Kombucha

I brew black tea kombucha almost exclusively - it has a depth that green tea versions don't quite match for me, though I make those occasionally too.

The first ferment is mostly just time. You make the sweet tea, you add the SCOBY, you leave it alone. The interesting part is the second ferment, where the real experimentation happens. This is where you add flavour - fruit, spices, herbs - and the fermentation continues in a sealed bottle, building carbonation and complexity.

Falsa and ginger lemon are my two favourites so far.

Falsa is an Indian berry that is not easy to find outside the subcontinent, and virtually impossible to find in any commercial kombucha. It ferments beautifully - tart, slightly floral, with a colour that turns the batch a deep purple. The taste is unlike anything you would find commercially. If you know Falsa season (late April to June in Delhi), this is worth planning around.

Ginger lemon is the reliable one. The ginger gives it heat without sweetness, the lemon keeps it bright. It is the batch I make when I want something that just works, every time. No surprises.

Between the two, my SCOBY has had a good life.

The thing people do not tell you about brewing is how much variation you get between batches. Temperature, tea strength, how long you let it ferment - small differences compound into noticeably different results. That inconsistency is either a feature or a bug depending on your personality. For me it is the interesting part.