Barley Tea / Mugicha = decaf heaven!
I recently learned that barley tea exists! I am not a big fan of rooibos or decaf black teas so I’m always on the look out for a decaf tea that will actually taste good and satisfy me. My husband is a home brewer and I knew we had several types of malted barley laying around so I made my own barley tea out of them! I mixed together 4 different types of malted barley, and two of them were VERY dark brown and toasty. I boiled 1/4 of barley in 3 cups of water for 7 minutes and then poured it through a strainer. It looked very dark like brewed black tea! And it tasted SO GOOD! Much more rich and “full bodied” than other decaf teas/tisanes I’ve tried. Anyway I just wanted to recommend anyone who needs tasty decaf beverages to check out barley teas :)
Agreed – some of them are much closer in flavour to coffee than teas, without nasty effects that coffee can cause! Yum.
I haven’t had mugicha since I came back from studying abroad in Japan. (that was more than two years ago. whaaaaaaaat.) I drank it EVERY DAY, cold or hot, and my host mother brewed her own. Hers was so much better than the stuff in the PET bottles. I should make mugicha myself one day.
Ooo, that sounds really yummy. My friend just introduced me to buckwheat tea (sobacha) yesterday, and I never expected it to taste so good. You can buy it pre-roasted, but it’s much cheaper to buy raw and roast yourself (and that way you can control how roasted it is). Might be another one to try if you’re looking for interesting decaf teas.
I enjoy mugicha, but mostly cold, especially in the summer. I’ve always made it with roasted barley which I get in Korean markets, and don’t know the difference between malted barley and roasted barley.Is the malted kind richer?
For another treat, try roasted corn tea. Roasted corn (like barley for mugicha) is sold in Korean markets. But don’t buy the instant tea bag kind which is much more bland. Get the roasted corn, put half cup in two liters of water (or e.g. 1/8 cup in half a liter) bring to a boil, then let sit for ten minutes. The taste of the hot corn tea is deep and rich.
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