Barley tea is a roasted-grain-based infusion made from barley. It is a staple across many East Asian countries such as Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine, and Korean cuisine. It has a toasty, bitter flavor.
In Korea, the tea is consumed either hot or cold, often taking the place of drinking water in many homes and restaurants.
Etymology
In China, barley tea is called
dàmài-chá (大麦茶; 大麥茶) or
mài-chá (麦茶; 麥茶), in which
dàmài (大麦; 大麥) or
mài (麦; 麥) means "barley" and
chá (茶) means "tea".
In Japan, barley tea is called mugi-cha (麦茶), which shares the same Chinese characters as Chinese mài-chá (麦茶; 麥茶), or mugi-yu (麦湯; むぎゆ), in which yu (湯; ゆ) also means "hot water".
In Korea, barley tea is called bori-cha (보리차), in which the native Korean bori (보리) means "barley" and Sino-Korean cha () shares the same Chinese character meaning "tea".
In Taiwanese Hokkien, barley tea is called be̍h-á-tê (麥仔茶), in which be̍h-á (麥仔) means "barley" and tê (茶) means "tea".
History
The
Kuge has consumed the tea since the
Heian Period.
[ 源順, 和妙類聚抄, 承平(931AD - 938AD)][ http://www.mugicya.or.jp/history/ 全国麦茶工業共同組合, 麦茶の歴史] Samurai began to consume it in
Sengoku period.
[ 北野大茶湯の記, 16 century] During the
Edo period, street stalls specializing in barley tea became popular among the common people.
[人見必大, 本朝食鑑, 1967][達磨屋活東子 達磨屋五一, 燕石十種, 第五 寛天見聞記, 1857 - 1863]
Availability
The tea can be prepared by boiling roasted unhulled barley kernels in water or brewing roasted and ground barley in hot water. In
Japan,
tea bags containing ground barley became more popular than the traditional barley kernels during the early 1980s and remain the norm today. The tea is also available prepackaged in
.
Bottled tea
Bottled barley tea is sold at
Supermarket, convenience stores, and in
in Japan and Korea. Sold mostly in PET bottles, cold barley tea is a very popular summertime drink in Japan.
In Korea, hot barley tea in heat-resistant PET bottles is also found in vending machines and in heated cabinets in convenience stores.
Blended barley and similar teas
In
Korea, roasted barley is also often combined with roasted
maize, as the latter's sweetness offsets the slightly bitter flavor of the barley. The tea made from roasted maize is called
oksusu-cha (corn tea), and the tea made from roasted maize and roasted barley is called
oksusu-bori-cha (corn barley tea). Several similar drinks made from roasted grains include
hyeonmi-cha (brown rice tea),
gyeolmyeongja-cha (sicklepod seed tea), and
memil-cha (buckwheat tea).
Roasted barley tea, sold in ground form and sometimes combined with chicory or other ingredients, is also sold as a coffee substitute.
See also
-
Barley water
-
Caffè d'orzo
-
Caro (drink)
-
Postum
-
List of barley-based beverages
-
Roasted grain beverage
