Jun is a fermented tea made like kombucha but sweetened only with raw honey, usually brewed on green tea, and the Kombucha Brewers International Code of Practice classes it as a style of kombucha.
It is often described as lighter, softer and more floral than cane-sugar kombucha, and Kombucha Kamp says it ferments a little cooler and faster.
Jun is kombucha made with raw honey instead of cane sugar. The Kombucha Code of Practice defines it in one line: a traditional kombucha, except that only raw honey may be used as a sweetener. In practice almost all jun is brewed on green tea, and it is kept going with a culture that has grown used to honey. The result usually tastes lighter and softer than a black tea kombucha, with a floral edge from both the honey and the leaf.
| Kombucha | Jun | |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetener | Usually cane sugar; the Code allows many sugars | Raw honey only |
| Usual tea | Black, green, oolong or a blend | Green |
| Culture | A kombucha SCOBY | A culture kept on honey |
| Ferment | About a week to a few weeks | Often a little cooler and shorter, per Kombucha Kamp |
| Taste | From rich and tart to bright and crisp | Lighter, softer, floral |
Why honey changes it
Cane sugar is one molecule, sucrose, which the yeast in a culture splits into glucose and fructose before it ferments them. Honey arrives already mostly split, and it brings its own aromas from the flowers the bees worked. That gives the culture different food from the start, and the brew different flavors at the end. Raw honey, rather than heated honey, is the rule in the Code, so the honey still carries what made it distinctive.
Kombucha Kamp, run by Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory, the authors of The Big Book of Kombucha, says jun requires 100 percent raw honey, is best on green tea, and can brew at a slightly lower temperature for a shorter time than kombucha. Their green tea blend for it mixes sencha, jasmine and gunpowder. Because jun matures quickly, they note, it is easy to keep fresh brew on hand.
Where it comes from, honestly
Read about jun anywhere and you will meet the same origin story: an ancient drink from Tibet, centuries old. We looked for a historical source for it and could not find one, in the trade's own writing or elsewhere. It may be true. It may also be a story that grew up with the drink in the last few decades. What is documented is that jun is now a recognised style, with its own line in the industry's Code of Practice.
How to taste it
Pour jun cold, as you would kombucha, and look for the honey on the nose before the sourness arrives. Because green tea and honey are both delicate, jun shows its brewer's hand quickly: a good one is bright and clean, and a tired one tastes flat or vinegary sooner than a black tea kombucha would.
Questions
What is jun kombucha?
Kombucha made with raw honey as the only sweetener, usually on green tea. The trade's Code of Practice calls it a traditional kombucha except that only raw honey may be used.
What does jun taste like?
Usually lighter and softer than black tea kombucha, with floral notes from the honey and green tea.
Is jun from Tibet?
That story is repeated widely, but we could not find a historical source for it. Treat the origin as unknown.
Can you make jun with a regular kombucha SCOBY?
Brewers usually keep a separate jun culture adapted to honey. Kombucha Kamp sells jun cultures separately from kombucha ones.
