Occasionally I want something hot to drink but I’m coffied-out. I’ve never much liked black or green tea. My choice for such situations is soy sauce tea. It’s savory, and prep could scarcely be easier. Just dribble some soy sauce into a cup of water, then microwave.

Hot chocolate is too calorific. Any other suggestions?

Edited thread title.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,

I like this one.

Korean citrus tea?

Ginger (grated) and honey tea?

Honey and lemon tea?

Barley tea (korean bori cha or japanese mugi cha)?

I use beef bullion and hot sauce to taste. No calories.

o5

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
My choice for such situations is soy sauce tea. It’s savory, and prep could scarcely be easier. Just dribble some soy sauce into a cup of water, then microwave.

Hot chocolate is too calorific. Any other suggestions?

Soy adds that umami flavor/taste that people really enjoy in savory foods.
Worchestshire sauce, Marmite, fish sauce, anchovies, Parmesan cheese...all do the same and can enhance the flavors.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

Soy adds that umami flavor/taste that people really enjoy in savory foods. Worchestshire sauce, Marmite, fish sauce, anchovies, Parmesan cheese...all do the same and can enhance the flavors.

Anchovy tea. I'll have to try that.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

Soy adds that umami flavor/taste that people really enjoy in savory foods. Worchestshire sauce, Marmite, fish sauce, anchovies, Parmesan cheese...all do the same and can enhance the flavors.

Anchovy tea. I'll have to try that.

Add a shrimp and it’ll be a shrimp cocktail

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

Soy adds that umami flavor/taste that people really enjoy in savory foods. Worchestshire sauce, Marmite, fish sauce, anchovies, Parmesan cheese...all do the same and can enhance the flavors.

Anchovy tea. I'll have to try that.

yeah....I'm gonna pass on that but, ground/mashed anchovies for salad dressings and sauces/gravy, BOMB!

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Barley tea (korean bori cha or japanese mugi cha)?

Another vote for mugi-cha. Everyone I make this for ends up loving it. Can make it hot or cold. The taste is a nice middle ground (no pun) between coffee and tea.

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Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Barley tea (korean bori cha or japanese mugi cha)?

Another vote for mugi-cha. Everyone I make this for ends up loving it. Can make it hot or cold. The taste is a nice middle ground (no pun) between coffee and tea.

Good stuff… Reminds me of Japan

I know you mentioned an aversion to green/black tea.

There is one type that is made from tea leaves but doesn't really taste like any green/black teas. There is a Japanese style called hojicha that has a different taste; perhaps somewhat acquired. Not that it tastes like pu-ehr or is made in similar fashion, but rather just acquired.

And not made with tea leaves, but I assume you've tried jasmine and chrysanthemum 'tea' - common in dim sum restaurants.

quote:

Originally posted by orion5:
I use beef bullion and hot sauce to taste. No calories.

o5

Thanks for that tip! Decades ago I bought beef bullion cubes, but I’d completely forgotten about them.

Grocery stores offered them in cylindrical tins about the diameter of a quarter and 3 inches long. A tin contained 5 or 6 foil-wrapped bullion cubes.

Looking on the web I find beef bullion cubes offered, but not in the packaging that I just described.

You would thoroughly enjoy legitimate Oolong tea from Taiwan. Unfortunately, its incredibly expensive online.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Barley tea (korean bori cha or japanese mugi cha)?

Another vote for mugi-cha. Everyone I make this for ends up loving it. Can make it hot or cold. The taste is a nice middle ground (no pun) between coffee and tea.

Thanks for that tip konata88 and kkina – I suspect that I’d like it. I just ordered some via Amazon:

ITO EN Japanese Barley Tea
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006...C3Y401V9MS8CVNYCD3JF

Do you guys have preparation instructions? The Amazon website says that the instructions are in Japanese.

Sorry, maybe kkina can help. I've never bought individual satchels (even though it seems one satchel can make 1L of tea). We usually buy roasted barley in a bag. Something like this but not this brand: https://www.amazon.com/NongHyu...s%2C201&sr=8-14&th=1

A couple of things:
1. Both (good) korean and japanese barley teas are good. Any differences are lost on me.
2. Be careful with brands and specific products. Ito-en is a large brand but they had a scandal several years back for sneakily selling prc sourced tea. I think they've stopped (or at least are being less sneaky about it) but I no longer buy that brand. Be careful with korean products as many are sourced from prc. Look for those little "100%" labels on packages to indicate 100% made in korea. Seems like koreans are becoming sensitive to prc products as well (if so, about time).

For loose kernels, we usually just simmer for a short time (5-10 min), let it sit for awhile and then pour into a pitcher.

Miso soup packets?

Chicken broth?

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
yeah....I'm gonna pass on that but, ground/mashed anchovies for salad dressings and sauces/gravy, BOMB!

They make an anchovy paste that comes in little toothpaste type tubes. Much easier to use than trying to mash them up. Squirt an inch or so into your pizza/lasagna sauce and it'll send it over the top.

My package of Japanese mugi cha (barley tea) arrived yesterday. Prep instructions were in Japanese, so useless for me. Web information was confusing and often contradictory, but I concluded that one teabag is expected to make one liter of tea.

But I only want to make one cup at a time, at least initially, so I did this:
* Filled my coffee mug with water, then poured that into a small saucepan, which I set onto my cooktop.
* Tore open a teabag and weighed its content on my digital balance.
* When the water in my saucepan was near boiling I stirred 1/4 of the free tea into it (saved the rest for later). I turned off the burner, but left the pan on it.
* After ten minutes I poured the tea and water mixture into my small Bodum french press to filter out the solids.
* Poured the filtered tea back into my coffee mug.
* Began sipping my first cup of barley tea.

It was quite good – a mild, pleasant flavor that most folks would enjoy, I think. But it was pretty weak – I should’ve used twice as much tea.

Also, a lot of trouble for one mug. Next time I’ll leave the tea in its teabag and try the cold brew method to make a quart.

It’s very inexpensive despite coming from Japan – $9.76 for my purchase which has MANY teabags, each good for a liter of tea.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
yeah....I'm gonna pass on that but, ground/mashed anchovies for salad dressings and sauces/gravy, BOMB!

They make an anchovy paste that comes in little toothpaste type tubes. Much easier to use than trying to mash them up. Squirt an inch or so into your pizza/lasagna sauce and it'll send it over the top.

I'll use the tubes for most recipes very convienant, wished all tomato paste came in a tube. The anchovies in the tins/jars, I've discovered you do get a stronger flavor.