How to make jun tea and its health benefits

What is jun tea?

Jun tea is a naturally fermented drink made by green tea with honey in the culture of bacteria and yeast. These bacteria are known as lactic acid bacteria (lactobacillus), acetic acid bacteria, and yeast. It gives this tea a smoother lighter color with floral notes, slightly tart, and a slightly sweet taste. This article is about How to make jun tea and its health benefits.

What is Kombucha Tea?

Kombucha is a traditional beverage usually obtained from the fermentation of black or green tea (sweetened with 5–8% of sugar). Fermentation is done by a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), which is mainly composed of acetic acid bacteria and yeasts.  The taste of this type of tea kombucha is pleasurably fruity, sour, and sparkling flavor to a mild vinegar‐like beverage is produced  (1). 

Health benefits of jun tea

There is no research evidence available to prove Jun tea’s health benefits. Moreover, this is not evaluated by the FDA. However, jun tea is made like kombucha tea so the benefits will be the same or more.  Let’s take a closer look to see some health benefits

1. It can be used as a   probiotic thus improves digestion.
2. It contains less amount of alcohol (2–7 %)thus cause no harm to the body  even reduce the craving for alcohol of an alcoholic person
3. Green tea has antimicrobial properties thus inhibit the attachment of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Thus jun tea protects the body from various infections (2).
4. Tea is rich in vitamins C and B2, polyphenols like catechins, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, flavonoids, and simple phenolic acids. Thus intake of jun tea protects the risk of heart disease (3).
5. This tea improves the health of hair, skin, and nails.
6. It helps to relieve headaches, reduce insomnia, and stress. 
7. Green tea helps to reduce body weight thus jun tea prevents obesity.
8. It is effective to remove toxins from the body. 

How to make Jun tea?

Ingredients

• loose leaf green tea 2 teaspoons (for better taste)
• Raw honey ½ cup
• Water 8 cups
• 1 Jun SCOBY (buy fresh or covert kombucha SCOBY)
• Jun tea from a previous batch (1/2 cup)
• Gallon jar 1
• Cloth for covering (muslin or cotton cloth)
• Rubber band

Method

1. Boil the water (2-4 cups) and add the tea.
2. Steep the tea for 5-10 minutes. 
3. Strain the tea with a fine-mesh strainer into the jar and add the raw honey.
4. Stir until honey dissolves and cool it down completely at room temperature.
5. Pour the mixture into a gallon jar and add the rest of the water to the jar.
6. Add the SCOBY and jun tea from a previous batch to the tea
7. Cover the jar with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band.
8. Place in a cool and dark place for 3-5 days at room temperature.
9. Taste test after 3 days. It should smell a little sweet and pleasantly sour; your Jun tea is ready to drink.
10. To use this mother culture again, save 1/2 cup of Jun culture and liquid from the top for a second batch. 
11. Store it in the fridge or repeat steps 1 through 10 to start a new batch.
12. Pour it in a flip-top bottles, if you want jun tea bubbly for more days.

Q&A

Is Jun healthier than kombucha?

Yes, this tea is healthier than kombucha because it contains honey in place of sugar as a sweetener. Also contains green tea which shows high antioxidant activity due to the polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids than black tea. However, kombucha tea is also made of black, green, red, or white teas. Apart from this, it is rich in nutrients such as enzymes, acids, vitamins, and minerals. Moreover, it is prepared in less time and easy to make at home.

Can you make Jun with a Kombucha SCOBY?

Yes, we can make it with kombucha SCOBY but bacteria of kombucha tea are used to feed sugar as a fuel. When these bacteria immediately transfer to green tea with honey for fermentation they can die. So if you want to use kombucha SCOBY for jun you have to add it slowly for bacteria to get used to honey. Therefore if it’s your first time, it is best to purchase jun culture fresh to obtain the best result. 

What does Jun tea taste like?

It is milder, less sour, and has a crisper and brighter flavor than kombucha. It is refreshing, floral, sparkling soda, and fizzier than traditional kombucha.

How do you pronounce Jun tea?

It is just like kombucha, which is fermented. Some people also called it Jun kombucha tea or champagne of kombucha as well as green tea kombucha.