Shrouded with mysticism and mystery, Jun tea is a fermented tonic made of green tea and honey. While Kombucha tea lines the shelves of natural foods markets, both small and large, Jun tea is still relatively unknown - secreted away and held quiet.
What is Jun Tea?
Jun tea is a naturally effervescent fermented drink made with green tea and raw honey. It's related to kombucha and, like kombucha, you need a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) to brew jun.
Once you introduce the SCOBY, or jun mother, to room temperature green tea that's been sweetened with honey, the bacteria and yeast in the mother will reproduce and culture the tea. In this process, they'll produce a lively, probiotic elixir that tastes slightly tart and slightly sweet.
Like kombucha, water kefir, beet kvass, and other fermented drinks, you can ferment Jun twice to make it bubbly. The first fermentation happens in an open jar, lightly covered with a cloth. The second fermentation happens in sealed bottles, which capture carbon dioxide and make the brew fizzy.
How do you pronounce Jun? You pronounce jun so that it rhymes with "run" instead of like the month "June."
The Myth and Mystery of Jun Tea
Jun tea is shielded behind a veil of secrecy, myth, mysticism, and mystery. Legend holds that Jun originated in the Himalayas. And that monks and spiritual warrior nomads who roamed the high grasslands of Tibet were the first to brew Jun (1). But, there's little concrete evidence or verifiable information that supports either its spiritual or Tibetan origin.
Contrarily, there's some speculation that Jun is a rather new offshoot of kombucha that likely originated somewhere in the Pacific Northwest (2).
About Jun's origin, Sandor Katz writes in The Art of Fermentation:
The lack of credible information on Jun leads me to the conclusion that it is a relatively recent divergence from the Kombucha family tree. Some websites claim that it comes from Tibet, where it has been made for 1,000 years; unfortunately, books on Tibetan food, and even a specialized book on Himalayan ferments, contain no mention of it. Whether or not it has a 1,000-year-old history, it is quite delicious.
Others argue that because honey is less processed than sugar and that because green tea is less processed than black tea, jun must have preceded kombucha. But, there's little evidence to support the claim that because jun uses less refined ingredients than kombucha, it must have come first.
The oft-repeated mystical lore that surrounds Jun leaves me to wonder, why do we need the justification of "sacredness" to enjoy what is, quite simply, a beautiful and delicate drink?
What's the difference between Jun and Kombucha
So, if Jun tea has unreliable origins, you might wonder just how it differs from kombucha, if it really does differ and why it's worth brewing at all. Whether Jun tea is a new divergence from kombucha or if it really is a 1,000-year-old ferment, the simple truth is this: Jun differs from Kombucha in several key ways.
- They're made with different ingredients. Jun tea ferments best in green tea sweetened by raw honey. Kombucha tea ferments best in black tea sweetened by sugar.
- They taste different from one another. Different ingredients result in distinct and unique flavor profiles. Jun is delicate with floral notes and light tartness. By contrast, kombucha tastes more concretely sour and much less delicate.
- Jun ferments faster. Jun's fermentation cycle lasts a few days, while kombucha's cycle lasts about a week.
- Jun needs cooler temperatures. Jun ferments best at slightly cold room temperature (65 -70F), whereas kombucha ferments at warmer temperatures (72-80F).
- Their bacterial makeups are slightly different. Jun has more lactobacillus bacteria and less acetobacteria than kombucha.
- Jun has slightly more alcohol than kombucha, but both contain very little total alcohol.
- Jun is suitable for the GAPS diet and other diets that restrict cane sugar but allow for honey.
How to Make Jun Tea
Making jun tea is exceptionally simple. To make it you simply need to brew green tea, sweeten it, cool it to room temperature, add your SCOBY and wait. But, there are a few tips that can improve your brew and keep your SCOBY healthy.
Also check out these kombucha-brewing tips, because they'll work for Jun too
Brewing Tips
- Use good quality loose-leaf green tea. Loose-leaf teas taste better than bagged tea. But, if you don't have loose-leaf tea, use 2 tea bags.
- Use raw honey. Jun needs raw honey, with the bacteria in the SCOBY working synergistically with the bacteria in the honey to culture properly. Pasteurized honey can cause jun to fail to culture properly and may damage the SCOBY over time.
- Use an authentic Jun SCOBY that's adapted for green tea and honey for best results and flavor.
- Cool your tea before adding the SCOBY. Make sure your tea is room temperature before adding your SCOBY, or you risk damaging the cultures.
- Pay attention to temperature. Jun brews best at a cool, room temperature of about 65 - 70F.
- Cover the jar loosely. Jun is an open-air ferment like kombucha. But, cover the jar with a cloth cap or with cheesecloth to keep bugs and debris away from your brew.
- Remember to reserve some for future batches. In addition to the SCOBY, you'll need about 4 ounces of finished jun to start your next brew.
- Stir jun really well before bottling. The culture contains both beneficial bacteria and yeasts. Yeasts are heavier than bacteria and tend to sink to the bottom of your brew, so stir it well before bottling.
Try these fermented drinks next
References
- Blue, Emma. (2010) Jun: Nobody Wants Us to Know about It. Elephant Journal.
- Katz, Sandor. (2012) The Art of Fermentation. Chelsea Green.
Pam says
Hi! I think I’d like to start making kombucha again and this Jun tea sounds great. However, I live in Georgia and there’s no way my house will be between 65 and 70 degrees in the summer! Mostly between 74-78. Would I still be able to make the Jun tea at these summer temps? I used to make regular kombucha and it worked okay but did brew pretty quickly in summer.
Jenny McGruther says
Try to brew it in a cool place in your house, and note that it will be ready more quickly than kombucha in most cases. The trick is to catch it before the flavor turns boozy or too sour.
Recapper64 says
Would you recommend running two 1/2-gallon batches or run a Gallon batch using 2 scobies?
My wife is addicted to kombucha now. We drink about2-4 a day. These are a replacement for soda.
I found your recipe and thought this would be easier. Her Neice tried making kombucha and said it was terrible.
I have done some fermenting of vegetables like sauerkrauts and have had great success. Jun seems to be straight forward.
Jenny McGruther says
Whether you do due two 1/2 gallons or 1 gallon, you only need 1 SCOBY per container. The advantage of 1 gallon is that it will take up less space. The advantage of two batches is that you can make them on odd days so that one matures before the other in a cycle. Alternatively, look into continuous brew. The method is the same whether it's kombucha or jun.
Julia says
How am I supposed to get a half cup of reserved Jun if I haven't yet made Jun?
Jenny McGruther says
The starter tea arrives in the same package as the SCOBY when you order it from any reputable source.
EJ says
Your recipe specifies sencha green tea. Would it make a difference to use a different kind of green tea like gunpowder?
Jenny McGruther says
Hi EJ,
I find that the flavor of sencha works better, but this is a personal preference rather than a hard-and-fast rule. If you prefer gunpowder green, dragonwell or another type, please use that. No other changes to the recipe are necessary.
Ronda says
What kind of herbs would you recommend adding to this tea?
Jenny McGruther says
Hi Ronda -
I don't recommend adding any herbs to this tea.
CHI NGUYEN says
Can you use kombucha scoby to make jun?
Jenny McGruther says
I recommend purchasing a Jun scoby. If you'd prefer to use a kombucha scoby, know that it can take a while to "train" the culture to adapt to a new substrate (in this case: green tea and honey). So you might find that the first several batches don't really come together. But if you have SCOBYs (and honey) to spare, then it may take a few cycles to get it right.
Chris says
Hello, thanks for a great article. Any idea how long the jun tea lasts in the fridge?
Thanks.
Clarence says
Good recipe, but just one thing to note if using unpasturized honey, please wait for the tea to cool before adding or you will kill the good guys in the honey ; )
Maria says
I was so intrigued with your Jun article that I ordered a culture from Kombucha Kamp right away. The first brew (using Hannah's special Green Goddess Tea sampler) turned out like pure ambrosia--heady, fizzy, with a lingering honeyed flavor. It took 7 days to get it fully fermented, and it produced a new scoby. For the second batch I used some organic green tea bags I had on hand--and after 7 days I tasted it (Kombucha Kamp said to ferment for 3-7 days) and it was pure sour, with a very different (and not pleasing) flavor, but had produced another new scoby. Now the third batch I wanted to catch in that "honeymoon" period, so I tasted it at 3 days--too sweet--and let it go another 2 days, but by then it just had a faint hint left of that initial Jun ambrosia that I so loved. Do you think that the variety of green tea I'm using has made the difference in flavor? I'd like to get the brew back to that wonderful tasting elixir that I started with.
DebbieM says
When I first started making Kombucha many years ago I made it using white tea and green tea as well. It is very different from black tea Kombucha, light and delicate. The general consensus in the family was that black was preferred, so I only use it. I personally preferred it with white tea.