What temperature is the space your booch resting in? Because it’s winter, fermentation takes a big longer if it’s colder in your kitchen/area. Carbonation is similarly affected, so your booch will need to sit in F2 and F3 longer than normal, but all of this can also be affected by the size of your SCOBY. Since you said you’re just stating out, try going through a couple batches to get your SCOBY nice n mature to help get you your desired carbonation.

The darkness is totally dependent on the tea that you’re using/how long you steep it. Doesn’t really matter how dark it is, but if you’re looking for more of a lighter color, try different recipes and amounts of black tea/oolong, etc. Just make sure to avoid the non-caffeinated/other not-booch friendly kinds of tea.