Elixir Fixer

Water kefir kit, by Agua de Madre and Christopher Riggio.

- Emma Moore

Nicola Hart, a London-based film writer, director and producer, came across water kefir when researching superfoods with her friend, the chef Sam(antha) Clark of Moro fame. She was soon in its thrall. ‘Inspired by the rebirth of the art of fermentation, we looked into water kefir as a way to preserve the goodness and enhance the quality of unprocessed food,’ says Hart.

Water kefir is now a favoured fermented quencher in the arsenal of the fit-and-fine fettled. Though a 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.’