Mugicha(麦茶)

Or damaicha, maicha, or boricha, depending on where you are, is a tisane made simply from roast barley.

A drink known for being both refreshing and thirst quenching, mugicha tends to be fairly popular in the summertime. So, with temps heading toward the 90s and humidity pushing past 50%, I figured it was high time to pick some up.

Available in most Asian or international grocery stores, mugicha comes in a variety of forms. For one, there's the pre-made, in a bottle and read to drink. In most east Asian countries you can walk into almost any convenience store and have yourself a bottle without a second thought(well, unless you lack the ability to pay). Some stores Stateside or in the West have this option as well, though it is considerably more rare.

So, moving on, there are two forms for brewing it yourself. Loose, a bag of roast barley or non-roasted barley which you can roast yourself, and tea bags. Unlike with tea, of the camellia sinensis variety, you really don't have to avoid barley in bag form for fear of poor quality as it's pretty hard to get wrong and doesn't need the space tea leaves do to expand. Or, I'm just justifying my penchant for going easy on this and buying it in bagged form, lol.

Either way, brewing is fairly straightforward. Regardless of brewing temp, the measurements tend to be about 10g to 1 liter of water. That said, for hot-brewed, resulting in a stronger taste and bolder color, brew with just above boiling water for about 10 minutes then strain out the barley and stick it in the fridge or freezer until cool(unless drinking it hot appeals to you). Since it's going to end up that way no matter how it's done, I tend to just go with cold-brewed. Using room temp or cold water, allow it to brew in a large pitcher, or similar, in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on taste(longer obviously meaning stronger), then strain and serve.

For some it can be acquired taste, yet for many it's just plain delicious and a great part of a hot summer day.