BARLEY COFFEE

What's this ?

The barley coffee (known in English as coffee of barley), sometimes abbreviated simply to “Orzo”, is a typical Italian hot drink.

For both the espresso coffee machine and the mocha, single portions of barley coffee are available packed inside fibrous fabric filters. Moreover, there is a special coffee maker dedicated exclusively to this drink. In fact, the barley coffee obtained from traditional coffee machines is rather washed out and of ugly appearance; on the contrary, using automatic machines or specific coffee makers, the barley coffee also has a pleasant surface foam.
In Italy, barley coffee can be found in any commercial activity (bars, restaurants) and in automatic hot drink vending machines.
Since before decaffeinated coffee was introduced, this drink was already considered the main alternative for those who must refrain from the consumption of caffeine, therefore: children, heart patients, those suffering from anxiety disorders, those in therapy with certain drugs, pregnant women, nurses, etc.

Nutritional Characteristics

Attempting to evaluate the degree of perfusion of the various molecules from powder to water is an impossible task, to say the least, which is why we will limit ourselves to describing the nutritional composition of the drink obtained with soluble barley.
Barley coffee is a non-alcoholic drink that should not provide a significant amount of energy. In fact, to obtain a cup of barley coffee it is sufficient to dilute 10-15g of soluble powder in 200-250ml of water, obtaining a liquid having about 20kcal per 100ml.

Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)

The calories of the drink are mainly provided by complex carbohydrates, while proteins and lipids are not relevant. The fibers are insignificant and cholesterol is absent.
As far as vitamins are concerned, the only noteworthy contribution is that of niacin; with regard to mineral salts, on the other hand, there are moderate concentrations of potassium and phosphorus.
Barley coffee is considered a harmless drink because it is caffeine-free. However, remember that any roasted food contains a considerable dose of acrylamide, a catabolite that is toxic to the body. Obviously, even in this case it is the "dose that makes the poison"; a cup of barley coffee a day shouldn't cause any problems.
Barley coffee lends itself to any diet, except for that against celiac disease; in fact, barley is a cereal that contains gluten, therefore it must not be taken by those suffering from this intolerance.
For the rest, the drink does not create complications in case of overweight, metabolic diseases, lactose intolerance, vegetarianism, veganism or religious diets.

Historical Notes and Diffusion

During the Second World War and beyond, barley coffee and chicory coffee became the most popular drinks in Europe. Both were used as a substitute for coffee, which at the time was expensive and difficult to find.
In European countries that have experienced a long post-war period (such as Spain), barley coffee has taken on the negative image of an economic surrogate, an index of poverty, which has remained firmly fixed in the minds of the population. For this reason, from dozens of producers scattered throughout the Spanish territory in 1950, today only two remain.
In Italy, however, barley coffee has remained a very popular drink and dozens of companies are currently in operation.
Abroad, thanks to its reputation as a “healthy drink” (perhaps due to the absence of caffeine, which however only renders it harmless), the spread of barley coffee is steadily increasing (especially in Germany).
In Latin America there is a variety called “Cafe de cebada”, literally barley coffee in Spanish, even if it looks much more like a tea than a coffee.