• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Kitchen Apothecary

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
You are here: Home / Blog / How to Make Jun – The “Champagne of Fermented Drinks”

How to Make Jun – The “Champagne of Fermented Drinks”

By Sarah Coleman 2 Comments

jun fermented drink

Jun, the scobies look rather lovely, ethereal, as winter sunlight streams through my kitchen window.

Have you tried jun? It is sometimes referred to as the “champagne of fermented drinks”. I remember the first time I tried it. A friend of mine has huge ceramic crocks on the go, full of jun. She prepared a tall glass for me with ice and freshly crushed verbena leaves … that was it, I was in love!

What is jun?

Jun is a fermented drink that is related to kombucha. It has an elusive aroma and taste, like elderflower – hard to pin down.

Like kombucha, you ferment it with a rubbery scoby (a Symbiotic Community Of Bacteria and Yeasts). Unlike kombucha, you float the scoby in a solution of raw honey and green tea, not sugar and black tea. It is the synergy of the raw honey and green tea that give jun its unique taste and aroma. 

Beware. Jun is a much faster ferment than kombucha. If you are fermenting in a warm environment, you might find that you have reached a good ferment after only four to five days.  

The history of jun – don’t believe what you read

The master of all fermented things, Sandor Katz has trawled through the available literature on jun. He concludes that it is a “recent divergence from the kombucha family tree”.

You might have read some promotional material for commercially produced jun doing the rounds of the internet. Claims for an illustrious origin and history in Tibet. According to Katz there is absolutely no proof to back it up!

jun scoby fermented drink

One of my jun scobies. You can see the “daughter” scoby, the top layer, that has formed on top of the “mother”.

 

How to make jun

 

What you need: 

1 jun scoby

1 litre of freshly boiled filtered/unchlorinated water 

4 tea bags of green tea or 25g green tea leaves 

1/4 cup of raw honey

60mL of jun, bought unpasteurised or from a previous batch

 

What you do:

Place tea in a heatproof glass or ceramic jug and pour over the boiled water. Let steep for around ten minutes. 

Choose a wide mouth, glass heatproof vessel that will accommodate 1L of liquid plus a scoby (I use No.36 Fowlers preserving jars)

Remove the tea bags and if you have used leaves strain the tea into the jar/vessel. If I have used leaves I pop a folded nut bag into the strainer as extra protection, to catch all the leaf particles; I find it keeps the scoby clean and healthy. 

Stir in the honey until dissolved. 

When the solution reaches room temperature you can then add the reserved jun and then float the scoby on the top. 

Cover the vessel with some clean fine woven cloth or kitchen paper and secure with a rubber band. 

After four days, uncover the brew, remove a little with a clean stainless steel spoon. It should taste fizzy and pleasantly tart. If not, recover and test every day until it reaches this stage. 

When your batch has brewed, remove the scoby and reserve some jun for the next batch. Repeat the brewing steps above and enjoy your first batch of jun! 

 

Tips:

  • As you experiment, you will get to know how strong you like your jun. It might be a case that you like your tea steeped for 20 minutes rather than ten or you like a little extra tea in the brew.
  • Remember that jun can be a fast ferment, if you forget to check it you might find it way too tart. We have made this mistake a few times and end up using it in salad dressings!
  • If you have a sensitive palate you will also notice that the raw honey you use will change the taste to reflect the season and locality in which it was produced. 
  • Once you start to produce more scobies, you can upscale the batches, doubling or tripling the ingredients. Your scobies will grow to fit the new vessel. 
  • I have also brewed some rather strong batches with leatherwood honey which is common here in Tassie. It is not to everyone’s taste, however, I find it gives a complex taste that feels rather “adult”!
jun kombucha scoby fermented drink

The first little snippet of jun scoby I bought at a farmers market has gone on to produce hundreds of healthy robust scobies. Both for myself and for those I have given to others. You can see the “daughter” scoby, the slightly transluscent new scoby forming over the top of the triangular one, it is growing to the shape of the vessel.

Enjoy experimenting with your jun fermented drink. What do you think? How would you describe the taste?

Pollinate:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Apothecary, Blog, Kitchen, Kitchen Basics, Recipes Tagged With: drink, fermentation, fermented, green tea, honey, jun, kombucha, raw honey, SCOBY

Let's Keep In Touch

Occasional newsletters and details of courses and workshops I have on the brew! Your email is safe with me :) 

Just a moment ....

Thanks for subscribing!

Previous Post: « All About Calendula (and a Healing Balm Recipe)
Next Post: Make Your Own Funky Kimchi »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kaye

    at

    Thanks Sarah! Jun will become a favourite – with Grand-daughters as well, we all love making Kombucha from your original Mother….

    Reply
    • thekitchenapothecary

      at

      Thanks Kaye, what a wonderful thing, fermenting love with your granddaughters <3

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I’m Sarah

Sarah Coleman, naturopath and freelance health writer

Naturopath, writer, grower, maker. Umami huntress. Sharing traditional wisdom, backed by science. More …

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Let's Keep In Touch

Occasional newsletters and details of courses and workshops I have on the brew! Your email is safe with me :) 

Just a moment ....

Thanks for subscribing!

Instagram

Foxglove (Digitalis spp). An old remedy with a narrow therapeutic window, meaning there is little room for error in dosing, a smidge too much and it is poison. NOT used as a home remedy anymore after numerous fatalities. A source of compounds called cardiac glycosides, isolated and used in pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular disease, such as digoxin. Such elegance as they reach for the sky, and an absolute magnet for pollinators.
Herbaceous water kefir second ferment. Heavy on camphorous rosemary, sunny sweetness of orange and subtle blueberries give it a beautiful hue. One day in and super fizzy with all the added wild microbes 🧑⁣. After training the grains from a first ferment of water kefir, flavourful, aromatic herbs, spices and fruits can amp up the taste and the fizz when added for a day or two for a second ferment. Do you second ferment??
🌱 As we move through spring many herbs and plants reach the cusp of maturity. They are most potent and nutrient-rich before the heat of summer sets in and they push their energy into flowering and seeding. ⁣
πŸ”¬ Microorganisms make the magic happen when it comes to fermentation. They can be: ⁣
Waste not, want not! 🍏 Old lunch box apples get fermented to Apple cider vinegar. They are super bubbly for the first few days before they are strained off and the liquid rested for at least 3 months, we go longer for extra tang! Me 8 has taken to sealing our ferments with globes so they wave at us πŸ˜‚πŸ˜Š.
Spring chickens are on the lay. The pullets are producing a party pack of eggs. Have learnt to spot the double yolkers!!!

Recent Posts

  • How To Make Milk Kefir (and why you should)
  • All About Fire Cider & A Flexible Recipe
  • Four Inspiring Mountain-Hugging Veggie Gardens in Hobart
  • How Your Kombucha SCOBY Works (It’s Like Magic!)
  • Sticky Turmeric Chai Tea: a Spicy Hug in a Mug

Categories

Explore

anti-inflammatory antioxidant apothecary beeswax cabbage calendula capsicum chard chilli drink extra virgin olive oil ferment fermentation fermented forage foraged garlic gelatin ginger gut health hazelnuts herb herbs honey kombucha lavender lemon lemon juice naturopath pesto preserved lemon pumpkin rainbow chard raw honey remedy rose ruby chard salad SCOBY seeds silverbeet spice tonic turmeric vegetables

Pin With Me!

Disclaimer

The information on this page is general information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. Any information you find on this page or on external sites which are linked to on this page should be verified with your professional health care provider.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Footer

Have a Look Around

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About

Legal Stuff

  • Privacy Policy
  • Website Disclaimer
  • Website Terms & Conditions of Use

Copyright © 2023 The Kitchen Apothecary on the Foodie Pro Theme

 

Loading Comments...