How To Make Jun
Jun tea, like Kombucha, is an effervescent probiotic drink. Jun is mild and delicate with a pleasantly tart flavour and a mild sweetness. To brew future batches of Jun tea, reserve ½ cup of the finished tea from your first batch and reserve the SCOBY mother to start future batches.
Ingredients (to make 2 litres of Jun):
- 8 cups filtered water
- 2-4 teaspoons loose leaf green tea
- ¼ - ½ cup honey, preferably raw
- 1 Jun culture
- 1 cup Jun tea from a previous batch
Instructions:
Bring water to 74 degrees Celsius. Sprinkle green tea in a large jar and pour the hot water over the tea. Allow to steep for 10 – 20 minutes. Strain the tea through a fine-mesh sieve into your fermentation vessel. When the tea has cooled pour in the honey and stir until it dissolves completely in the tea. Allow tea to cool to room temperature, then add the culture and the Jun starter tea. Allow the tea to ferment for 3 days at room temperature. Make sure your vessel is covered with a cloth, sealed with a rubber band.
After 3-7 days the Jun tea should smell pleasantly sour and faintly sweet. Time for a taste test! Carefully remove the Jun culture and ½ cup Jun tea from the top of the jar and dump them into a waiting jar (ready for a second batch of Jun). It is a good idea to allow the SCOBY to sit in starter liquid for another couple of days to make the liquid stronger before starting next batch.
Pour the remaining Jun tea into flip-top bottles, seal tightly and allow the Jun to ferment a second time for 2 to 3 days. After 2 to 3 days your Jun tea is ready to drink. Place the bottles in the refrigerator to chill, or serve right away. Your Jun may fizz and foam when you open the bottles, so take care to open them over a sink.
If you wish to 2nd ferment you can add a touch of honey and flavourings such as fresh ginger, fruit, vanilla rosehips, herbal tea (not brewed, a teaspoon of herbs), etc. When ready, strain the herbs and rebottle with yet another touch of honey. Allow to sit another two days, then enjoy.
Please note:
Be careful if using a Jun baby SCOBY as they will be more prone to mould. Be sure to add plenty of aged Jun to drop the pH (10- 25% aged Jun is recommended until the SCOBY is well formed). You can leave a Jun baby in the jar with the mother unless you are wanting to get two jars going.