# Barley tea

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Infusion made from roasted barley grains

Barley tea Type Herbal tea Other names Bori-cha dàmài-chá mugi-cha be̍h-á-tê Origin East Asia Quick description Tea made from roasted barley Temperature 100 °C (212 °F) Time 5–10 minutes

Barley tea Chinese name Traditional Chinese 大麥茶 Simplified Chinese 大麦茶 Literal meaning barley tea Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dàmài chá Wade–Giles ta4 mai4 ch'a2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization daaihmahk chàh Jyutping daai6 mak6 caa4 Korean name Hangul 보리차 Hanja 보리茶 Literal meaning barley tea Transcriptions Revised Romanization boricha McCune–Reischauer porich'a Japanese name Kanji 麦茶 Kana むぎちゃ Transcriptions Revised Hepburn mugi-cha

**Barley tea** is a [roasted-grain](/source/Roasted_grain_beverage)-based [infusion](/source/Infusion) made from [barley](/source/Barley). It is a [staple](/source/Staple_food) beverage in many East Asian countries such as [China](/source/Chinese_cuisine), [Japan](/source/Japanese_cuisine), and [Korea](/source/Korean_cuisine). It has a toasty, bitter flavor.[1]

In Korea, the tea is consumed either hot or cold, often taking the place of drinking water in many homes and restaurants.[2][3] In Japan, it is usually served cold and is a common summertime refreshment.[4] The tea is also widely available in [tea bags](/source/Tea_bag) or bottled in Korea and Japan.[3][4]

## Etymology

In [China](/source/China), barley tea is called *dàmài-chá* (大麦茶; 大麥茶) or *mài-chá* (麦茶; 麥茶), in which *dàmài* (大麦; 大麥) or *mài* (麦; 麥) means "barley" and *chá* (茶) means "tea".

In [Japan](/source/Japan), barley tea is called *mugi-cha* (麦茶), which shares the same Chinese characters as Chinese *mài-chá* (麦茶; 麥茶), or *mugi-yu* (麦湯; むぎゆ), in which *yu* (湯; ゆ) also means "hot water".

In [Korea](/source/Korea), barley tea is called *bori-cha* (보리차), in which the native Korean *bori* (보리) means "barley" and Sino-Korean *cha* ([Korean](/source/Korean_language): 차; [Hanja](/source/Hanja): 茶) shares the same Chinese character meaning "tea".

In [Taiwanese Hokkien](/source/Taiwanese_Hokkien), barley tea is called *be̍h-á-tê* (麥仔茶), in which *be̍h-á* (麥仔) means "barley" and *tê* (茶) means "tea".

## History

The [Japanese aristocracy](/source/Kuge) has consumed the tea since the [Heian Period](/source/Heian_Period).[5][6] [Samurai](/source/Samurai) began to consume it in the [Sengoku period](/source/Sengoku_period).[7][6] During the [Edo period](/source/Edo_period), street stalls specializing in barley tea became popular among the common people.[8][9][6]

## Availability

Roasted barley grains

A [tea bag](/source/Tea_bag) for a jar of barley tea

The tea can be prepared by boiling roasted unhulled barley kernels in water or brewing roasted and ground barley in hot water. In Japan, [tea bags](/source/Tea_bags) containing ground barley became more popular than the traditional barley kernels during the early 1980s and remain the norm today. The tea is also available prepackaged in [PET bottles](/source/PET_bottle).

### Bottled tea

Bottled barley tea is sold at [supermarkets](/source/Supermarket), [convenience stores](/source/Convenience_store), and in [vending machines](/source/Vending_machine) in Japan and Korea. Sold mostly in PET bottles, cold barley tea is a common summertime drink in Japan.[4] In Korea, hot barley tea in heat-resistant PET bottles is also found in vending machines and in heated cabinets in convenience stores.[10] In Taiwan, while [AGV](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AGV_Products_Corporation&action=edit&redlink=1) [[zh](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%84%9B%E4%B9%8B%E5%91%B3)] barley tea is a well-known bottled barley tea, particularly at [restaurants in Taiwan](/source/Taiwanese_cuisine), bottled barley tea had not been widely accepted in the customer market until the 2020s.[11][12][13]

### Blended barley and similar teas

In Korea, roasted barley is also often combined with roasted [maize](/source/Maize), as the latter's sweetness offsets the slightly bitter flavor of the barley. The tea made from roasted maize is called *[oksusu-cha](/source/Oksusu-cha)* (corn tea), and the tea made from roasted maize and roasted barley is called *oksusu-bori-cha* (corn barley tea). Similar drinks made from roasted grains include *[hyeonmi-cha](/source/Hyeonmi-cha)* (brown rice tea), *[gyeolmyeongja-cha](/source/Gyeolmyeongja-cha)* (sicklepod seed tea), and *[memil-cha](/source/Memil-cha)* (buckwheat tea).

Roasted barley tea in ground form, and sometimes combined with [chicory](/source/Chicory) or other ingredients, is also sold as a [coffee substitute](/source/Coffee_substitute).[14]

## See also

- [Drink portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Drink)

- [Barley water](/source/Barley_water)

- [Caffè d'orzo](/source/Caff%C3%A8_d'orzo)

- [Caro (drink)](/source/Caro_(drink))

- [List of barley-based beverages](/source/List_of_barley-based_beverages)

- [Postum](/source/Postum)

- [Roasted grain beverage](/source/Roasted_grain_beverage)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Allan, M. Carrie; Allan, M. Carrie (22 May 2016). ["What's better than a tall glass of iced tea? One with booze stirred in"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/whats-better-than-a-tall-glass-of-brewed-iced-tea-one-with-something-spirited-stirred-in/2016/05/22/e63c696c-1e01-11e6-9c81-4be1c14fb8c8_story.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-De_Mente_2-0)** [De Mente, Boyé Lafayette](/source/Boy%C3%A9_Lafayette_De_Mente) (2012). [*The Korean mind : understanding contemporary Korean culture*](https://books.google.com/books?id=UIvQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT589). Tokyo: [Tuttle Pub.](/source/Tuttle_Publishing) p. 420. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8048-4271-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8048-4271-6). Retrieved 21 December 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_3-1) Won, Ho-jung (22 April 2016). ["\[Weekender\] Healthful Korean tea to fit every need"](http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160422000853). *[The Korea Herald](/source/The_Korea_Herald)*. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_4-2) Beseel, Casey (16 July 2015). ["Japan's barley soda is so weird in so many ways, yet so right in one 【Taste test】"](http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/07/16/japans-barley-soda-is-so-weird-in-so-many-ways-yet-so-right-in-one-%e3%80%90taste-test%e3%80%91/). *RocketNews24*. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** 源順, 和妙類聚抄, 承平(931AD - 938AD)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mugi_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mugi_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mugi_6-2) [http://www.mugicya.or.jp/history/](http://www.mugicya.or.jp/history/) 全国麦茶工業共同組合, 麦茶の歴史

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** 北野大茶湯の記, 16 century

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** 人見必大, 本朝食鑑, 1967

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** 達磨屋活東子 達磨屋五一, 燕石十種, 第五 寛天見聞記, 1857 - 1863

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** 이, 주현 (28 November 2016). ["웅진식품, '하늘보리' 온장 제품 출시…동절기 포트폴리오 강화"](http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2016112808215468009) [Woongjin Food launches hot 'Haneul Bori', augmenting winter portfolio]. *The Asia Economy Daily* (in Korean). Retrieved 3 February 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** 邱建齊 (2022-12-14). ["擁最強兩支飲料產品，愛之味看營運愈來愈好"](https://www.moneydj.com/kmdj/news/newsviewer.aspx?a=e611c9d4-7971-46ca-bc25-58df8e5752bd). *MoneyDJ理財網*. Retrieved 2025-07-15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Worldpanel (2025-04-11). 林玉婷 (ed.). ["「無糖茶」擠入即飲茶市場的主流選擇！不含咖啡因和單寧的麥茶擴大即飲消費客群"](https://www.foodnext.net/column/columnist/paper/6591073878). *食力 foodNEXT* (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2025-07-15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** 臺灣區飲料工業同業公會. ["臺灣飲料新品發展動向 - 臺灣區飲料工業同業公會"](https://www.bia.org.tw/zh-tw/news-44033/%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E9%A3%B2%E6%96%99%E6%96%B0%E5%93%81%E7%99%BC%E5%B1%95%E5%8B%95%E5%90%91.html). *www.bia.org.tw* (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2025-07-15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Maier, H. G. (1987). ["Coffee Substitutes Made from Cereals"](https://books.google.com/books?id=n9ZEMquvPoYC&pg=PA5). In Clarke, R.J.; Macrae, R. (eds.). *Coffee: Related Beverages*. Springer. pp. 5–8. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-85166-103-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-85166-103-9).

v t e Barley History Domestication Neolithic Revolution Triticeae Types of barley Genus: Hordeum Cultivars: Bere Golden Promise Agronomy Barley diseases Trade Australian Barley Board Canadian Wheat Board Corn exchange Production by country Wheat pools in Canada Parts of the plant Bran Germ Husk Kernel Gluten Straw Basic preparations Milling: Flour (types) Groats Middlings Parboiling As an ingredient List of barley-based drinks Barley bread Barley honey Barley tea Barley water Beer Caffè d'orzo Irish whiskey Japanese whisky Máchica Malta Scotch whisky Talbina see also: Category:Barley-based drinks Associated human diseases Gluten-related disorders Coeliac disease Non-celiac gluten sensitivity Wheat allergy Dermatitis herpetiformis Gluten ataxia Related concepts Bread riot Cattle feeding Plant breeding Refined grains Staple food Whole grain Category Commons

v t e Herbal teas or tisanes Types of tea Barley Buckwheat Butterfly pea flower Cannabis Chamomile Chrysanthemum Coca Coffee-leaf Corn Dried lime Earl Grey Fermented Green Hibiscus Honeybush Kuding Labrador Lotus Matcha Mate Mint herbal Mountain Oolong Rooibos Salep Saloop Turmeric Yaupon Korean tea Arrowroot Cinnamon Dohwa-cha Doncha Ginger Ginseng root hair Goji Jeho-tang Jujube Kelp Maehwa-cha Maesil-cha Mogwa-cha Nokcha Ogwa-cha Omija-cha Persimmon leaf Pine needle Red Sicklepod Ssanghwa-tang Ssukcha Yellow Yuja Yulmu-cha

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barley tea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley_tea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley_tea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.