Bee Pollen JUN Beverage - High Polyphenols (tannin)

JUN is an ancient culture from Tibet that is used to make fermented tea. It has been recently introduced to the United states over the last ten to fifteen years, and is very rarely used commercially. On this date, I know of only two sources that sell JUN commercially, and both are on the west coast.

The JUN culture is traditionally fed using very high quality organic green tea and raw honey.

In order to make JUN fermented tea you mush have a JUN SCOBY.

A SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.

If you need one I sell them here:
Fermentation101 Shop

Most often the JUN culture, in its pure form, will be strictly fed green tea and honey. JUN is very high in antioxidants, and is very beneficial because it contains the probiotic Lactobacillus casei. Since green tea is high in polyphenols (tannin)  and that is want is needed to fee the SCOBBY, I started doing research into other "Non Tea" herbs, flowers, barks, and leaves that are also high in polyphenols that could potentially work with the JUN culture. 

My personal reason for doing this research is to be able to make a fermented beverage that does not contain caffeine like typical JUN and Kombucha do.

During my research I found an article that peaked my interest, and said that Bee Pollen is very high in polyphenols (tannin) and has Anti-radical properties.

Here is a link to that article:

Bee Pollen High in Polyphenols

This is an EXPERIMENT, I have not seen anyone mention using bee pollen in place of tea for fermenting JUN. So, I will continue to update this blog as I venture into this experiment, as well as other JUN experiments using "Non Tea" options.

How I did it:

 

Step one - procure the freshest local bee pollen you can - I used 1/2 cup

Note: it is important to use a local source of bee pollen so you can get the best health benefits from the plant sources, and wild yeast that the pollen is coming from locally.

 

Step two - Heat 1 1/2 cups purified water up to about 180 degrees and steep the Pollen for 5 minutes
NOTE: DO NOT use tap water - it contains chlorine, fluoride and bromine that can kill your SCOBY. You also do not want to boil the water because it will take all the Oxygen out of it and your beverage will not get fizzy.

 

 Step three - filter the particles through a coffee filter 

Note: In the filter, there will be a light tan or yellow sludge left over - you can keep the sludge and use it in other recipes, or simply compost the whole filter, sludge and all.

 

Step four - dissolve 1/2 cup of raw honey in 1 cup of room temperature water, then add it to your glass fermenting container with the pollen liquid.

Note: I took a pH reading on this just for my own curiosity, and it was a 6

 

Step five -  add 1 cup of strong JUN starter and then add your SCOBY

Note: Make sure the mixture is at room temperature - you do not want to burn your SCOBY. I did also take a pH reading after adding the starter and SCOBY and it was a 4.

 

Step six - Cover with a tightly woven cloth (I use t-shirt material) and rubber band it tightly so that no particles, contaminates, or bugs can get in.

 Note: there are two ways to ferment using a JUN culture; Aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (with out oxygen)  for this ferment I chose to use the aerobic fermentation because there is already a ton of yeast in the bee pollen, so there really is no point to try to keep the wild yeast out this time.

The Ideal brewing temperature for JUN is 68-77F - so I leave it on the counter in my Kitchen in the winter and take it to the basement in the summer. It can typically take 4-6 days to ferment, I usually like to taste it around day 4 and let it sit more days if necessary. Fermenting JUN can sometimes be  finicky, I have had the culture stall several times from adding too much honey, different types of honey, warmer water, or even simply bumping the fermentation vessel by accident, it will eventually ferment, so be patient. JUN is considered to have a lighter flavor, and more effervescent feel to it than the more common Kombucha, which some people find to be too vinegary for their taste.

Please feel free to leave comments or questions - or even tell me about your experiments with "non tea" JUN ferments.

4-16-2015 - UPDATE: after leaving the JUN sit for 7 days it has formed a beautiful new pellicle of a baby SCOBY almost 1/4 inch - the brew is lightly effervescent, and very citrus like with a note of honey. having let this sit over the 4-6 day mark it is a bit more astringent for my taste, but it is still enjoyable over ice. I think next time I will start tasting it at day 4. It is still a lovely beverage. Below is a photo of the measured new baby SCOBY.

Lacto Fermented Pickles, Peppers and Kiwi.

Today I was at the market, I'm always looking to see if there is anything new or weird to try to ferment. I saw baby kiwis - what are those??? Baby cucumbers - got to try those, and lastly baby peppers, which made me remember these little stuffed red peppers I had when I was in Switzerland, last year and thought "maybe I can make them myself."

So, here's what I did:

First - I cut all the placenta and seeds out of some sweet little baby peppers. I sliced and stuck a spicy hot Fresno pepper at the bottom of the jar so that I can tell the difference of the varieties. My hope is to get that sweetness from the honey ferment and the peppers, but also infuse the other peppers with a little spice form the Fresno.

Then, I put the peppers with the holes facing up so the honey can get inside all the cavities.

Lastly, I added honey, covered with an Air lock lid, and let sit on the counter for about a week or two.

The other two containers of ferments are really simple as well. The one on the right is just baby kiwis in honey, and the one on the left is sliced up cucumbers in a salt brine with spices, and about 2 table spoons of Sauer Kraut I made in October, just to get the fermentation started.

Dehydrated JUN SCOBY Gummy Snacks.

How to make Dehydrated Gummy Snacks from the extra SCOBYs from your SCOBY HOTEL.

In doing a little research on eating SCOBY I found a few recipes for SCOBY Gummies which all called for refined white sugar. So, I had this idea to make some Gummies with Maple Syrup, Honey and Coconut Crystals with my extra JUN SCOBYs. I happen to have an abundance of JUN SCOBYs in my SCOBY Hotel.


What is a SCOBY you ask??? the word SCOBY is an Acronym for;

Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast

It is the thing that people sometimes refer to as the "Mother" or "Mushroom" - it actually isn't a mushroom at all.

There are actually a few kinds of SCOBY cultures, there is ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar), JUN which is brewed with Green  Tea and Honey only, and then the most popular Kombucha SCOBY which is brewed with Black Tea and conventional Sugar. All of these are fermented cultures that are made with the intention of helping with Gut Flora, and keeping the bacteria in check in your body.

So, I brew/ferment both JUN and Kombucha Tea, and always have extra SCOBYs on hand, some of which I raise in a nursery to sell to other fermenters on Etsy if you want to start your own culture:

Click here to Buy your very own SCOBY from Fermentation101

Back to this post - the Gummy Snacks.


What you need:
2 large thick JUN SCOBYs
1/3 Cup Raw Honey
1/3 Cup Organic Grade "B" Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp of Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp of Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp of Ground Cinnamon

a Sharp Stainless Steel or Ceramic knife
a GLASS bowl this is very important because the acid from the SCOBY can have a chemical reaction to certain plastics and some metals.
a Dehydrator
a silicone mat

First Use a really sharp knife to cut your SCOBY into 3/4" cubes, and put them in your GLASS bowl.

                                          
                                              Then add the Honey and the Maple Syrup

                             Add your Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger and stir it up really well.

    Cover it tightly with Plastic Wrap, sit on the counter at room temperature to marinate overnight. After 24 hours of marinating you can place the sweetened SCOBY cubes on the silicone mat.

 Then put them right in your Dehydrator on the "Living Foods" setting. This is very important because you don't want to kill the beneficial bacteria in the SCOBY. Basically not over 104 degrees. If you don't have a Dehydrator - you can use you oven - but be careful not to over heat them.

                               Dehydrate for about 8 hours - or until these are the consistency you like.

                                                             This was about 10 hours

Some people like them rolled in sugar crystals so they don't stick together, you can also use Coconut crystals for this as well.

                                             Store in an air tight container, and eat em up!!!