Lychee Barley Tea

Not technically a sipdown because I have a new bag in the drawer, but this cup is the last of this bag. I am a big fan of Lupicia’s fruity barley teas. Unfortunately, the way I show my appreciation is by squireling them away and only drinking them on rare occasion in order to really stretch it out. Which is bad! I need to stop doing this with teas I love! Why do I still have any Butikis left, which are probably still tasty but surely past their prime!

So, yes, drinking my favorites is a work in progress. But I really enjoy this one. The barley is great: soothing hot and refreshing iced. And the lychee is subtle but definitely present, slightly sweet, and a wonderful complement to the barley. Really glad I still have another bag of sachets, and will try to make myself actually drink them!

Summer Vacation! My iced tea today, prepared cold brewed, strained, and then conveniently hauled around all day in my water bottle. This is my second flavored mugicha from Lupicia; I wasn’t really very taken with the apricot one, because all I could think when I had it was that it didn’t really compliment the natural iced coffee flavor of the mugicha. I actually like the lychee flavor a lot more, and I was actually expecting it to taste more or less quite similar to the apricot, since lychee has a very peach-like flavor. To me, this one tastes a lot more like standard mugicha — the base doesn’t really have a strong, fruity taste to it like the apricot one did to me — but a slight fruity taste sort of surfaces right toward the end of the sip, after the roasted coffee taste is sort of settling, and “pops” on the tongue as a sort of aftertaste, so I’m actually finding this one pretty pleasant. That aftertaste is coming off as a strong tangy taste with notes of peach and pear.

I really like my plain Mugicha from Hida, and now of the two flavored Lupicia mugicha I’ve tried, it’s been an even split; I really am digging the lychee, but didn’t care for the apricot at all. I still have Lupicia’s plum and apple mugicha in my cupboard yet to try!

Open the package and pow, lychee punch to your face. I love lychee and trying out new tea/‘teas’ was one of my objectives with this black Friday. Also was looking to see if it resembles a Hawaiian tea I once had that I thought had barley in it. In a way it kinda does.

The more you steep the tea the lighter the lychee flavor becomes. It’s quite good cold but I think I enjoyed it a bit warmer. In a way barley tea reminds me somewhat of a pu erh. Perhaps it’s because of the earthy undertones?

I’m trying this one cold-brewed this evening! I put a sachet into 12 ounces of filtered water and left it in the refrigerator for an hour, then removed the bag and let it chill until I was ready to try it.

The verdict? This one is lovely cold as well! Obviously it’s a bit milder than it is hot, but it still has a lovely roasty flavor with a pop of juicy lychee. My only complaint…it’s a pain to stir raw sugar into cold beverages! :P

Giving this one another try with a pinch of coconut sugar, and slightly less hot water (I didn’t measure the temperature, but it was less than boiling, probably around 180F). Due to either the lower temperature, or the fact that I’ve opened the packaging a few times, the lychee aroma was less intense this time. While I love lychee, it can be too much of a good thing, especially if it’s anything like the lychee jelly sometimes found in bubble tea. So I’m happy that this tea no longer reminds me of that! The brew is still roasty goodness, and the barley does benefit from the sugar, which gives it a touch of caramelized sweetness. (increased rating)