Roasted Corn/Barley

This is so wonderful especially with our rainy fall like weather. Okay its not really fall like but I am making myself believe it is anyway. It is cooler today with a nice rain. I love barley, I love corn, – this “tea” is the best of both.
Sweet and savory, filling.
A beautiful golden hue fills my cup and at 5.00 a POUND … wow what a deal!
I will be ordering a pound of this so PM me if you want a sample of it – I have a pound of their genmaicha sitting here too if anyone wants a sample of that let me know.
This is so so good!

Steepster is such a dangerous but wonderful place. I was perusing newly added teas the other day and saw a Crystal Malt tea that I just HAD to find out more about. So I hopped onto their website and saw there was a cheap sampler pack. Now, I know company experience isn’t really part of a tea’s rating, but I’d like to mention that I got amazing customer service! There were some issues with my order and they were fixed speedily. Also, my samples cam in this adorable little tin! This is the first of 5 teas that I have to try, but I already know I’ll be ordering again soon.

I decided to cold brew a teabag of this, and something very strange happened. It brewed to a dark amber in ONE HOUR. I know, right! The fastest I’ve ever had a tea “finish” cold brewing was 4 hours, and that’s usually for bagged tea (which infuses faster because it’s all cut up) or I’ll throw a whole bunch of leaves in there. This, though, is whole grains, so I’m amazed it only took that long. And it was strong too! I got a second brew out of it, but I have a feeling you could probably cold brew a bag of this all day long and get 4 cups easy. Which, of course, makes it a whole lot more appealing!

If you’ve ever had barley tea, the taste here is obviously similar. It’s rich and has an almost savory quality, but the corn adds a surprising hint of sweetness at the end of the sip. I am reminded of genmaicha, but with a stronger background taste instead of a green tea. The malty flavor is quite strong, almost molasses-y. So delicious and refreshing!

I am so excited about trying malt teas! I got the sampler pack because I had no idea what to try. I wish I could show you the cute packages that arrived today- I put the image links below if you want to check them out. Cute, reusable balsa wood boxes tied with string. The sachets inside are tied together with the string and have little typed labels. I forgave them for being somewhat late with my order because I was so thrilled with my treats.

Anyway, enough with the cuteness. I tried the Roasted Corn w/Roasted Barley because the description of sweetness balanced by bitterness sounded like a good start. I really liked the toasted, mellow character of this reddish brown liquor. The sweetness is subtle on the tongue, and fun to detect. I really didn’t notice any bitterness.

Is it the grain flavor that makes me think I could drink this with anything you’d drink beer with? Is it the toastiness that makes me want to drink it in the morning while others are drinking coffee? I wonder what it would be like with milk. It’s a very satisfying tea with a lingering flavor and aroma. It’s hearty!

By the way, I love blending roasted grains with teas. I don’t know what it is about oolong but I liked formosa oolong with soba (roasted buckwheat) and also like it with this. I’m looking forward to trying it with other teas.

I must add that this beverage is enjoyable hot, room temperature and cool. I’m not sure I’d like it iced, but it’s still in the 90s here- I may check that out!

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