Black tea
Black tea is the deeper base. Oxidised fully, structured through time, carrying a depth that lighter teas cannot reach. It is the foundation Old School returns to — a base that does not soften its
edges, does not compromise its character, and does not need anything added to be worth drinking. Four expressions. One base. Nothing softened.
THE CHARACTER
Four Expressions. One Base. The Kombucha Benefits of a Fermentation Never Rushed.
Black tea is the more demanding of the two bases Old School works with. It oxidises fully. It carries tannin. What reads as bitterness at the start becomes structure by the finish — a base with enough body to carry Ayurvedic botanicals without losing itself, and enough character to stand completely alone without them.
Every expression here begins at the same place — Nilgiri black tea, fermented through a complete cycle without interruption. Three expressions carry a single Ayurvedic botanical introduced during fermentation. One carries nothing but the tea itself. The kombucha benefits in every bottle are not added. They are what complete fermentation, honestly done, leaves behind.
Dreadlock
Black Tea & Jatamansi
Jatamansi is a rare Himalayan root — used in Ayurveda for centuries for its deep, calming, earthy character. We do not think anyone has ever put it into a kombucha. That question — why hasn’t anyone? — is what made it inevitable for Old School. People thought we were crazy for calling it Dreadlock. Then they tasted it.
The Jatamansi comes from Om Raj Kaushal — a farmer from Ser, near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. Cool mountain slopes. Patience over yield. Every root he sends carries the calm and strength of his land. The kombucha benefits of a fermentation that no one else had the instinct to attempt.
tropical greens
Black Tea & Allspice Leaf
Sarvasugandhi — the Allspice Leaf — grows everywhere in Wayanad. In gardens, along roadsides, beside breweries. One morning on the way to work, we noticed a tree. Tall, green, full of life. We stopped and asked if we could take a few leaves. That is how we met Radhamma — not a farmer, just someone kind enough to share what she had. You do not always need a certification. Sometimes you just need someone who cares.
Allspice Leaf does not need to be rare to be remarkable. Subtle, aromatic, carrying a bit of every scent Wayanad is known for — rain, spice, forest, tradition. Introduced during fermentation, it does not announce itself. It settles in. Tropical Greens is our Wayanad in a bottle. The kombucha benefits of a place, captured in a leaf that belongs entirely to it.
AMBER
Black Tea & Sarsaparilla
Indian Sarsaparilla once flavoured every childhood tonic in this country. Earthy, deep, quietly bold — like roots after rain. We grew up with this flavour without knowing its name. Finding it again, in a kombucha, felt less like innovation and more like return.
Ajay — known as Chikku — is an Ayurvedic practitioner from Kattikkulam in Wayanad. Dr. Anjana first met him at the hospital where she worked as a doctor. Calm, grounded, full of quiet knowledge. When we needed Sarsaparilla for our brews, he was the first person we asked. He still forages it fresh from the forests near his village. The kombucha benefits of an ingredient that does not follow hype. Never had to.
JIM DANDY
Classic Kombucha
A few hills from Wayanad, in Mangode, Nilgiris, P.K. Kumaran grows tea through zero-budget natural farming. No chemicals. No noise. Just patience and care. We use his leaves in every brew we make. In Jim Dandy, it is just that — his tea, sugar, and time. Nothing else added. Nothing taken away.
No fruit. No botanicals. No flavour borrowed from anywhere. Just black tea, hand-plucked, fermented slow, the way it has always been done. Jim Dandy was our first brew. It is still the one we come back to when we need to remember why we started. The purest expression of what kombucha benefits look like when the only ingredient is commitment.
“Black tea does not ask to be liked. It holds its ground and waits. Four expressions built on that same logic — a base that earns its depth, botanicals that work without declaration, a fermentation that finished entirely on its own terms. This is not a range designed for the market. It is a range the market will have to come to.”
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