Barley tea

Barley tea is a roasted-grain-based infusion made from barley. It is a staple across many East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. It has a toasty, bitter flavor.[1]

Barley tea
TypeHerbal tea
Other names
  • Bori-cha
  • dàmài-chá
  • mugi-cha
  • be̍h-á-tê
OriginEast Asia
Quick descriptionTea made from roasted barley
Temperature100 °C (212 °F)
Time5–10 minutes
Barley tea
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese大麥茶
Simplified Chinese大麦茶
Literal meaningbarley tea
Korean name
Hangul보리차
Literal meaningbarley tea
Japanese name
Kanji麦茶
Kanaむぎちゃ

In Korea, the tea is consumed either hot or cold, often taking the place of drinking water in many homes and restaurants.[2][3] In Japan, it is usually served cold and is a popular summertime refreshment.[4] The tea is also widely available in tea bags or bottled in Korea and Japan.[3][4]

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 (차; 茶) 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 Japanese aristocracy has consumed the tea since the Heian Period.[5][6] Samurai began to consume it in Sengoku period.[7][6] During the Edo period, street stalls specializing in barley tea became popular among the common people.[8][9][6]

Availability
Roasted barley grains
A tea bag for a jar of barley tea

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 PET bottles.

Bottled tea

Bottled barley tea is sold at supermarkets, convenience stores, and in vending machines in Japan and Korea. Sold mostly in PET bottles, cold barley tea is a very popular summertime drink in Japan.[4] In Korea, hot barley tea in heat-resistant PET bottles is also found in vending machines and in heated cabinets in convenience stores.[10]

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.[11]

See also

References
  1. Allan, M. Carrie; Allan, M. Carrie (22 May 2016). "What's better than a tall glass of iced tea? One with booze stirred in". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. De Mente, Boyé Lafayette (2012). The Korean mind : understanding contemporary Korean culture. Tokyo: Tuttle Pub. p. 420. ISBN 978-0-8048-4271-6. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. Won, Ho-jung (22 April 2016). "[Weekender] Healthful Korean tea to fit every need". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  4. Beseel, Casey (16 July 2015). "Japan's barley soda is so weird in so many ways, yet so right in one 【Taste test】". RocketNews24. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  5. 源順, 和妙類聚抄, 承平(931AD - 938AD)
  6. http://www.mugicya.or.jp/history/ 全国麦茶工業共同組合, 麦茶の歴史
  7. 北野大茶湯の記, 16 century
  8. 人見必大, 本朝食鑑, 1967
  9. 達磨屋活東子 達磨屋五一, 燕石十種, 第五 寛天見聞記, 1857 - 1863
  10. 이, 주현 (28 November 2016). "웅진식품, '하늘보리' 온장 제품 출시…동절기 포트폴리오 강화" [Woongjin Food launches hot 'Haneul Bori', augmenting winter portfolio]. The Asia Economy Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  11. Maier, H. G. (1987). "Coffee Substitutes Made from Cereals". In Clarke, R.J.; Macrae, R. (eds.). Coffee: Related Beverages. Springer. pp. 5–8. ISBN 978-1-85166-103-9.
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