Cereal coffee facts for kids
A cereal coffee is a warm drink made from roasted grains. It's also known as a grain coffee or roasted grain drink. To make it, grains like barley or rye are roasted and then processed into a powder or crystals. You just add hot water to this powder, and it becomes a drink!
People often choose cereal coffee because it doesn't have caffeine. It's a great choice if you want a warm drink but don't want the energy boost from regular coffee or tea. It's also popular in places where coffee or tea might be hard to find or cost a lot of money.
Some well-known cereal coffee brands include Nestlé Caro, Postum, and Inka. You can often find other brands at health food stores and grocery stores. Common ingredients include toasted barley, malted barley, rye, chicory, molasses, and beet root.
Where is Cereal Coffee Popular?
Cereal Drinks in Asia
Cereal coffee is very popular in East Asia. Countries like Korea, Japan, and China all have their own versions. These are usually roasted grains simply steeped in hot water.
Some examples of these drinks are:
- Barley tea (called bori-cha in Korea, dàmài-chá in China, and mugi-cha in Japan)
- Rice tea
- Brown rice tea (hyeonmi-cha in Korea, nước gạo lứt in Vietnam)
- Sungnyung (a Korean drink made from scorched rice)
- Corn tea (oksusu-cha in Korea)
- Job's tears tea (yulmu-cha in Korea)
Other seeds that are like grains, called pseudocereals, are also used to make similar drinks.
- Buckwheat tea (memil-cha in Korea, soba-cha in Japan)
- Sicklepod tea (gyeolmyeongja-cha in Korea)
Sometimes, grain teas are mixed with green tea or other types of tea.
- Brown rice green tea (hyeonmi-nokcha in Korea)
- Genmaicha (a Japanese green tea with roasted brown rice)
Cereal Drinks in Europe
In Europe, some famous Polish brands that make cereal coffee are Inka, Krakus, and Anatol.
In the Czech Republic, a brand called Kávoviny Melta has been roasting grain coffee since 1896.
These roasted grain mixes are also used to make a drink called podpiwek. This is a type of non-alcoholic drink.
See also
In Spanish: Bebida de cereal tostado para niños
