Ingredient guide · dossier № 22
Roasted Barley
MB2 · Ambrosia Activationoptionalteccino
Choose certified-organic barley that is actually roasted dark (Italian orzo grind or Korean bori-cha kernels) — the roast supplies the toasty, malty coffee note; pale 'tea' barley brews thin.
Where to buy
- Worldwide Botanicals$12.49 / 1 lb (ground dark roast)Organic (German family farms), dark-roast ground 'orzo' style — brews like coffee; sold out on brand site at research time
- Organic Story (via Gochujar)$30.99 / 500gKorean-government organic certified, sprouted then roasted whole kernels (premium bori-cha)
- Buena Onda Goods~$15 / 9 oz (price approximate as of July 2026)Organic whole-kernel Korean bori-cha, hand-packed in California; site unreachable during research
Role in the beverage
Roasted barley is one of Teeccino’s two roasted-grain workhorses (with chicory). It brings the toasty, malty, bread-crust flavor and much of the brew’s brown color and roasty aroma — the note that most reads as “coffee” on the nose. Two easy retail traditions supply it: Korean bori-cha / Japanese mugicha (whole roasted kernels) and Italian caffè d’orzo (dark-roasted ground barley brewed like espresso).
Quality criteria
- Certified organic — barley is a conventionally sprayed field crop, so this matters here more than for most ingredients. Look for USDA organic or (for Korean products) Korean-government organic certification.
- Roast depth: for a coffee-like blend you want a medium-dark to dark roast. Italian orzo grinds are roasted darkest; Korean bori-cha is toastier/lighter.
- Single ingredient — 100% roasted barley, no flavorings.
- Form: ground brews strongest in a shared brew basket with the other ingredients; whole kernels need a longer simmer.
Where to buy
Worldwide Botanicals — Organic Roasted Barley, Dark Roast (ground), $12.49 for 1 lb; organically grown on family farms in Germany and roasted “to brew like coffee.” Their organic bori-cha tea bags are $9.99 for 25 x 6g bags. Both were listed as sold out on worldwidebotanicals.com at research time but the ground product is also on Amazon — the best fit for a DIY Teeccino grind.
Organic Story via Gochujar — Organic Sprouted Barley Tea, $30.99 for a 500g bag ($48.99 for two). Grown organically in Korea (Korean-government organic certification), sprouted before roasting. The premium whole-kernel option.
Buena Onda Goods — Organic Roasted Barley Tea (bori-cha), whole kernels from Korea, hand-packed in California, 9 oz bag. Their site was unreachable during this research, so price approximate as of July 2026 (~$15). Verify before ordering.
(Non-organic fallback: Damtuh Korean roasted barley, 50 tea bags on Amazon — cheap and widely available, but fails the organic rule.)
Backpacking form
Use pre-ground dark-roast barley blended with the carob and chicory so one scoop steeps in a mug or filter cone. Whole bori-cha kernels are less practical on trail (they want a 10-minute simmer), but a bori-cha tea bag dropped in a thermos works as a zero-cleanup alternative.