With tea being something I drink almost daily, it is not a surprise I developed a taste for Kombucha. Kombucha is a fermented, fizzy tea beverage. Bottled, commercial versions have recently become widely available on the market. However, Kombucha dates back centuries as having originated from Asian culture. To ferment the drink, a culture or “scoby” is needed. This is a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast, hence the term SCOBY. Comparable to making alcoholic beverages, the yeast consumes sugar added to the black tea, and in turn, produces alcohol. The bacteria produces acetic acid. In turn, the results yield an acidic, low alcohol containing beverage. Due to live cultures, nutrients and acid, Kombucha has been said to have gastrointestinal, immune boosting and detoxification benefits.
I have never fermented Kombucha on my own, but was interested in trying. Upon researching the drink, I came across a similar beverage called Jun. Jun is brewed in the same manner as Kombucha, however it uses honey instead of sugar and green tea instead of black tea. Since I like green tea more than black tea and honey more than sugar, this drink sounded like heaven to my ears. So, I purchased a Jun scoby to start making my own fermented beverage.
As for the backstory on Jun, there appears to be limited information. Although jun is fermented in the same manner as Kombucha, the culture is said to contain a different ratio of yeast to bacteria. (I assume then, although it is called a jun scoby, it is not a true scoby, since is does not contain a symbiotic relationship of bacteria and yeast. However, we will still call it a jun scoby for all intensive purposes.) Jun is actually said to have originated from Tibet in the Himalayan region. The Jun culture can then ferment at lower temperatures than that of the Kombucha culture. It is also said that the Tibetan warriors or Khampa Nomads (ex-monks) used Jun as a means of energy and deemed it the Elixir of Life for extreme fighting abilities. Since most words or sayings can be interchangeable between Kombucha and Jun, I emailed Kombucha Brooklyn, a supplier of Kombucha products and supplies to hear their point of view:
“We LOVE Jun, it’s our big pet project. Jun info is a bit limited and hard to come by, but our hypothesis is that it actually was most likely the original kombucha culture. It stands to make sense… there was likely not that much refined sugar in the ancient himalayan mountains where kombucha is said to have first propagated. It also makes sense given that it feeds off of green tea endemic to the region rather than the processed/fermented black teas from elsewhere. Our culture is said to be of the original strand but you never know when something goes thousands of years back/from a different nation. That’s the basic scoop anyhow. Happy Brewing” ~Kombucha Brooklyn
Sounds good to me. I purchased my Jun culture or scoby from Kombucha Brooklyn with some other supplies and I am recording my brewing experience here for others to read and enjoy. There are many suppliers out there along with many individuals who will share their expertise. What I have found is that many people brewing Kombucha or Jun are more than happy to share their information or pass along a culture for free or a small fee. Anything made by hand often comes from self-educated, nice-willed individuals, eager to share any information they have. So please, ask questions or share any information you may know! : )
*I am not a registered dietitian. Any statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
My ImmuniTEA 