Buckwheat tea

Buckwheat tea, known as memil-cha (메밀차) in Korea, soba-cha (そば茶) in Japan, and kuqiao-cha (苦荞茶; 苦蕎茶) in China, is a tea made from roasted buckwheat.^[1] Like other traditional Korean teas, memil-cha can be drunk either warm or cold and is sometimes served in place of water.^[2][3] Recently, tartari buckwheat grown in Gangwon Province has been popular for making memil-cha, as it is nuttier and contains more rutin.^[2]

Buckwheat tea
Type	Herbal tea
Other names	Memil-cha soba-cha kuqiao-cha
Origin	East Asia
Quick description	Tea made from roasted buckwheat
Temperature	90 °C (194 °F)
Time	2‒4 minutes
Korean name
Hangul	메밀차
Hanja	메밀茶
RR	memilcha
MR	memilch'a
IPA	me.mil.tɕʰa

Roasted buckwheat

Preparation

Buckwheat is husked, cooked, and dried then pan-fried without oil.^[4][5] For one part of buckwheat, ten parts of water are used.^[4] 5–10 millilitres (0.18–0.35 imp fl oz; 0.17–0.34 US fl oz) of roasted buckwheat is added to 90 °C (194 °F) water and infused for 2–4 minutes.^[2]

See also

• Bori-cha – barley tea
• Hyeonmi-cha – brown rice tea
• Oksusu-cha – corn tea
• Roasted grain beverage
• List of buckwheat dishes