Barley tea facts for kids

Barley tea is a special drink made from roasted barley grains. It's like a tea, but it doesn't have caffeine. This tasty drink is very popular in many East Asian countries. You'll find it in places like China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Barley tea has a warm, toasty smell and a slightly bitter taste. People in Korea often drink it hot or cold, sometimes instead of water. In Japan, it's usually served cold. It's a favorite cool drink during the summer. You can also buy barley tea in tea bags or in bottles in Korea and Japan.

What's in a Name?

Have you ever wondered where names come from? This section explains the different names for barley tea in various countries.

Chinese Names for Barley Tea

In China, barley tea is called dàmài-chá. This name means "barley tea." Sometimes, people just call it mài-chá. Both dàmài and mài mean "barley," and chá means "tea."

Japanese Names for Barley Tea

In Japan, barley tea is known as mugi-cha. This name uses the same Chinese characters as the Chinese mài-chá. Another name is mugi-yu. Here, yu means "hot water."

Korean Names for Barley Tea

In Korea, the drink is called bori-cha. The word bori is a native Korean word for "barley." The word cha comes from Chinese and means "tea."

Taiwanese Names for Barley Tea

In Taiwan, barley tea is called be̍h-á-tê. In this name, be̍h-á means "barley," and tê means "tea."

A Look Back: History of Barley Tea

Barley tea has been enjoyed for a very long time!

Early Days in Japan

Important people in Japan's past, like the Kuge (noble families), started drinking barley tea a long time ago. This was during the Heian Period. Later, brave Samurai warriors also began to enjoy it.

Popularity Grows

During the Edo period in Japan, barley tea became very popular with everyone. You could find street stalls selling this refreshing drink to common people.

How to Get and Make Barley Tea

Barley tea is easy to find and make.

Making Barley Tea at Home

You can make barley tea by boiling roasted barley grains in water. Another way is to brew roasted and ground barley in hot water.

Tea Bags and Bottles

In Japan, tea bags with ground barley became very popular in the 1980s. They are still the most common way to make it today. You can also buy barley tea already made and bottled in PET bottles.

Bottled Barley Tea

Bottled barley tea is sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, and vending machines in Japan and Korea. Cold barley tea in bottles is a super popular summer drink in Japan. In Korea, you can even find hot barley tea in special heat-resistant bottles in vending machines and heated cabinets.

Other Grain Teas

In Korea, people sometimes mix roasted barley with roasted corn. The corn adds a bit of sweetness that balances the barley's slightly bitter taste. Tea made only from roasted corn is called oksusu-cha. If it has both corn and barley, it's called oksusu-bori-cha.

There are also other similar drinks made from roasted grains:

• hyeonmi-cha (brown rice tea)
• gyeolmyeongja-cha (sicklepod seed tea)
• memil-cha (buckwheat tea)

Sometimes, roasted barley tea is ground up and mixed with things like chicory. People drink this as a coffee substitute if they want a warm drink without caffeine.

Images for kids

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  Roasted barley grains

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  A tea bag for a jar of barley tea

See also

In Spanish: Té de cebada para niños