Jun Tea

Although I have been making my own Kombucha for years now, I recently was gifted a Jun scoby to ferment with. Jun is similar to making Kombucha but instead of using black tea and sugar it is brewed with green tea and honey. For this reason, there is a lower caffeine content (if any by the time it is fully fermented). 

I have also found that by using green tea and honey together the flavor profile is lighter and fresher tasting. What is more, it takes less time to ferment than kombucha and is said to have a higher lactobacillus content. Which means it can be even healthier for our gut. The one down side of making jun is that it is definitely more expensive to produce due to the cost of honey versus sugar. Still, I do think the health benefits and the taste make it worth trying!
 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Jun scoby (purchase here)
• 2 teaspoons green tea or 2 green tea bags
• 8 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/2 cup Jun tea from a previous batch
• one 1/2 gallon glass jar, cloth cover, rubber band
• optional: glass bottles with stoppers

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil the water, remove from heat and let cool to 165 degrees fahrenheit. 
2. Steep the tea for 2 minutes. The longer the tea steeps the stronger “green tea” flavor your Jun tea will have.
3. Remove tea and set aside to cool between 96 and 104 degrees fahrenheit. Add honey and stir to dissolve. You can skip this step but the health benefits are greater when the honey is not heated at a higher temperature. 
4. Pour this mixture into a ½ gallon container and add the scoby and previously cultured Jun tea.
5. Cover the container with a cloth and secure with a rubber band.
6. Allow to culture for 3 days. You can culture longer however the taste might just become more acid than you'd like. 
7. Once pleasantly sour and still a little sweet, you can drink your tea right away or try second fermenting it for added bubbles. Think Kombucha Champagne, YUM!
8. Save 1/2 cup of your Jun tea then repeat this process!
9. Enjoy!

xxoo Emma

Photos by Lauren Ross