Jun Tea | How To Brew Jun With a Kombucha Scoby - Cultures For Health (2024)

Growing more and more popular in the world offermented beveragesisJun tea. This probiotic beverage is packed with bacteria, yeasts, and organic acids; much like its sister beveragekombucha tea. Indeed, these two beverages share many attributes. Many call Jun simply a“Honey-Sweetened Green Tea Kombucha”.Others claim it is a unique strain of culture unto itself.

Download our Kombucha Guide with tips and tricks to show you how to make delicious Jun Tea with a Kombucha Scoby.

Jump to a Section:

• The Mysterious Origins of Jun Tea
• The Jun SCOBY
• Jun Tea vs. Kombucha Tea
• Converting a Kombucha SCOBY to Make Jun
• How to Make Jun Tea

MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS OF JUN TEA

Unlike kombucha tea, whose roots seem to firmly point back to a source in Russia, Jun has a lot ofconflicting information in regards to its origin. Some claim it can be traced back to areas of Asia while others claim it is simply a branch from the kombucha tree. It seems clear that we probably cannot know for sure.

One historical argument for Jun having its own culture rather than being simply kombucha cultured in a different medium is thehistorical analysis of the tea and sugar source.This argument states that the modern refined sugar used in making kombucha would not have been easily or widely available in the earliest centuries. Likewise, black tea is a more processed (fermented) version of green tea.

We may be able to conclude from this that the concept of a Jun or Kombucha-type fermented tea made from readily available pre-industrialized ingredients such as fresh green tea and honey from a local hive were precursors to the kombucha tea we now know.

The very specific origins, however, have yet to be clearly presented.

THE JUN SCOBY

Just as the origins of the Jun beverage are shrouded in mystery, thedebate over the source of the Jun SCOBY is lively. In general, there are two camps.

The first line of thinking is thatJun has its own SCOBYwhich has never crossed paths with the kombucha culture. It originated in adifferent geographical regionand was passed down, in a medium ofraw honey and green tea, from generation to generation. This camp states thatJun cannot be made from a kombucha SCOBYand therefore one must seek out apure Jun SCOBY, which can be hard to find.

Another line of thinking is that Jun is abranch from the kombucha family tree. Essentially, akombucha SCOBYcan be "trained" over time to culture any sweetened tea medium. Jun, therefore, issimply a kombucha (or kombucha-like) SCOBY that has evolved to culture in a medium of raw honey and green tea.This camp allows for the purchasing of a “trained” Jun SCOBY or the purchasing and training of a kombucha SCOBY through the use of raw honey and green tea.

One other point of contention between the two camps is theexposure to air or the aerobic nature of the ferment.Like kombucha, Jun is generally cultured with exposure to air through a permeable surface. Jun purists point out that the interaction between what might be considered a “pure” culture and the surrounding air changes the microbial makeup of the Jun, most specifically the yeasts involved.

JUN VS. KOMBUCHA

These two fermented teas have much in common, which might explain why the two probiotic-rich beverages are often lumped together.

Ingredients

The ingredients used in making Jun and kombucha are one of the primary differences between the two. While kombucha generally utilizesblack teaandrefined sugaras its fermentation medium, Jun is cultured withgreen teaandraw honey.

Taste

The taste of the two fermented beverages reflects that disparity in ingredients. While very mature kombucha can have astrong vinegar noteto it, Jun tends to be a bitless acidic. Jun is generallylighterandfizzierin flavor, due both to its ingredients and its microorganisms.

Alcohol Content

The alcohol content of Jun isgenerally higher than kombucha. This may be due to the differences in the sugars used to culture the two beverages.

Whereas cane sugar contains 50% glucose and 50% fructose, honey only contains 30% glucose, less than 40% fructose, and about 20% of a mix of other sugars. This difference, in combination with the yeasts at play, produces a higher alcohol content.

Fermentation Time

The fermentation time ofkombucha is much longer than that of Jun. Jun tea often takes only half of the time to ferment as kombucha. The other factor in this is that Jun prefers to culture at acool room temperaturewhilekombucha prefers it 5-10 degrees warmer.

CONVERTING A KOMBUCHA SCOBY TO UTILIZE GREEN TEA AND HONEY

As with all cultures, anychanging in feeding regimen must be done with the utmost care. Use anextra SCOBYfor this practice, saving others for backups which you will then feed with black tea and sugar as usual.

It is best toslowly introduce new ingredients to cultures. For that reason, it is recommended that youstart by replacing 20% of the sugar and black tea with honey and green tea, respectively. Once that is successful, increase these substitutions toone-third of the ingredients.

The next steps are to increase these substitution amounts toone-half,thentwo-thirds,thenthree-quarters,and then, finally, to100%. This slow approach should help your Kombucha SCOBY adapt to the new ingredients over time.

Each time you add more green tea and honey,check the health and vitality of the SCOBYand the fermented tea. If it is less than thriving,repeat that same level of green tea and honeyuntil the process goes off without a hitch.

Troubleshooting Tips for Jun

Keep in mind that changing the SCOBY's environment can sometimes haveunpredictable impactson the SCOBY. While the method above has been tried and tested, it is possible that it may not work witheverykombucha SCOBY (this unpredictability isn't uncommon when working with living ingredients.) Use abackup SCOBYandif it fails,don't be discouragedfrom giving it another try.

HOW TO BREW JUN TEA WITH A KOMBUCHA SCOBY

If you would like to try brewing Jun by converting akombucha SCOBYto feed on honey and green tea, the process is almost identical tobrewing kombucha, with only a few minor tweaks.

Ingredients

• 2 green tea teabags or 2 teaspoons loose-leaf green tea
• Scant 8 cups water
• ½ cup raw honey
• 1kombucha SCOBYconverted to honey and green tea (as noted above)
• ½ cup Jun kombucha from a previous batch

Instructions for Brewing Jun Tea

1. Boilthe water and add the tea.
2. Steepthe tea for3-5 minutes.The longer the tea steeps the stronger “green” flavor the final product will have.
3. Remove teaand set aside tocool to room temperature.Stick-on thermometersare an easy way to check the temperature of your liquid.
4. Once completely cooled,stirin the raw honey untilcompletely dissolved.
5. Pourthis mixture into a½ galloncontainer andadd the SCOBYandpreviously cultured Jun kombucha.
6. Coverthe container with a cloth, coffee filter, orbutter muslinsecured with a rubber band or canning ring.
7. Allow to the culture at70-80 ° for 4-7 days, tasting for acidity starting at day four.
8. Oncepleasantly sourandstill just a little sweet, your Jun kombucha is ready to drink!
9. Save 1/2 cup of your Jun kombucha then repeat steps 1 through 8 to start a new batch.

Jun Tea Second Fermentation

For a second fermentation, decant the finished Jun intoairtight bottlesand add fruit or juice. Allow this to culture for1-3 days at room temperaturebefore refrigerating.

Jun is generallymore carbonated than kombuchaso just be extra careful to check for carbonation andavoid prolonged second fermentation periods when temperatures are warm.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Now that you know a little more about Jun tea you're nearly ready to make it at home. To help you make sure you have all the supplies you need at home, Cultures for Health is here to help you with all of your fermentation needs.

With the largest selection ofkombucha starters and tools, we have everything you need and more. Our best selling option is ourJun Tea Kombucha Starter Kitwhich has everything you need to start making kombucha at home. This starter kit includes:

• 1 - Kombucha Tea Starter Culture (1 SCOBY)
• 1 - Bag of Organic Cane Sugar (1 cup bag)
• 1 - Bottle of Organic Distilled White Vinegar (8 fl. oz. bottle)
• 1 - Bag of Organic Black Tea Bags (8 tea bags)
• 1 - Stick-On Thermometer
• 1 - Butter Muslin Jar Cover (1 square yard)
• 1 - Vial of pH strips (vial of 25 strips)

Click here to start making your own kombucha at home today!

Download our free Kombucha guide and recipe today to start your Jun Tea brewing journey!

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