Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Toasted Barley Tea (大麦茶)


My girl friend from China first introduced me to this barley tea.  She said she had it in Korean restaurant and really liked it and thus she bought it to make it at home.  Strangely though, I was never served barley tea when dining in Korean restaurants, or I have to ask for it?  They said it usually served with Korean BBQ.

Anyway, I saw this barley tea recipe in multiple Korean cookbooks and it's really easy to make.  You just have to search for this toasted barley in the Korean supermarket or Asian market.  This barley tea is very nutritious too and said to aid weight lost.  Chinese has been catching up and this barley tea is popular in other Asian countries too.  I found the benefits in a Chinese article which I copied and pasted here, 据本草纲目记载,大麦味甘、性平;有平胃止渴,消渴除热,益气调中,宽胸下气,消积进食,补虚劣、壮血脉,益颜色、宝五脏、化谷食之功.  Sorry I don't know how to translate it.


This is how it looks like and it's really fragrant.  The house was infused with toasted fragrant when I was boiling this.  The tea itself was fragrant and I like it without sugar.  The instruction at the packet of the barley that I bought said you can also served it cold with condensed milk or sugar for breakfast.  I will show you the picture of the packet in the next page.


Made in Taiwan

Ingredients:

  • 1500ml filtered water
  • 1/2 cup toasted barley

Method:

In a large saucepan, add in the water and let it boil.  When boiling, add in the toasted barley, give it a stir.  Let it boil for 10 minutes.  Some said 5-6 minutes is enough but I like to boil it longer.

Drain and serve hot or cool.  Keep in a water thermos and drink throughout the day.

14 comments:

  1. What a hearty tea!! Need to have some!

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  2. I lOVE barley tea!! so good~ never knew you could drink it with milk or sugar!

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  3. Oh! I love the flavor of this tea...and you just reminded me that I have not had this tea for a while...
    Hope you are having a great week :)

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  4. oh i havent tried before! i must go to korean store soon to find this

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  5. When I took Korean BBQ here also never see they serve this barley drink instead they serve green tea, hahaha.,
    Next I must check this in Korean store, anyway, I cook Chinesr barley very often too, good to clean inside the body.,

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  6. I drank this at some eatery before and I really like it - at first I thought it is brown rice tea. very healthy.

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  7. I am not aware neither have seen these barley tea you are referring too.

    I would like to try bc drinking tea is something I enjoy too. Maybe will ask my other half to get for me when he travels to China.

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  8. I wouldn't have realised it is days to make this drink! It seems refreshing and light.

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  9. I love toasted barley tea. I used to buy those in small packs. I will make a bottle of the tea and chill it. I used to give it to my kids when they were young.

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  10. I can't wait to try this! I have barley at home so now I'll just need to find the time to do it

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  11. Yes Belinda, it's good to have this tea in the house. :)

    Yes Mr. pineapple man, now you know. But I like the plain one better. ;)

    Juliana, go boil some! I just made one thermos yesterday. :)

    Rita, go look for it!

    Yes Sonia, I make the Malaysian style barley tea too. But this is another variation. It cooked in 10 mins. :P The last Korean restaurant I went to, when I asked for tea, I think they brought me water down citron tea.

    Noobcook, this tea is indeed healthy. I read that Korean drink it like water. But I am not sure whether too much of one thing is good? I am still more everything in moderation.

    Nava, go get some as this tea is good for us. :)

    Daphne, only 10 mins to make, but can keep in refrigerator.

    Zurynee, that's good, my girls don't like this toasted barley tea, but they love the barley drink though.

    Stephanie, great!

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  12. Finally I bought it! It's a yum alternative to my daily teas :D

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  13. I tried it in some Korean eatery too and like it. Also nice when cold...but can only drink cold tea during hot weather, not now. :p

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  14. This tea is so amazing! I love it! It's one of my favourite coffee alternatives as it really tastes and smells like coffee!

    It's particulary good in the summer, to keep us refreshed and hydrated.

    It's a great tea to treat digestive disorders as well, by treating nausea and preventing constipation and it can also figh cold symptoms!

    http://www.therighttea.com/barley-tea.html

    It is quite a treat this herbal tea!

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