. It is amber color, similar to a beer in color, kids and adults enjoy it and is good for digestion also.

We ordered our initial water kefir grains from Amazon. Once you get them started, they will multiply and you will not have to replace them. I also started a kombucha mother from a bottle of raw Kombucha. We've been making both for the last couple of years. If you want the directions for the kombucha let me know or do a google search. Good luck!! Unfortunately we haven't moved to PR yet, or I would just share some!!

I tried Mavi, our PR friends introduced it to us - must say it is different...
doubt that I will order it again, however it is the real PR deal.   

I been told Mavi has a lot of antioxidants

Mrkpytn 01 March 2017 17:33:54

I didn't know they had an agricultural market in Ponce. Thanks for the tip! I think I'll try to find it while we are down there. Aside from being the world's worst salesman, haha, they say kefir should be gifted. If I am able to grow some grains by the time you guys get back I will bring you some. You do tours, right? We are always looking for something new to do. Thanks!

ReyP 01 March 2017 17:45:08

I have never heard of Mavi. Sounds a little more complicated to brew than Kefir but I am intrigued. I will keep my eye out for an opportunity to try it. Thanks!

LOL, I was born in Dallas and raised in the Bay Area. I did see it on Amazon. I have always LOVED Amazon (you can find, just about, anything on that site) but I am a little turned off by certain companies treating Puerto Rico like it was a foreign nation. i think Amazon did offer free shipping to Puerto Rico, before I lived here, but then stopped and some other companies won't even ship here despite our using the USPS, just like the mainland. In general, I try to buy local whenever possible but I kinda see it as a duty in this situation. Thanks!

BayAreaTexan wrote:

We ordered our initial water kefir grains from Amazon. Once you get them started, they will multiply and you will not have to replace them. I also started a kombucha mother from a bottle of raw Kombucha. We've been making both for the last couple of years. If you want the directions for the kombucha let me know or do a google search. Good luck!! Unfortunately we haven't moved to PR yet, or I would just share some!!

Yes, but KUDOS TO YOU for trying it, at least, once! I always say, never miss an opportunity to try something new...um, unless it triggers the gag reflex or, maybe, has anything to do with snakes or is something likely to be painful or deadly or disfiguring, haha.

Sitka wrote:

I tried Mavi, our PR friends introduced it to us - must say it is different...
doubt that I will order it again, however it is the real PR deal.   

I've been following this thread with some interest.  I must confess that many on this forum seem to be a good bit more, well, "groovy" than I am.  Nothing at all wrong with that, and in truth, not all that surprising if you knew me.  I had never heard of keyfir until this thread, nor had I heard of mavi.

Both sound similar to ginger beer, which I had thought of producing once I relocate.  From what I understand, the climate is quite good for growing ginger.

The Market is held on Aurora street. It is by the museum of the Massacre that is on Calle Marina two blocks South of The Main Plaza  Las Delicias

Kefir is good, but mavi... well, my wife likes it enough for the two of us. I would say, if you like Tea, you would probably like mavi. It is slightly alcoholic, according to my wife. She is picky about it, but found a seller at Mayaquez mall, a few years back, that she liked.

Mavi is simple to brew.
You  boil the mavi bark in water for a couple of hours, while that is boiling in a big container you add equal parts of white and dark sugar to taste.
once the mani is fully cooled, you add it to the mixture of water and sugar and mix well but make sure you strain it. You should also add a cup or two of old mavi that you buy from a vendor. This is called Pie (or foot) to get it going. Then you let it ferment for a few hours (it will foam), bottle it (leave plenty of space) and let it ferment  for a day or two in the refrigerator. Do not cap it, use cotton or some cheese cloth, it will foam and the bottle can explode if capped.

Some people like to add a little ginger to the boil but the original does not have ginger.

Save some to use for the next batch to use as Pie (foot).

The bark is quite bitter, but with the sugar it is delectable and very refreshing.
Makes several gallons from a handful of bark, so it is very economical.

Groovy would be a great thing to be but nerdy is my station in life. And the icing on the cake? I am highly introverted, haha.

I was mentally cataloging my brews and I have two large bottles of apple cider vinegar fermenting, a small bottle of sour dough starter, a lovely bottle of purple sauerkraut (two more weeks till ready!), the makings for my own hot sauce, and now my kefir water. I think I am becoming obsessed with fermentation. I am growing some ginger in a pot and ginger beer is on my to-do list after I put together a ginger bug! So I would love to see your progress if you decide to document the process online.

WarnerW wrote:

I've been following this thread with some interest.  I must confess that many on this forum seem to be a good bit more, well, "groovy" than I am.  Nothing at all wrong with that, and in truth, not all that surprising if you knew me.  I had never heard of keyfir until this thread, nor had I heard of mavi.

Both sound similar to ginger beer, which I had thought of producing once I relocate.  From what I understand, the climate is quite good for growing ginger.

Thanks for the information on the market. The people were so nice. They didn't have kefir but I did take the opportunity to try mave. It was bottled and ... interesting. Maybe the champagne mavi I noticed advertised at some eateries have a different flavor and smell?

For anyone wanting to visit, I just asked an officer once I reached Ponce plaza. It was only a couple of blocks away and yet, on foot, I still got lost (for heaven's sake) and a very nice young man directed us and walked us most of the way there.

Mrkpytn wrote:

The Market is held on Aurora street. It is by the museum of the Massacre that is on Calle Marina two blocks South of The Main Plaza  Las Delicias

For anyone interested, I did have to just order from Amazon but now I have them. I expect to double the grains in a couple of months or so and will be more than happy to share. Thanks for all the information!