Ito En Mugicha (Japanese Roasted Barley Tea)

Mugicha (麦茶) is Japanese roasted barley tea: no tea leaves, so no caffeine, and a nutty, toasted taste. This box is Ito En's mugicha in tea bags (54 bags per the Amazon listing), sold for brewing at home, most often cold in a pitcher.

Mugicha or boricha?

Japanese mugicha and Korean boricha are the same idea: water brewed with roasted barley. Japanese mugicha is most often drunk cold in summer; Korean boricha is drunk hot or cold all year. For the side-by-side, see Boricha vs. Mugicha. If you want the Korean kind, see Damtuh or Dongsuh.

Taste

• Nutty and toasted, from the roasted grain
• Not bitter, since there are no tea leaves to over-steep
• Light body, closer to flavored water than to black tea

How to brew

Follow the directions on the box for bag-to-water ratio and time. The two common ways:

• Cold: drop a bag into a pitcher of cold water and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
• Hot: steep a bag in just-boiled water, then drink hot or chill it.

Good to know

• Caffeine-free: barley is not a tea plant, so there is no caffeine.
• Contains gluten: barley is a gluten grain, so mugicha is not for anyone avoiding gluten.

Availability

We don't stock this tea. You can buy it on Amazon through the link on this page.