Orzo Strawberry

So what is orzo? It was recommended to me as a coffee alternative, so when I saw it at Lupicia I was curious. As I picked it up, I remember thinking, “Gee, but it has no caffeine, which is pretty much why I drink coffee. Certainly not for the taste. I don’t think I want this if it tastes like coffee…there’s no benefit!” Then I noticed that they had some flavored orzo selections as well, and after some debating I decided to take home the Orzo Strawberry. I’ve had good luck with Lupicia’s other strawberry teas.

Whatever they use for strawberry flavoring in the “Carol” and “Strawberry & Vanilla” teas, it’s here as well, and quite strong. It complements the orzo, which tastes like toasted rice with a hint of chocolate. Yes, chocolate! So I guess this is like a malty chocolate-covered strawberry.

That sounds weird. But it tastes OK!

PS – Drink totally looks like coffee in my glass.

Orzo tea? Huh? This jumped out at me, as I drink a lot of cool barley tea in the summer. And the richness of the barley goes really, really well with the tart strawberry. I don’t taste any chocolate notes no matter how hard I try, but oh well. They recommend this as a tea that goes well with milk, is great for kids, and has no caffeine. I’d agree on all of these counts (although obviously the caffeine thing isn’t an opinion ;) ). Because of the fruitiness I can really see this making a good iced tea as well.

I’m definitely going to keep some of these orzo teas around as another caffeine-free alternative to rooibos, honeybush, and herbal blends. It’s worth trying! I can’t remember the last time I liked a strawberry tea.

I love caffeine free alternatives because I drink a lot of tea and like some at night. This one has a sweet nutty taste. Almost like hazelnut but not really.

This tea is the perfect night-time drink. Sometimes when it’s cold at night I have mad cravings for tea, but can’t drink any because I don’t buy decaf and haven’t really acquired the taste for most herbal/rooibos teas. Enter: barley tea! It’s nutty and rich, with a bittersweet aftertaste that’s actually rather pleasing. I can’t explain.

It brews dark, so one tea spoon actually produces a brew that looks a lot like coffee. I have this hot, with some milk/soy creamer, and one or two cubes of sugar. The strawberry flavor is stronger when it’s dry, and melts into the barley flavor when it’s brewed, which is quite nice. Best dessert/midnight snack tea ever.

I’ve also brewed it very lightly sweetened in cold water. It makes a great iced tea, very refreshing. Really sad that it’s supposed to be a limited edition. I hope the Lupicia in town doesn’t run out!

An Ode to Tea challenge – O

From Cameron B a while ago!  Thank you! (Sipdown next time!)  It fits for ‘O’ since I haven’t written a note for this yet.  Honestly, not too many ‘O’ teas in my cupboard unless I count “organic” (which I won’t).  I love these Orzo teas and wish other shops would sell them. Also Lupicia’s barley!  I wish orzo and barley were more common.  Without Cameron sending some over, I don’t think I would have ever been able to try either one.  Hints of Lupicia’s great strawberry flavor in this dark brisk flavor, a bit like rye and coffee.  I like it – it hits a craving when you want something brisk and dark without caffeine!
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  //  just boiled //  4 minute steep

Home – 11:00 PM

The Great Cupboard Excavation
Untasted teas remaining: 26

I really do enjoy all of these barley teas from Lupicia. I will say, I generally prefer the mugicha-style ones as they’re a bit less roasted and that allows me to taste the fruit flavors more. But these orzo versions are interesting too, and more similar to coffee.

I used a bit less tea (2 teaspoons instead of my usual 3) and steeped for 3 minutes to prevent this from being overly strong and coffee-like.

The strawberry here is definitely quite light compared to the roasted barley. I can taste it though, and it’s nice with the sweet cocoa notes. The coffee-like quality of the barley definitely helps to enhance the chocolate. There is a lasting sweet aftertaste, which is something I always find with barley teas, though I’m not sure why that is.

Digging this, it reminds me a bit of a chocolate cake with some strawberries on top and a bit of coffee. I bet this would make a really amazing latte – I’ll have to remember to try that sometime.

Ever had Strawberry Pocky? Or those Yan Yan sticks you dip into strawberry-flavoured cream? Or basically anything strawberry-flavoured in an Asian dessert or snack? Add some milk and this tastes exactly like that stuff. The creamy kind of strawberry, not the tangy kind.

Oversteeped this slightly at 6 minutes and the roasted barley taste overtook the strawberry flavour ever so slightly, but still delicious with milk. At 4.5 minutes in boiling water like I usually do, you’d get a sweeter strawberry note.

This takes well to a second steeping but of course, it’s a bit lighter and I sometimes drink the second round plain.

I liked the Caramel & Honey Orzo but this one is even better in my opinion!

Backlog.

Ok, the orzo teas are definitely way, way better than the barley teas. This one is seriously delicious. It’s like a thick, rich, roasty strawberry milkshake. Naturally sweet, no bitterness, no fishiness, just roasty+strawberry (I was going to write roasty strawberry, but that makes me think of hot strawberries, and that actually doesn’t sound overly appetizing). As with Caramel+Honey (or whatever the other orzo tea was that I tried), I think it would be amazing with milk and a touch of additional sweetener. Probably will try it that way eventually. (Also, I can’t believe how dark/inky it brews up! Makes me nervous that it will be bitter, but it’s not at all!)

I’d always thought that orzo was a type of pasta – and it turns out I’m not wrong but apparently the pasta got its name for it’s resemblance to barley grains which is what this tea is made out of. It looks very much like coffee grounds and it was a pain in the ass to clean out of my strainer so I’d say it almost needs something like a coffee filter for brewing.

Dry the smell is a rich, malted scent with hints of chocolate and strawberry. After adding the water it became more coffee-like. I literally can’t drinking coffee or it will make me violently ill so I have no idea how close the flavour is to actual coffee – which supposedly orzo is a common substitute for. I will say that it tastes like it smells – flavourful and toasty with a faint hint of bitterness. The strawberry is sort of a vague sweet undertone but it provides a nice contrast.

Many thanks to Ash for providing a sample of this tea via the GCTTB.

Sipdown (139)!

I cold brewed my sample of this. Naively I didn’t look up the tea before doing so; I just kind of made the assumption that this was a strawberry black, and it is not. It is, in fact, another Barley tea which made me nervous. My experience with Mugicha was not a pleasant one; and I prepared that both times by cold brewing it.

This is not really so much of an exception. I’m noticing the exact same things are true about this blend that I didn’t really like so much with Mugicha; it very strongly tastes like bitter, cheap coffee grounds or highly burnt toast. However, this one also had bitter chocolate notes adding to the severe weirdness/harshness.

I have to hand it to the strawberry though; that bright strawberry taste that slipped into some sips redeemed this enough to make it drinkable. It still was not awesome though, so I’ve come to the realization I will have to try the next Barley tea that crosses my path hot. If I don’t like it hot, I think it’s clear that Barley tea is not so much a thing for me.