Hello my fermenting friends! While most of you have heard of kombucha, I bet only some of you have heard of Jun. Jun is similar to kombucha, but instead of using black tea and sugar it is brewed with green tea and honey. Sounds better, right? I have been brewing kombucha for years, but have only recently got into Jun, and I totally love it! It has a lighter and fresher taste in my opinion, and I like to think that it’s even healthier than kombucha. Here I will give you a step by step guide on how to brew Jun kombucha.
Just like many other ferments of this kind (kombucha, water kefir, and milk kefir, to name a few) you will first need to get your hands on a SCOBY for Jun. SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, and it is what turns the sweetened liquid into awesome probiotic goodness.
It’s definitely not the prettiest thing in the world, but it gets the job done! If you have a friend who makes Jun that would be your best source of a SCOBY as they are always multiplying.
You can also get a Jun SCOBY here on Amazon or from Kombucha Kamp. Make sure when you acquire the SCOBY that it also comes with some starter liquid, which is just Jun tea that has finished fermenting.
You will also need a brewing vessel, a one gallon glass jar works best.
After getting a hold of a SCOBY and a nice fermenting jar, you will also want to get some green tea and honey. I usually buy this green tea as it’s the cheapest organic green tea I can find, and this. For the honey, I try to buy raw and locally as much as possible.
How to Brew Jun Kombucha
Once you have all of your supplies and ingredients, it’s time to start brewing! First boil a little more than a half gallon of water, take it off the heat, then add a few spoonfuls of green tea and let steep.
Once the tea has cooled down quite a bit, strain it into the gallon jar.
Pour in one cup of honey and stir it well to dissolve.
Add cool water to fill your jar to about 3/4 full (or maybe slightly more). Have your Jun SCOBY and about 2 cups of starter liquid ready. If you don’t have that much starter liquid I would do this whole process on a smaller scale in a quart jar for your first round, then use that to start a gallon batch.
Make sure the tea and honey mixture is totally cooled to room temperature, then add the starter liquid to the gallon jar. Then carefully float the Jun SCOBY on top.
It will probably float, but it might sink. Don’t worry, it will work out no matter what it does!
Cover the jar with a clean towel secured with a rubber band and put it in an out of the way spot in your kitchen. Try not to disturb it.
Depending on the temperature in your house, and how fermented you like it, the Jun should be finished anywhere from 5 to 14 days.
I usually check it after about a week and often let it go for about 8-10 days, but I like mine rather strong. You will probably see bubbles rising to the surface.
The SCOBY should have formed a baby! I usually let it go for a couple of rounds before I start giving away my SCOBY’s, just to make sure I have what I need, but then I start passing them out to friends like candy!
Once it’s finished fermenting you will want to set aside your Jun SCOBY and about two cups of starter liquid for your next batch.
You can drink the Jun tea as is, or bottle it with another flavoring such as herbal tea or fruit juice like I did in my Hibiscus Kombucha post.
This second ferment will create a naturally fizzy soda that is a real treat to drink. Just be careful that you don’t add too much fruit sugar as you can easily turn your Jun into volcanoes!
Fermenting your own Jun Kombucha is a fun experiment to do in your kitchen. It’s a healthy probiotic drink that is so much better for you than most things we are drinking, with it’s roots in ancient history.
You get the benefits of green tea and honey all in one naturally fermented, tasty beverage. Can’t beat that! I hope you will try it!
More Kombucha Flavors
A cold glass of this hibiscus kombucha on a hot day really hits the spot, that’s for sure! It’s starting to make me think about new flavors… Hmm, I wonder what lemon balm or rose hip kombucha would be like? I just might have to try it!
How to Brew Jun Kombucha
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil a little more than a half gallon of water, take it off the heat, then add a few spoonfuls of green tea and let steep.
- Once the tea has cooled down quite a bit, strain it into the gallon jar.
- Pour in the honey and stir it well to dissolve.
- Add cool water to fill your jar to about 3/4 full (or maybe slightly more). Have your Jun SCOBY and about 2 cups of starter liquid ready. If you don’t have that much starter liquid I would do this whole process on a smaller scale in a quart jar for your first round, then use that to start a gallon batch.
- Make sure the tea and honey mixture is totally cooled to room temperature, then add the starter liquid to the gallon jar. Then carefully float the Jun SCOBY on top.
- Cover the jar with a clean towel secured with a rubber band and put it in an out of the way spot in your kitchen. Try not to disturb it.
- Depending on the temperature in your house, and how fermented you like it, the Jun should be finished anywhere from 5 to 14 days. I usually check it after about a week and often let it go for about 8-10 days, but I like mine rather strong. You will probably see bubbles rising to the surface.
Notes
- Once it’s finished fermenting you will want to set aside your Jun SCOBY and about two cups of starter liquid for your next batch.
- Serving Suggestion: You can drink the Jun tea as is, or bottle it with another flavoring such as herbal tea or fruit juice like I did in my Hibiscus Kombucha post.
Hi, may I know what happens if I add too much or too little honey?
Thank you.
Hi Joy, it’s best to add the amount of honey that’s called for in this recipe, especially as you are getting your jun going. Then you can experiment with more or less to see how you like it.
Hello, I was wondering . I made the green tea in water that wasn’t boiling . Then i put in the honey. I had washed my jar and rinsed with a little apple cider vinegar . I let the green tea sit in the jar to cool before adding the scoby and before i added the scabby i noticed sediment had formed in the jar. Do you know what that sediment is? Did i mess it up? Thanks Jeff
Hi Jeff, I’m sorry but I’m not sure. I suppose it could be from the green tea?
Hi! I have a similar question to Jeff’s. Just started my first batch of Jun yesterday. My Scoby was from Amazon. My issue is this- as per the instructions on the label I used raw honey which is very thick. I’m not sure I stirred and dissolve it enough:( It seemed to be but within an hour of making it there was a lot of sediment at the bottom. Do you think this will present a problem or will it still feed off the sugar and be ok? Wondering if I should just stir it? Thanks so much for any tips!!!
Hi Nikki, yes over time the honey should dissolve and will still be utilized by the Jun, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much!
Good Day,
How does one make a Jun Scoby?
is it the same process as making a “regular” one? and just use green tea instead of black, and honey instead of sugar?
Thanks
Hi Philip, Jun is a completely different organism than regular kombucha, so you would need to use a Jun starter if you wanted to try to make your own Jun SCOBY.
Hi, how to store this fermented drink ? can be places in the fridge? or?
thanks
Richard
Yes, it should be stored refrigerated to preserve the healthy probiotics within it.
My water kefir grains arrived to Connecticut, USA ready to go. I am now enjoying my first batch of Water Kefir, which turned out great. I was also reward with almost 1/3 Cup of grains. The next batch is brewing.
And, I have another order LOL
How did you make it? I tried and mine didn’t turn out that great. I think i did something wrong.
Help! I started making my Jun Tea with a Jun Scooby. I followed all of the directions perfectly. However, I forgot to add the starter Tea When I added the Scoby when the Tea was cool. It has been 4 days and the Tea is cloudy but still very sweet and I don’t see any bubbling. I do believe that there is fermentation going on but it’s going slower. Is it possible to still add some starter Tea If I buy some online? Or should I just wait a few weeks for the Process to work. I have a feeling it is working, because the scoby sunk to the bottom and now it’s sort of floating on top and there’s a few white specs Floating on top. I am an ER nurse andmade sure my equipment was sterile. From my micro biology classes I know that yeast and bacteria will grow if present but sometimes process as well just take longer. Again, my question is should I add some more starter tea even though it is been several days since I started the Tea?
Hi I’ve read all the posts and to answer the question can you convert a kombucha scoby to a jun scoby YES you can I’ve successfully done it, my first try was just an experiment but my scoby thrived and grew a 1/2 inch thick baby in days almost white so I use each new baby for each new brew and now it’s perfect, and the comment about using raw honey, every forum and everything I’ve read says to use raw honey, it’s an ancient brew so raw honey is what it would of originated from, not to be mistaken with active honey. It’s all trial and error so if you have spare scoby’ give it a go nothing to loose.
No, sorry but this isn’t true. What you have done is used a kombucha SCOBY with green tea and honey. It is not the same as a Jun SCOBY which is entirely different bacteria.
Can you convert the SCOBY of regular Kombucha to a Jun SCOBY?
No, it’s a totally different scoby.
Yes you can but it takes how much longer process, you have to slowly introduce green tea/honey into the black tea/cane sugar batch. Much easier to buy a Jun SCOBY that Was grown with green tea and honey.
I’ve read that sealing the jar during fermentation will increase the alcohol content, while putting a cloth over the top keeps it a the minimum. Is this true?
I have a couple of questions about brewing Jun:
1. I have a scoby but it has been sitting for a long time. It has been in liquid, but there isn’t a ton left. Will i need to “wake up” my scoby somehow so i can start brewing?
2. Can I use organic green tea bags, instead of loose leaf tea?
3. Is it possible to use honey that isn’t raw? My friend bought me a bunch of honey and Costco, but it’s not raw.
Thank you!
I brew mine with organic honey that is not raw. I received the Scoby from a friend who has brewing for absolute ages and she said raw honey hinders the process because of it antibacterial properties, and I have to say this makes absolute sense to me. I was surprised to hear it’s possible to brew with raw to be honest, but am willing to give that a go with a future batch.
I already make “regular” kombucha(black tea and sugar) Can I use my black tea kombucha scoby & starter liquid to start making jun kombucha? Green rea kombucha sounds good too. :-)
No, it’s a completely different scoby.
Hi,
I made my first batch of Jun it is six days in, there is a lot of brown floates in the liquid is this normal? Also I tried it, I find it very sweet with a strong honey taste but not much tea flavour what did I do wrong?
Some floaties are totally normal. I would let it continue to ferment out some of that sweetness. I don’t think you did anything wrong, but it’s hard to say since I didn’t see your process.
I let it sit for a total of 11 days. Took out scoby and bottled the rest and let sit another couple of days. My brown floaters have come together and it looks like a baby scoby! I love the sparkling Jun!!! Just not enough in a batch. I put on another batch to day want to try a ginger/green tea flavour. When do you put the ginger in. At end of 10 days or could you steep ginger in with the tea? Thanks for all your help!
Hello! I just finished bottling a batch of kombucha. It really want to try jun! I always make my boich with green tea. Do you have any idea what would happen if I used my green tea kombucha starter, baby scoby and used honey for my next batch?
Hi ~
Excellent tuorial, as I’m a visual learner….my friend just taught me about this, & gave me a scoby for it, & I’m researching it right now (which is how I came across your excellent post!) but am a bit confused, everything I read says it only needs to ferment 3-6 days, & only 3 if you want to re-use the scoby…after 3 or 4 days it seems to change, from smelling like wine to more vinegarish…
…also I was told everything should be sterilized, to avoid contamination, my friend used white vinegar to sterilize the jars, measuring cups, even your hands…do you do this? Have you ever had issues with mold growing, etc?
Lots to learn, but really enjoying the process, thanks so much for the help & whatever answers you can share.
~Anastazia~
The number of days that you ferment the jun is extremely variable based on temperature and personal preference. Just keep trying it day by day and see when you think it’s done! I don’t sterilize with vinegar, but I do make sure that everything is very clean. I’ve never had an issue with mold.
Thanks so much for replying, helps me relax a little & just enjoy the process, & the learning curve…I’ve taken one of the babies & transitioned it to a chai tea brew, with a little green tea…turns out AWESOME! Gotta get some roobios so I can try that soon!
I am learning by smell when it’s almost done, done, & overdone! Haha!
Can I slowly transition one of my baby booch scobys to a jun one? I’ve heard of people doing this.
I’ve never done that (or heard of it) so I’m not sure. From what I understand the jun scoby is a completely different organism, so I wouldn’t think it would work. But I do know that people use kombucha scoby’s with honey and green tea… but it’s not actually “jun”. It’s worth trying if you have extra kombucha scoby’s laying around, though!
Should we strain the sediment at the bottom of the Jun fermentation jar? Leave as much as possible in there? Drink some with our Jun?
Hello in there. Thank you for your great advice… I bought a Jun SCOBY at a ferment festival quite a while back. It still looks really healthy, and I thought it was ok leaving it in the fridge until I was ready to start making the Jun, but have now read that it will keep ok in a fridge for two weeks but should then be frozen. After a delay due to family issues, it’s now getting summery here, so not ideal for Jun, and I’ll likely start a kombucha ferment instead. Can my Jun SCOBY reside happily in the fridge for months, as long as it looks healthy, or have I wasted it? ????????
Thank you very much.
I’ve successfully kept both jun and kombucha scoby’s in the fridge for several months and they’ve been ok. If I were you, I’d make a few batches of jun right now to get it going again, then put it away in the fridge for the rest of the summer if you’d rather do kombucha. It’s probably totally fine for you make jun in during the summer, though, as long as you have some coolish spot to keep it in.
Thank you ????
When you say “coolish”, what roundabout temp would you be talking about? Thanks again ????
Hi Linnie, 75 degrees or less would be ideal. Somewhere that is out of direct sunlight and cool and dark is perfect, if you have that available to you. Jun will still ferment in warmer temps, it will just be a quicker process, so keep a good watch on it!
Can I loosely hand-tighten the metal top and ring and just burp every day like I do with other ferments, or does it HAVE to be a clean cloth and rubber band. I am already a day in and realized that I did the hand-tighten method and am hoping I am not ruining it…
Hi Colleen, Thank you for the great instructions! I have just finished making my second batch of Jun which turned out great. The scoby, however, does not seem to have multiplied either time. Still have just one. Any suggestions?
Hmm, not sure about that. Sometimes they do form more slowly and will take several batches to multiply. Is the scoby getting bigger at least? As long as your jun is turning out ok I wouldn’t worry about it too much!
Mine also didn’t multiply after my first batch. I purchased a JUN DIY Kombucha at the store.
I used herbal tea (but not straight green tea)
The tea tastes fine though.
I’m wondering – do you leave the mason covered in a cloth for the whole 8 days? Or do you switch to the jar cover after a few days?
Does the fermentation – or fizziness develop only when it’s closed?
I put the jar lid on today and bubbles instantly started forming and my SCOBY – which had fallen tot he bottom started to rise…
Can I brew a smaller batch of jun? I think a half gallon would be about right for me, as I mostly prefer to just drink water. Also not a fan of excessive carbonation, so can I just let it culture longer, to remove excess honey, or is that going to stress the scoby?
You can brew in as big or small a container as you want. It won’t necessarily stress the scoby, but you do have to be careful when letting it culture longer, as I find that jun will turn to vinegar very quickly.
Can you use a SCOBY from someone who brews straight Kombucha or do you need to get one that has been created from Jun only?
No, a Jun SCOBY is different than a regular kombucha SCOBY.
Why is it different? I brew green tea kombucha with sugar. I got my mother SCOBY from my boss who brews black tea and sugar kombucha. SO I guess I’m producing a hybrid. Anyway, it really shouldn’t matter, its still just bacteria eating sugar out of a jar of tea.
Thanks for sharing this, I had not heard of Jun!
Does this get fizzy ? Thank you.
Yes, it will usually be fizzy after you bottle it in sealed bottles. You can see more about this in my Hibiscus Kombucha post.
Is the scoby the same type that would be used to make Kombucha? Is the main difference in the tea used?
No, it’s a different SCOBY. You’ll want to make sure you get a Jun SCOBY if you want to make it with green tea and honey.
Hello Colleen! I’d like to try this. I’ve been making Kombucha with green tea and sugar. So do know I need a Jun Scoby and also Jun starter, or can I use my regular Kombucha starter for this? Sorry if you answered this already…..
No, to make Jun you need Jun starter. Kombucha is similar but different.
The SCOBY looks like it’s wrapped in something as its being placed in the gallon jar. Is it some kind of cloth filter? And you put it in as is? Do you need the honey for fermentation purposes?
Thanks for posting this. I have been buying kombucha and as you all know it’s pretty pricy. The Safeway brand is full of sugar, a little cheaper but it has 15 grams of sugar. Looking forward to making my own as it is part of my medical treatment for candida. Thanks again.
Joanne
Hi Joanne, the SCOBY isn’t wrapped in anything, it just looks like that! Yes, you put it in as is. For Jun kombucha the honey is needed for fermentation, for regular kombucha sugar is used. The longer you ferment it the more the honey or sugar is “eaten” or used up by the culture, so there shouldn’t be much left in the final product. Although you don’t want to let it go too long or else you’ll have kombucha vinegar! I’m sure many commercial varieties have a good amount of sugar in them, which is why it’s better to make your own (not to mention cheaper!)
I’m not a huge fan of green tea. Is it possible to do this with black tea? Thanks!
For Jun you really want to use green tea. Once you grow a few SCOBY babies you can try experimenting with black tea, but I don’t know what the results will be. You may just want to stick with regular kombucha which prefers black tea.
Thank you!
Just the tutorial I needed! I was looking at doing aJun tea but couldn’t find a decent scoby source or tutorial! Thanks for a wonderful post from another Oregonian!
You’re welcome! Happy fermenting!
I have noticed no pics of a Jun scoby forming and what mold would be like for them exist really. Kombucha sure no problem! Is it possible to send outcomes of normal starting process and starting to form pics? If could to my email? Thanks.
I might not find your page easily again.
I’m sorry, I don’t have any pictures of a jun scoby forming. My best answer is to just let it do it’s thing for several weeks without looking at it (tough, I know), and you should have a scoby in the end!
Can you make your own scoby from scratch?
You would need some commercially made jun, which can be hard to come by depending on where you live. I’ve never tried it, so I don’t know what the results would be, but I do know that people have done it with kombucha.
Yikes I’m only saved 1 cup starter. Just covers scoby. I think when I bottled it I made have added to much fruit juices. ( 1 Tbsp orange juice & 2 tsp lemon juice fresh.) Plus fresh ginger what should I do? Just bottled them today
Hello! I have a black tea/sugar scoby- how can I train it to eat honey? Thanks!
Put it in your batch made with honey, it will take some extra time to ferment and the first batch won’t be great but it works just fine. the second and future batches will ferment just like kombucha made with sugar. I have done that several times and It works great. My favorite brew is now rooibos tea fermented with honey.