Whether you have a Kombucha habit or a Jun habit (come on, you know who you are) it can add up pretty quickly. Fortunately it is very easy to brew your own at home.
Before I get into this particular recipe, let’s talk about the differences between Jun and Kombucha. They are both very similar in nature, being a sweetened fermented tea. They both start with a SCOBY (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). They both feed on tea (black for Kombucha, green for Jun), and something sweet (sugar for Kombucha, honey for Jun).
I prefer Jun for any number of reasons but I’ll outline some positives and negatives as objectively as I can.
The good
- Honey vs Sugar- I prefer the taste of honey and believe it is better for you
- Green tea vs Black tea – I prefer the taste and believe it is better for you
- Time – Jun takes about half the time to ferment. Our family can drink 1L each day, not including what we give away. Our batch size would be significantly larger to last the 7 or more days required for Kombucha to ferment.
The bad
- Cost – honey and green tea are typically more expensive than sugar and black tea.
On to the Apple Pie Jun!
Stuff
Stage 1 – First ferment
- A 4L continuous brew container with a spigot. Glass and stainless steel are best. Avoid ceramic unless you are comfortable the material is free of lead or any reactive metals.
- A Jun SCOBY. Get one from a friend (if you know me just ask), buy one online, or grow your own from some store bought Jun.
- 1 cup of unpasteurized honey
- 6-7 tbsp of loose green tea
- A tea infuser large enough to hold the tea
Stage 2 – Second ferment
- Enough bottles to hold 4L of Jun.
- 1 – 2 cups of apple juice – freshly juiced is best
- Sliced raw ginger, or juiced ginger
- 8 cinnamon sticks
The process
Stage 1 – first ferment
- Heat 4L of water to 90C
- Place the tea in the tea infuser and place in the water. Steep fairly strong tea (15 minutes)
- When the tea cools, but is still warm, stir in the honey.
- When the tea reaches room temperature pour it into your continuous brew container with the SCOBY.
- Wait 3 days.
Stage 2 – second ferment
- If you’re making the ginger and apple juice fresh, do so now.
- Split the apple juice, ginger, and cinnamon equally amongst your bottles.
- Fill with Jun.
- Put on the lids.
- Wait 3 days.
- Put in fridge.
- Drink!
When you begin Stage 2 of the first batch you will also start Stage 1 of the second batch. This will allow you to refill your continuous brewer. (And why this is called continuous brewing!)