Jun Tea - How to Brew Jun at Home

I'm sure you know about Kombucha by now but did you know kombucha had a cousin?

Jun tea is believed to be originated from Tibet area and it is a fermented tea drink made from green tea and raw honey. It is not as vinegary as kombucha and lighter in color due to the green tea ( instead of kombucha's black tea).

I like to use raw honey from Himalaya to make this drink as I imagine the ancient Jun tea was made form their local honey and this should suit the brew? I know other raw honeys will work just as well but this is just me having fun with my imagination...

Jun is very similar to kombucha but not quite the same. Not only the ingredients used but also the alcohol content is higher (yay!) and it also ferments faster then kombucha and at a lower temperature. The flavors are not the same and I prefer Jun over kombucha sometimes as I feel it has more of a delicate taste.

The culture is also whiter and smoother and its more beautiful compared to kombucha's SCOBY. Interestingly the SCOBY is not as easy to grow with Jun and some brews do not generate a daughter. 

If you are board of your kombucha and kefir, add one more to your fermented drink menu? 

HOW TO MAKE JUN TEA

Ingredients:

• 1L filtered water, boiled
• 1L filtered water, room temperature 
• 2 Tablespoons loose leaf green tea 
• ½ cup raw honey
• 1 Jun culture 
• ½ cup Jun Tea starter liquid (included in the Jun Culture jar)

1. In a large glass jar, steep the green tea with 1L of hot water for 10 minutes or more. 
2. Strain the tea leaves and pour the tea into another glass jar and mix with the 1L of room temperature water to cool it down. Pour the raw honey into the warm tea and allow it to completely dissolve in to the solution. When the solution becomes about your body temperature or lower (37°C or lower) pour in the Jun culture with the starter liquid. Cover the glass jar with a tight meshed towel of kitchen paper secured with a rubber band and let the tea ferment in room temperature for 3 days. 
3. When the Jun tea starts to smell pleasantly sour, it is ready to consume. you can start drinking it or, you can do the second fermentation in an airtight bottle to make it fizzy. 
4. For the second fermentation, pour the fermented Jun tea in an airtight bottle and close the lid. let that ferment in room temperature for 2  to 3 days. You can check by opening the bottle to see if it have generated some gas. If it is ready, chill the bottle in the refrigerator before serving. 

*Make sure you same some Jun tea for your second batch!