The Japanese and Koreans drink chilled barley tea during the summer for its refreshing and thirst-quenching tasty qualities. It’s most often consumed chilled and on its own, so this Lupicia Lychee Barley Tea is a delightful twist on an old favourite.

The tisane comes in a tea bag of barley scented with lychee. One tea bag is recommended to make 500 mL either as a cold infusion for 1-2 hours or a hot infusion for 2-3 minutes.

Infusing one 5 g tea bag in 500 mL of cold water in the fridge for 1.5 hours, the infusion was a clear golden brown colour with a floral and nutty aroma. Served chilled, fruity and nutty notes develop to a fragrant lychee flavour in the body. The slightly sweet lychee flavour with its signature tropical and floral notes pairs well with the subtle coffee notes of barley tea that linger through to the finish before a clean aftertaste that leaves one refreshed. It’s perfect to cool down with.

After a cold infusion, the tea bag is still suitable for a second infusion in 250 mL of just boiled water for 3 minutes. Served hot, the barley tea has a similar flavour with more pronounced bitter coffee notes. The hot temperature makes it less refreshing to drink when hot, but the flavour was still a pleasure.

This Lupicia Lychee Barley Tea contained 10 x 5 g tea bags. The tea was sourced from Japan, packaged in Japan, and purchased in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan in 2015.