TOP LEFT, RIGGIO PIERCES
HOLES INTO THE BASKET
INSERT, DESIGNED TO HOLD
THE AROMATICS USED TO
FLAVOUR THE WATER KEFIR
LEFT AND TOP RIGHT, THE
SLIPCAST VESSEL IS TAKEN OUT
OF ITS PLASTER MOULD, AND
TRIMMED, BEFORE BEING LEFT
TO DRY IN PREPARATION
FOR THE GLAZING AND FIRING‘Water kefir is appealing because
it is not too sweet, it is vegan and
has more probiotics than yogurt’
relative newcomer to this scene, it is said to date back
2,000 years, and originates from the pads of the prickly
pear cactus in Mexico. With a lucid tone, subtle notes,
natural fizz and a light inherent alcoholic content, it is
often infused with additional flavours. Most producers
remove its alcoholic element to make it a perfectly
wholesome hydrator.
‘Water kefir is appealing,’ explains Hart, ‘because
it is not too sweet, it is vegan and has more probiotics
than yogurt or Kombucha.’ Hart was so taken with
her discovery that she has pressed pause on her film
career to launch her own version of the healthy tipple.
Branded Agua de Madre, Hart’s take on the drink is
delicately infused with a mix of fruits and botanicals.
Since last June, it has found a place on London
restaurant tables – at Moro, Morito, Westerns Laundry
and Primeur – sipped as a complement to fine food and
as that elusive interesting drink to drink when you are
not really drinking. Hart has kept its 1.2 per cent ABV
content, ‘because it is a natural side product’, she
explains. ‘I also enjoy the low-alcohol, yeasty mouth
feel. It makes it a satisfying, invigorating drink that
leaves you feeling hangover-free.’
Hart launched Agua de Madre from her north
London kitchen, which quickly became filled with glass
fermenting vessels and settling bottles of the drink.
A chance visit to this home production facility got us
thinking – if we were to follow her lead and produce
our own water kefir in the comfort of our kitchen,
what might we need beyond a starter culture and »084 ∑
Making Of...