Mugicha (麦茶, roasted barley tea)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Glass pitcher, or any clean heatproof jug
• •Fine-mesh strainer for loose roasted barley
• •Small saucepan or kettle

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the barley

   Use roasted barley sold for mugicha, either loose kernels or a tea bag. It should smell nutty and clean, never stale or oily. This drink has only one ingredient doing the speaking, so old barley has nowhere to hide.

2. 2

   Boil the water

   Bring 1 liter of water to a full boil. For mugicha, boiling water is right, because the roasted grain needs heat to open its aroma quickly. This isn't sencha, where hot water would bruise the leaf. Here the heat wakes the roast.

3. 3

   Steep the barley

   Add the roasted barley or mugicha bag, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it steep 10 minutes more. The tea should turn clear amber-brown and smell round and toasted, like grain just pulled from a dry pan.

   Don't keep boiling it. A short simmer gives body, and the off-heat steep finishes the flavor without pulling the grainy bitterness into the pitcher.
4. 4

   Strain and cool

   Remove the tea bag, or strain out the loose barley through a fine-mesh strainer. Let the mugicha cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Leaving the spent barley in while it chills makes the flavor muddy, and you worked too little to spoil it now.

5. 5

   Chill and serve

   Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. Serve in glasses or yunomi with a few ice cubes if you like. Pour it unsweetened, with the glass only partly filled so it stays cold and clean-tasting as you drink.

6. 6

   Cold-steep option

   For mizudashi, cold-water brewing, put 1 mugicha bag in 1 liter of cold water and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, then remove the bag. Cold steeping gives a softer, rounder cup, but it needs time. If the pitcher tastes thin, steep a little longer next time rather than adding sugar.

Chef Tips

• •Buy mugicha in small amounts if you can. Roasted barley loses its fragrance once the package is open, and freshness matters more here than any special pitcher.
• •For picnic bottles, chill the tea fully before filling them. Warm mugicha trapped in a bottle turns flat faster, while cold tea stays clean and nutty for the afternoon.
• •If your mugicha tastes harsh, the problem is usually time, not barley. Shorten the simmer or remove the bag sooner. If it tastes weak, increase the dose before you lengthen the steep too far.
• •Keep it unsweetened. Sweetness covers the roast and changes the role of the drink at the table. Mugicha is meant to refresh the mouth, not occupy it.

Advance Preparation

• •Mugicha is made for advance preparation. Brew it in the morning or the night before and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •Drink within 2 days for the cleanest roasted aroma. After that it is still safe if properly chilled, but the flavor turns dull.
• •For cold-steep mugicha, set the bag in cold water before bed and remove it in the morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)