Barley Tea also called Boricha is a healthy and nutty flavored detox drink. This tea is traditionally prepared with roasted barley and water and it is one of the staple drinks in Korea. The recipe I have shared here shows you how to make a perfect Barley Tea with clear step-by-step instructions. I have also attached a video to make the process clear and simple. This Barley Tea is typically enjoyed either hot or cold and served at any time of the day.
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What is Barley Tea?
Barley Tea is called Boricha in Korean, Mugicha in Japanese. While Koreans drink this tea all year round, people in Japan drink it in the summer season. This drink is traditionally made with roasted barley and water and consumed either hot or cold.
This tea is typically served as an alternate for water in most households, and restaurants. This drink is unique in its taste and flavor and has a lot of health benefits. It is absolutely caffeine-free drink that can be perfect for everyday healthy refreshments.
More Healthy Drinks
Ingredients
The ingredients that you will need for this tea are, simply Barley and water.
- Barley Kernels - You can roast the barley by yourself as show in the recipe below or can use pre-roasted barley that are usually available Korean food markets
- Water - I have used 2 cups of filtered water here
How to make Barley Tea?
The steps to make Barley Tea are super simple and I have shown it below with detailed step-by-step instructions. This recipe makes 3 medium size glasses of tea and you could double or triple the quantity as per your needs. So let's see how to make this drink below.
- Roast Barley - In a pan with mediun heat, roast the barley until it turns dark brown in color. Reserve them for later use
- Bring water to boil - In a sauce pan bring water to rolling boil
- Add the roasted Barley - Add in the roasted barley and brew for minutes
- Close and steep - Simmer heat and close the pan's lid and steep for another 2 to 3 minutes. This helps the barley to infuse all its flavor and taste
- Serve - Serve this healthy tea immediately hot or refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to enjoy it cold. Here the barley settles down and you can gently pour the tea without using a strainer
Tips
- Best Flavor - Roasting the barley kernels to dark brown color gives the best flavor and taste to the drink
- Iced version- after steeping the barley in water, refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours to enjoy the iced version of this drink
- Alternative for barley kernels - I have used whole barley kernels to make this drink, but you can also use barley tea bags if the grains are not handy
- Roast more for stronger tea - Roasting the barley for longer time gives a stronger flavor and tatse to the drink
- Left-over cooked Barley - You can use the left over cooked barley in salads, soups, or just enjoy along with your drink
- Serve - This Barley Tea is caffeine-free and you can serve this drink any time of the day instead of water or tea
Barley Tea Benefits
As I said earlier, this Korean Tea is caffeine-free and has many health benefits. Some of the benefits are,
- Low in calories - helps in weight loss
- Rich in antioxidants - helps to maintian heart health, brain health and blood circulation
- Helps in digestion (source: Healthline)
How to make Barley Water?
You might wonder what is Barley Water? And what is the difference between Tea and Barley Water? The main difference between tea and water is the roasting process of Barley.
For Barley Water, the kernels are not roasted to brown instead it cooked to soft in water. While for Barley Tea you see I have roasted the kernels to brown.
Similar to tea, Barley water is also one of the common detoxifying drinks popular across Asia. Even though there are canned and bottled ones are available in the stores, making this dish at home fresh is healthy.
Usually, the Barley grains are washed thoroughly and cooked until mushy with lots of water. Then the water is strained and enjoyed hot or iced. Typically Barley Water is consumed plain but you can also flavor them with ginger, lemon juice, or pepper.
So let's see how to make this Barley Water.
- Wash the Grains - Wash the barley grains throughly with water until all the dust particles are removed. I would suggest hulled or pearl barley for this drink
- Soak the Barley - Soak the grains with water for atleast 5 hours. For 1 cup of barley add 3 to 4 cups of water
- Cook the Grains - Now in a pot cook the soaked barley until it turns mushy. You can use the soaked water to cook the grains. If you are using pressure cooker then the grain water should be 1: 3. For pot you can add 1: 4
- Strain and Serve: Once the grains are cooked, strain the water and serve hot or cold. You can also flavor them with lemon juice, ginger or pepper. Also you can use the left over cooked barley in salads, soups, or just enjoy along with your drink
Storage Suggestions
You could store this drink for 2 days in the refrigerator and you can enjoy it cold or reheat it to serve hot.
Serving Suggestions
You can enjoy this Barley Tea at any time of the day and you could serve it hot or cold.
Related Recipes
You could find similar recipes below and more at Tea Recipes.
- Lemon Ginger Tea
- Ginger Tea
- Iced Tea
- Sweet Tea
- Masala Chai
- Bubble Tea (Boba Milk Tea)
- Taro Milk Tea (Taro Bubble Tea)
- Strawberry Milk Bubble Tea
More Tea Lattes:
Barley Tea Recipe video
I have also shared a detailed video of this Barley Tea recipe below and I hope it will help you make an authentic drink from scratch. For a quick reference, you could also find this recipe in story format.
📖 Recipe
Barley Tea (Boricha)
Ingredients
- 2 cups Filtered Water
- 2 tbsp Barley, whole kernels
- Ice Cubes, as needed
Instructions
To prepare Barley Tea
- In a pan with medium heat, add 2 tbsp of barley kernels and roast until it turns dark brown in color. Reserve it for later use
- Now in a saucepan, pour water and bring it to boil
- Add the roasted Barley kernels and allow it boil in water 3 for 5 minutes
- Close the lid of the saucepan and allow the barley to steep for another 2 to 3 minutes in low heat
- Open the lid and now the barley should be infused well in the water. Remove the Barley Tea from heat
To Serve
- This Tea can be consumed in hot as well as Iced. So, serve this Barley Tea immediately or refrigerate it for 1-2 hours and serve it with ice cubes
Video
Notes
- Best Flavor - Roast the barley kernels to dark brown color which gives the best flavor and taste to the tea
- Iced Barley Tea - after steeping the barley in water, refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours to enjoy the iced version of this tea
- Alternative for barley kernels - I have used whole barley kernels to make this tea, but you can also use barley tea bags if the grains are not handy
- Roast more for stronger tea - Roasting the barley for a longer time gives a stronger tea
- Leftover cooked Barley - You can use the leftover cooked barley in salads, soups, or just enjoy it along with your drink
- Serve - This Barley Tea is caffeine-free and you can serve this drink any time of the day instead of water or alongside water
Nutrition
FAQ
Barley Tea is an authentic Asian drink popular in Korea, Japan, and China. It is called Boricha in Korean, Magicha in Japanese, and Maicha in Chinese. This drink is traditionally prepared with roasted barley kernels and water. And it is usually served either hot or cold.
Yes, you can make this tea using store brought barley tea bags if grains are not handy.
This tea is low calories, rich in antioxidants, helps in digestion, detoxifies, and improves gut health. and drinking them often is good for health. But always check with experts to add it to your regular diet.
Usually, for tea Barley is roasted until brown then boiled in water to get a golden brown color detox drink. On the other hand, for water the kernels are cooked in water until soft or mushy then its water is consumed as a healthy drink.
Yes, this tea is caffein-free. And this recipe does not use any caffeinated products and yeah it is absolutely caffeine-free.
I really hope you enjoyed the recipe that I have shared here and I would love to hear from you on how it turned out for you. Please let me know.
If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comment section below and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
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Sahar Hosny
Hi,
After having my tea, what should I do with the roasted barley kernels?
Can I use it for other recipes like salad or soup?
Sangeetha Vel
Hi Sahar,
Yes, you can use the leftover cooked barley in salad or soup. Even though I did mention that in the post, it is not listed under tips. I will update the post to make it more visible.
Thanks for asking!