When I was a kid, one of the staple summer beverages we’d have in the fridge was mugicha - a roasted barley tea or tisane. It’s caffeine-free, a little nutty in flavor and definitely has a roasted vibe. Mom would take a couple sachets, add it to some boiling water, let it steep for a few minutes and then add equal parts cold water to take the heat down. Japanese style iced tea in minutes.
Now that it’s starting to heat up here, I need to keep some thirst quenching, cold beverages on hand. One of the first things that popped into my head was, you guessed it - mugicha! To take advantage of our sunny locale, instead of starting with hot water, I made sun tea. By letting the sun’s heat do the work for me, the tea stayed clear and there was zero bitterness.
I can imagine adding some agave or maybe some orange simple syrup to sweeten it up but it’s great on its own. Tastes like summer in a glass. Now where's that sprinkler... ?
MUGICHA
Makes 2 quart
2-quarts (8 cups) water
2 sachets mugicha
Add water and mugicha sachets to a clear glass container or pitcher. Let steep in direct sun for two hours. Stir and remove sachets. Pour mugicha over ice. Enjoy!