Years ago when abroad I got a cold and a fellow student who was from Korea gave me a packet of a roasted barley tea and said it is good when you’re sick.
Fast forward to the present and I’ve been really enjoying perfecting an herbal coffee blend using several ingredients that I get from the bulk herbs section at a local health food store:
20-22 oz. water at 90⁰ C
Mugicha (roasted barley) 3 teaspoon
Roasted dandelion root 1 teaspoon
Roasted chicory root 1/2 teaspoon
Rooibos (African red bush) 1/2 teaspoon
Powdered beet root 1/4 teaspoon
Put the first three ingredients in a coffee grinder and grind. Put them in the hot water and add the last two ingredients, stir and leave sit for around 10-15 minutes. Filter through a strainer.
Because of the nature of the herbs they can form a sediment in the strainer that can block the water from pouring through. I use a plastic fork to stir the sediment while the water is draining through. Then I press out the extra water with a tablespoon, throw the sediment away, and and keep adding the infusion until it’s all filtered.
To serve I add a generous amount of unsweetened soy milk.
Mugicha coffee really helps a lot when you feel sick. If you feel weary or weak, or have a low appetite, it may help pick you up. It’s also just a wonderful and soothing caffeine-free drink to have any time. It turns out that mugicha was drunk by the aristocratic classes in Asia hundreds of years ago before eventually catching on with the general public. I also read that herbal coffee is becoming a big thing in Italy. If you’re a connoisseur of wholesome, sattvic, healthy, whole-grain, and vegan foods you will love the wonderful overtone flavors of this beverage.
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