I’ve discovered a different kind of scoby that thrives on green tea and honey- a “Jun” scoby. “Jun” Kombucha has been called the champagne of probiotic drinks. I have to agree! Now I’m now brewing this new kind of Kombucha—less sour than regular Kombucha, with a wonderful fizz and smooth flavor. And it’s still full of probiotics. Awesome. One caveat—it thrives in cooler weather. Perfect for me, in the Bay Area. (Others might not have as great success in hotter weather…)

First, you need a scoby, or some Jun starter tea. I got my Jun scoby on Amazon, here.

There are many ideas on how to brew Jun Kombucha; apparently it turns out even with some variation of method. Some say it is best to make a very sweet brew for the first batch, using 4 tea bags and 2 c. honey to 3/4 gallon boiling water. That gets fermented 4 weeks, is discarded (“too sour”), and then one finally goes on to “regular brewing”.

Someone else says to let the tea brew 20 minutes or so.

But I don’t follow either of those directions! I just brew 4 tsp. loose green tea (I get this organic green tea on Amazon) for every 8 cups I’m making. I don’t add the full 8 c. of boiling water to the tea, since I like to add ice-cubes and/or water, to cool the brew off faster. And—I only brew it for 2-4 minutes. (This stuff’s so good, I don’t want to ingest too much caffeine if I’m drinking this later in the day. The grandkids love it too, and don’t need the caffeine either, so- two minutes seems right!)

Also: either raw or regular honey works, though I prefer raw, unfiltered, and organic (like this raw, unfiltered honey on Amazon, or Glory Bee Honey).

JUN KOMBUCHA

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tsp. loose green tea (or 4 bags)
• 4 c. boiling water
• 4 c. ice water (or ice)
• 2/3 c. (.42 lb.) honey (preferably raw, organic)
• 1/2 c. starter tea (or about 10%)
• Jun Scoby

PREPARATION

Brewing the tea in a shatter-proof thermos works well, as you can pour the tea off into a jar, straining as you go. And- no cracked jar from the heat! Pour boiling water over dried tea (or tea bags), steeping 2-4 minutes in the thermos. Use: > 4 tsp. loose green tea (gunpowder or regular green) > 4 c. boiling water

After steeping, strain (or remove bags), into jar. Add honey and mix well: > 2/3 c. honey

Add enough ice (or ice water) to bring the water amount up to 8 c.

The sweetened tea should now be room temperature. Then it can be added to the starter tea in a continuous-brew jar, or just add 1/2 c. starter tea and the scoby to this new brew.

After 3 days or so, the tea should have fermented enough to put into bottles with ceramic stoppers. This will keep the carbonation in, as any remaining sugars are converted into soda-pop-style fizz. When bottling, add your choice of flavors- pomegranate or other fruit juices, organic cherry juice concentrate, ginger, vanilla bean, almond extract… your choice!