I’ve made kombucha tea in the past, and I recently discovered jun tea at my local co-op, and may like it even more. It has a lighter flavor with more floral notes, as it swaps kombucha’s traditional black tea and sugar for two super good-for-you ingredients, green tea and raw honey (an excellent prebiotic). At a hefty $5 a bottle, I figured I might as well make it myself. I ordered a jun SCOBY on positivelyprobiotic.com, and I have been loving the results.
What you need:
- A SCOBY and 1/4 c. starter liquid (mine is an original Jun SCOBY from positivelyprobiotic.com or you can purchase one here)
- 4 tsp. loose/4 bags organic green tea
- 3 3/4 c. filtered water
- 1/4 c. raw honey
- a large jar/container in which to brew your Jun (start with something like this, I now use this), as well as a breathable cover. I use a paper coffee filter with a rubber band or piece of an old t-shirt.
Boil one cup water and turn off the heat. Let your green tea steep for 3 minutes (not too long or it will get really bitter). Strain out tea/remove tea bags. Add honey and stir until fully dissolved. Then add in remaining 2 3/4 c. water. Add your SCOBY, cover with your breathable cloth/coffee filter, and put it in a cupboard (or somewhere warm, out of direct sunlight). Leave your brew undisturbed, and then taste on day 3. If it is still too sweet, let it go another day and taste it again. In my home, I usually find 5 days gives me the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. If it tastes perfect to you, it’s done!
Put SCOBY in another jar with 1/2 c. starter liquid to make a double batch next time, and use a funnel to add the finished jun to sealable bottles. (I like these). If you wish, you can flavor jun just as you would regular kombucha, by adding fruit, juice, herbs, spices, etc. to the bottles and store for another 24-36 hours in the same warm spot. My favorites have been:
- frozen blueberries (chopped up)
- frozen cherries
- frozen strawberries
- sliced raw ginger and a cinnamon stick
- sliced apples and cinnamon
If you like it just the way it is, put it in the fridge and enjoy!