Tarago Valley organic kefir review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Tarago Valley organic kefir. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this very natural kefir.
You can find this kefir in some health foods stores in Australia. And you’re probably more likely to find it in Victoria than elsewhere.
About kefir
Kefir is a fermented dairy drink which is made by adding kefir grains - full of different strains of bacteria and yeast - to milk. (There’s also non-dairy kefir, but we won’t get into that here.)
The result is a tangy dairy drink which is similar to yoghurt but more runny. It also has a lot more bacterial diversity than yoghurt does which makes it better for our gut.
Because of this diversity and increased microbial activity, kefir can sometimes taste a bit more ‘funky’ than yoghurt.
Kefir is a refreshing drink on its own or you can add it to cereal, smoothies or dressings to increase your probiotic intake.
And because of the strong fermentation of the milk sugars, it is better for people with some degree of lactose intolerance.
Read more about the benefits of kefir and how it differs to yoghurt.
Ingredients of Tarago Valley organic kefir
This is an authentic, simple kefir which only contains pasteurised organic milk and cultures. The milk also comes from grass-fed cows near the Tarago River in West Gippsland.
It’s worth noting that some other competitors in supermarkets (like Babushka’s Kefir and The Collective Protein Kefir) are made from milk powders, rather than fresh milk.
Benefits of Tarago Valley organic kefir
This kefir comes with various health benefits, particular related to its probiotics. For context, we’ll compare a few key factors against Table of Plenty kefir, which is another high quality kefir.
Probiotics
Probiotics are live cultures (usually bacteria) which have been proven to give us health benefits.
Tarago Valley claim this kefir is fermented with 12 probiotic strains. Unfortunately, they give no information on the exact strains included which is a shame because the term ‘probiotic’ is often used loosely to refer to live cultures which aren’t sufficiently beneficial to our health to be considered actually probiotic. It would probably be more accurate to say it is fermented with 12 different strains of live cultures.
In contrast, Table of Plenty includes 10 strains of live cultures with around half of these considered probiotic.
Tarago Valley also gives no information on the amount of live cultures present (ie colony forming units). They only state on their label that there is 10 times more probiotics in this kefir than most yoghurts.
For comparison, Table of Plenty includes over 37 billion colony forming units per 100g.
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Other health measures
Various health measures in this kefir (like Table of Plenty) come in at mid range.
Fat: This kefir has moderate fat levels at 2.9%. Whereas Table of Plenty has 2.7% fat.
Protein: Its protein content is also moderate at 3.5% - which is above Table of Plenty at 2.9%. It’s worth noting this is much below The Collective Protein Kefir which is 7.3% protein.
Calcium: Its calcium content is moderate too at 130mg per 100g - which is above Table of Plenty at 120mg.
Appearance
The first thing you might notice in the picture below, is the large cap of fat which forms at the top of the bottle because it isn’t homogenised. This is the same as what you find in Paul’s Farmhouse Gold milk.
Otherwise it appears like an authentic kefir - very lumpy and a bit split.
It pours very lumpy into the glass which will shock first-time kefir drinkers!
Texture
The texture is indeed lumpy and reasonably thick. And it slides out of the glass like one big gooey clump. Again, this would be confronting to the uninitiated.
Flavour
The aroma is clean like a yoghurt with no funky notes you sometimes get with kefir.
The taste is interesting in that there’s not a huge amount going on. The sourness is also quite low. I can only really describe it as a slightly soured milk.
Overall, the taste is fine and approachable, but I was expecting more.
Use
This kefir would be very versatile. It could go on cereal, used in smoothies and drunk on its own.
Cost of Tarago Valley organic kefir
A 1l bottle from a wholefoods store usually sells for around $8 - which I think is reasonable value for an organic product.
Summary
4.5 stars out of 5.
An organic, authentic kefir which would be a great choice for those looking for an ultra clean product.
Pros
clean, simple ingredients
made from fresh milk (not milk powders)
approachable flavour - which would be good for newcomers
seems to have good microbial diversity…
Cons
….but more information is needed on whether the microbial stains are actually probiotic
more information needed on the actual amount of live cultures present (ie colony forming units)
the flavour might be a bit underwhelming for those used to kefir
Other health benefits of kefir
Along with the specific benefits of this kefir mentioned above, kefir in general is good for our health in the following ways.
Vitamins and minerals
Kefir is a source of various vitamins and minerals including:
calcium
B vitamins (B12 and riboflavin)
magnesium
potassium
phosphorous
These vitamins collectively support bone health, energy production, muscle function, immune function and cardiovascular health.
Probiotics
These are the beneficial living microbes you are ingesting when you drink kefir. And kefir in general usually has a lot more different strains of probiotics than yoghurt or kombucha does.
Probiotics offer many health benefits including:
better digestive health
better immune function
reduced inflammation
reduced allergies
better nutrient absorption
Postbiotics
Postbiotics are essentially things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Reduced lactose
Because of the strong fermentation of milk sugars by a diverse range of bacteria and yeasts, kefir is better for people with some degree of lactose intolerance compared to milk or yoghurt.
Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut enthusiast and passionate kombucha maker!
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