Free(dom) Kefir
- The standard free offer includes minimum 1 tsp of grains in a Ziploc bag mailed to the address you provide through my contact form linked in the top menu.
- The offer is available to those who donated to a worthy cause or follow me on social media and/or help me let other people know about it.
- The offer is contingent on succinct communication and donations to me are welcome but not necessary.
- If you cannot or will not follow the freebie procedure and/or need guaranteed delivery please see the bottom of the page to purchase.
I have used free services to give away kefir grains but I don’t have the time to manage the complex rules that come with placing ads on various platforms. These rules and their sometimes arbitrary enforcement make it hard for people interested in these grains to know about my offer. It thus becomes necessary for me to publish my offer on my own page and start advertising it, in the hope that kindness and generosity will prevail.
I am more than happy to mail grains entirely at my expense provided that you save me time by following the ordering procedure.
If you stumbled on this page out of curiosity and do not know what kefir or SCOBY is, please see my draft guide or click on this text to expand. These grains are alive, can be reused ad infinitum and multiply, making high quality milk (or water) kefir. In contrast, kefir commercially available tends to be made with powders and contains far less beneficial bacteria to ensure long shelf life and product “stability”.
Kefir, aka Kefyr, Tibetan Milk Mushroom or Bulgaros, is similar to yogurt, but much better in providing probiotics (far more beneficial bacteria). It makes your tummy happy! It is very popular and you can find numerous videos such as https://youtu.be/aHJpJ23iaSc explaining how to go about making it. Some studies show that kefir alone (yogurt, though similar, is much weaker) can provide sufficient probiotics to fortify the immune system and even improve mood and metabolism. (I am not selling the drink but rather what you add to milk or water to make it.) These grains may be converted to water grains (for Kombucha) but the reverse is not true. I provide them with organic cow milk in a Ziploc bag, Styrofoam cup with a lid or equivalent, depending on quantity desired and delivery method.
RECOMMENDED USE [If you get dried/dehydrated grains, you need to keep them in milk for a few cycles (days) first.] Add milk 10 to 1 by volume and keep at room temperature, in a covered (but not fully closed) container for 24 hours, then filter out the grains and repeat. You may then add some fruit for flavoring in a second fermentation of a few hours and control the fizz by how tightly you close the container. The Russian method involves inoculating the kefir from the first fermentation with milk at 1-3% ratio for 18h or so; it allows scaling up results with few grains when starting and also increases ethanol (alcohol) content up to 1-2%.
Apart from expenses, fulfilling milk kefir grains orders takes quite a bit of my time. This is not something that I can scale up and transform into a business, lest I start making a “standardized”, inferior product, much like what is sold in supermarkets. I am more than happy to spend resources on this but I would like to make sure that whomever is making the request does so in a manner that is time-efficient for me and avoids prank-ordering. Therefore, the request for grains has to go through my contact form, must be complete and should involve a social media post or a donation to a worthy cause.
To summarize, you need to meet either one of the following:
- You have made a donation of at least US$21 (or CA$26) to one of my preferred charities or non-profits or similar. Upload a proof screenshot to an image hosting service such as Imgur, Dropbox or Google Photos (see below) and include the link with your order in the comments field of my contact form in the “Message” field.
- You have liked my Facebook page or followed me on Twitter and Instagram or similar from an account that is at least 1 year old, has a human photo for its profile and more than 20 verifiable (visible) friends/followers. (Most of my social media accounts are linked from my left sidebar and consist of my full name, i.e., @andreizodian.) You have also made a public post on the account(s) you followed from containing:
I am ordering #free #kefir from @andreizodian via https://andrei.zodian.net/p/kefir.html
Please include a link to the public post in the “Message” field of my contact form. Also, given that some social media companies (e.g., Meta/Facebook) make it difficult or impossible to check if someone is a follower, please include a link to a screenshot showing you as a follower as well as the exact date and time when you started following me. - You have published a post / article on a website or blog with a DMOZ domain authority of at least 24 containing a link to https://andrei.zodian.net/p/kefir.html
My contact form (linked above as well as in the top menu under “contact” or in the left sidebar) was originally designed when I ran for office. It seeks to cover all the reasons why someone might contact me. It may ask for more info than it is needed to fulfill an order, and, although you are free to provide untrue answers or skip questions, it is nice if you take your time and answer all the questions, as that helps me know how most people relate to issues that are important to me and those I might represent. Please note that providing an incomplete address that requires follow-up to clarify (and generally an incomplete form) makes you ineligible for the free (at my expense) mailing.
I mail the grains in a Ziploc bag (as shown in the photo above, with fresh milk added, as well as in this album and on TikTok), sandwiched in heat reflective cardboard, as it can be seen in this tweet, using regular mail; alternatively, I might send dried/dehydrated grains which are safer for international destinations (less likely to be “opened” and “inspected”). For regular mail, the only proof of sending I can provide is a photo of the envelope, or dried/dehydrated grains to save on mailing costs; I decline responsibility for regular mail that does not reach you. Mailing with insurance and/or tracking is quite expensive and requires prepayment.
usa
It is no longer possible to mail kefir grains to the USA using regular mail (especially live grains), as such orders arrived in the recent past opened or not at all. The cheapest option is Small Air Packet and currently starts at $10-11 after all taxes and surcharges; it does not include tracking or insurance and it is reasonably fast, usually 3-4 days. If you would like to receive the grains this way, please make a donation and complete the contact form with your address. Alternatively, you can just purchase using USA Expedited or USA Tracked using the dropdown list at the bottom of the page, which is much faster but more expensive and you are guaranteed delivery.
delivery
If you are located in Ward 10 (Spadina – Fort York) you may also request home delivery at no charge. Simply indicate your desire in the contact form, as well as full address details and any unusual quirks about your location; otherwise, though I will try my best to accommodate you; I may have to drop it off in the mailbox or leave it at the front door.
While it may save the mailing cost, pick up takes more of my time and it is thus discouraged, though if you prefer to make a donation to cover part of the cost, you may do so. The meeting place is described with photos at Classifads. Please note that delivery is not always available.
reorder
If you need to reorder after having met the conditions for free mailing (as shown above), you can just contact me by email or on Facebook (Meta), as long as you did not “unlike” the page and the original post is still visible; you will have to make another post. If you had previously shown proof of a donation to a third party (i.e., charity), you will have to show proof of a new donation and/or pay for the cost of shipping.
donation
Some Canadians who meet the conditions above and thus can have it mailed for free might want to upgrade to a larger quantity or faster shipping which costs more than I can afford to cover. People located outside Canada might also want to make a donation to cover higher shipping costs to their respective destinations. For USA, please see above.
For personal use, the quantity of 1 teaspoon of grains is more than sufficient, given that the grains grow and multiply rapidly and, additionally, in almost every order I have received so far I was able to include much more than that. Typically, 1-3 teaspoons of grains with a bit of milk and packaging (which is what I send for free in a 8x7 in envelope) weigh 50-200g. If you need more than that, you will have to complete the steps outlined above, and prepay the cost of additional postage as shown on the CanadaPost website (link below). Given that I charge nothing for packaging, my time and the actual grains, this would also be a Credit Card or PayPal donation (best for USA or world customers) or through Interac Email Money (transfer for Canadians) to andreizodian787 at kohotransfers dot ca.
buy
If you prefer to save time and purchase directly without having to complete a form or prove anything, (or you have difficulties with the requirements for free shipping or delivery,) that is also possible through the button below; first, pick the correct mailing service based on your location from the drop-down list. This is a purchase and you are guaranteed to receive your grains within the time limits prescribed by Canada Post or your money back.
Sources / More info: CanadaPost.ca/findarate, Draft Guide (j.mp/kefiraz), Imgur, gPhotos, Flickr, Dropbox
Individual posts:
