Kefir

1. Place about 30g (2tbsp) of sugar in a glass jar
2. Add 1-2 liters of water and stir to dissolve the sugar
3. Add about 30g (2tbsp) of kefir grains 
4. Cover with a cloth and let sit for 24-36 hours
5. Strain into flip top bottles
6. Reserve the kefir grains and use in your next batch or store in the refrigerator, either in sugar water or dry, depending on the grains

1. After fermenting 24-36 hours, add 250ml of any fruit juice or puree you prefer
2. Strain into flip top bottles
3. Ferment another 12-24 hours, and then refrigerate

Where to find it: Paik’s Kapow Kefir—available in several flavors (B150/250ml), including milk kefir (B380/500ml)—can be purchased directly from her Facebook page. She also sells starter cultures, a range of different flavors of kombucha and jun, a kombucha-like blend of honey and tea, through her Bang Bucha and Bang Bucha Jun brands.

Kombucha

1. Measure 250g of sugar and place it in a well-cleaned fermentation-grade glass jar
2. Heat 4 liters of water to the proper temperature to brew tea
3. Brew your tea—unflavored green, white or black tea work best—and immediately pour it into the jar, stirring to dissolve all the sugar
4. Add a little water—Tibb recommends high-quality spring water—leaving room for the scoby
5. Once the tea is cool, add your scoby and cover the jar with a cloth secured with a rubber band—never add a scoby to hot tea, says Tibb
6. Store in a warm (26-29C) place away from direct sunlight
7. Let it ferment for a week; after that, remove the cloth and stir gently every three to four days
8. After about three weeks, your kombucha is ready to drink

Mead

1. For a 20-liter batch, combine 3kg of honey and 20 liters of water in a glass carboy or plastic fermenting bucket
2. Add white wine yeast and yeast nutrients (both available from homebrew shops like thaibrewshop.co; Devanom also sells advanced yeast for brewing)
3. Let it sit for about one month to produce mead with 5-6 percent ABV; for traditional mead of 10 percent ABV, age it three to six months
4. When fermentation is finished, you can sweeten your mead with more honey to suit your taste
5. Package in clean, sanitized beer bottles

Tepache

1. Cut two ripe pineapples into smaller pieces—including the skin—and put them into a heatproof glass jar, heavy-duty plastic container or fermenting jar
2. Add 1kg of sugar, a small handful of cloves, 1 pod of star anise and 3 liters of water
3. Stir well and wrap the container with cheesecloth
4. The next day, stir ingredients gently and wrap again
5. On day three, take out all the sediment and fruit, wrap the container with cheesecloth and let ferment another two days

1. Place 2kg of fruit and 1.5kg of sugar in a heatproof glass jar, heavy-duty plastic container or fermenting jar
2. Add water until combined weight reaches up to 10kg
3. Dissolve the sugar
4. Stir daily
5. In four days, the fruit should be fermented
6. Eat the fruit or blend into a mixture for use in smoothies, cocktails or coolers

Umeshu

1. Combine rock sugar and plums in a glass jar until it is three-quarters full—any plum variety works, although Thai plums are cheapest when in season
2. For every 1kg of plums, add 500g of rock sugar in layers
3. Top up with any spirit you like; Piangploy recommends Thai white spirit, “as it’s cheap and fun”
4. Let it age for three months to one year in a cool place away from direct sunlight

1. Place 2kg of ripe plums in a glass jar and mash to break the skins
2. Bring 3.5 liters of water to boil and pour over plums
3. Cover and let it rest in a cool place for 24 hours
4. Add 1kg of sugar and 5g of lemon juice to the jar; stir well to combine
5. Add a packet of Champagne yeast and let it rest for a few days
6. Transfer to a fermenter and ferment two weeks
7. Bottle and age up to one year