I might be slightly guilty of starting blog series in the past and completely forgetting about them after like one post! However, this is one that I would really like to stay and continue to incorporate into my blogging routine on a regular basis. I thought about writing monthly favourites posts, but I think that my favourite and products that I’m loving change so much throughout the month, that by the end I would have an endless list of items that just wouldn’t condense into one single post!
So instead, I thought I would share one product that I’ve been enjoying each week, that will hopefully inspire you to try something new. I love watching videos/reading posts like this because I find it such a great way to discover different products that I haven’t come accross before. As a food blogger, I LOVE trying out new things and am always on the hunt for different products and foods to experiment with!
If you follow me on social media (twitter in particular) then you will probably know that I’m a pretty big coffee lover.. like I loooove coffee! It’s a fairly recent thing and has only really come abut in the last year and has really stuck around. I wouldn’t say that my coffee consumption has increased over the past 6 months, but it hasn’t really reduced either. I’m not saying that coffee is terrible and extremely unhealthy, but I think that it is something that should probably be drunk in moderation. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t drink a tonne of coffee, but I would like to try and reduce it down to just the one cup per day this year! It is however something that I do enjoy drinking and I love making myself fancy coffees with frothy almond milk (I have one of the amazing Nespresso milk frothers! – SO GOOD!) because these are delicious. So.. I decided to give something a little different a try.
I’d seen Barleycup around in quite a few health stores and it’s something that I’d been meaning to try for a while now. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this at all actually, but I must say, I’m really pleasantly surprised! I wanted to try and condense this down into a few of the main points that I thought would be most useful to share with you, so I hope you find it interesting!
It’s actually a pretty difficult taste for me to describe to you now I think about it. I had to make myself a cup to sip on whilst writing this review to get the most accurate possible description! I would say it’s like a mild cup of coffee.. kind of in between coffee and tea, with a slight undertone of malty flavour. I find the flavour really warming and comforting and tastes really delicious with some frothy almond milk mixed in.
You might be wondering what exactly Barleycup is made from? Well, It’s a caffeine free, tea and coffee alternative made from a combination of natural ingredients. There are a variety of different types from organic, to powder, to granules. I mixed a spoonful of the granules with some hot water and then added my almond milk afterwards. There are only three ingredients; barley, rye and chicory.. and absolutely no added nasties in there whatsoever! Although it is made from a combination of ancient grains, Barleycup also states that it’s gluten free, which is really handy if you’re like me and don’t feel so great after consuming foods containing gluten. It’s also vegan friendly as well.
So, how do you prepare it? Well it actually couldn’t be more simple and literally only takes a minute or two! I’m sure there are many different ways that you could do this, but I like to mix a spoonful of the Barleycup powder with boiling water (filling the cup about half way), then I either add my almond milk to my milk frother or heat it in a saucepan and stir this into my drink. If you like a sweeter cup of tea/coffee, you could always try adding a squeeze of honey or coconut sugar. Not only does it work well as a hot drink, but you could also add Barleycup into various recipes, such as porridges, smoothies and even desserts. It adds a lovely depth of flavour and kind of reminds me of adding a malted drinks powder to a recipe.
As it’s caffeine free, you could really enjoy Barleycup at any time of day, from first thing in the morning with breakfast, to last thing at night before bed. I love having a coffee after a meal, but I couldn’t do this at dinner time, as it would just be far too late in the day. I’m also someone that LOVES having some form of hot drink in the evening before bed. I don’t know whether it’s a childhood thing, but I just find it really helps me to relax and wind down.. and it’s so cosy and warming in the winter.
If you’re like me and are someone who enjoys the taste of coffee, then this might be a good alternative to try, as you can still enjoy a delicious, warming hot drink, but without the caffeine hit. I’m going to try swapping one of my daily coffees for a cup of this a day and then hopefully reduce them completely (well, I might still have them on occasion as a treat!)
