I've been drinking tea for around 40 years. Since I've started to do reviews, I am completely amazed at the variety of things that are used to make teas. Today, I came to this mo'mugi sample in my tea shelf from The Canadian Barley Tea Company.
Roasted barley tea...who would've thunk it? This is a single ingredient tea: organic British Columbia barley. When I opened the package, it kind of reminded of the way flax meal smells; it has a very earthy fragrance. The tea bags are big and according to the instructions, you can make a lot of tea with just one bag. I used a 20 oz coffee mug and it seemed to be the perfect size.
It brews up dark and in about 4 minutes, you have what looks very similar to coffee. From my steaming cup, I smell an earthy aroma and something similar to coffee.
Y'ALL...OMG...INSTANT ADDICTION. My first sip was plain tea and guess what? It actually tastes VERY much like a light roast coffee. I love coffee, but I like it a little sweet so, I added just the tiniest bit of honey and that made it even more delicious! There's several flavors going on here: toasted, earthy and nutty stand out the most to me along with the coffee-like flavor. There's a slight malty flavor and...I don't know how to explain this but...carbs...I taste carbs...like white rice carbs...maybe like rice cakes. That might only make sense to me, but that's the "sensation" I'm getting.
Coffee drinkers: this could easily replace your morning coffee if you're looking to make a change. I haven't tried it with cream and sugar yet, but I intend to do just that with my other tea bag. I'll be saving that for a cold night when I can have a big mug of it by my fireplace! There's instructions on the package for a cold brew as well and I bet you could make a mean iced latte with it! The good news is, it's caffeine free so, no matter how you like it, you can drink it all day long without getting the caffeine jitters.
Give this stuff a try. I think you'll be completely amazed by what a cup of steeped barley tastes like. I'm in love!
Check out their website. Browse around to learn about barley tea and it's health benefits.
