A friend bought this back from China for me. According to the details on the packet, it was manufactured in Sichuan. I was expecting some kind of powder, or perhaps some tea leaves, but it turned out to be just the pure buckwheat grain itself. So it technically wasn't so much of a buckwheat tea as opposed to "buckwheat water" or "buckwheat drink".
This variety of buckwheat is different from the Japanese buckwheat used to make Japanese soba noodles. It's known as kuqiao (苦荞) in Chinese, and also as duckwheat, India buckwheat, green buckwheat or bitter buckwheat.
It was easy to brew - just add hot water like for normal tea. And because the grain is so large, it sinks to the bottom, so you don't even need a tea bag.
It was easy to brew - just add hot water like for normal tea. And because the grain is so large, it sinks to the bottom, so you don't even need a tea bag.
The hot water promptly turned a yellowish green colour. To be honest, I was rather surprised and somewhat suspicious if the factory added any weird colouring, especially since I've heard of various food scandals coming out of China (most notably the melamine in milk scandal). Furthermore, I'd never known any grain to turn water such a chemical-looking colour. However, after doing some research and discovering that it was also known as green buckwheat, I guess that would make sense.
Sipping it while still hot, it had a malted and grainy taste. Like malted milk without the sugar, salt or milk.
Then I added milk to confirm if it really tasted like malted milk, and it did... without the sugar or salt of course. Check out the eerie green that gets enhanced by the milk's whiteness - it was almost luminiscent! O_o
Interestingly, when it had cooled down, its taste evolved into something that reminded me of potato scones, which I had tried when I visited Scotland. There was that extra burnt potato-like taste to it, and the grainy taste took a backseat. Aand... maybe that "burnt" taste is why this is also known as "bitter" buckwheat! *moment of enlightenment*
Finally, after you are done with the tea, you can actually eat the buckwheat itself. The hot water would have softened and semi-cooked it. I tried a bit of it, and there wasn't much taste - I presume it had already dissipated into the water. Its texture was something like sunflower seeds... not the roasted or baked ones, but the moist versions you get if you add them into the middle of baked breads. I didn't eat them all though, because I was already suspicious of any weird chemicals. But additives aside, it would actually have been a very healthy and tasty drink cum snack indeed!
Then I added milk to confirm if it really tasted like malted milk, and it did... without the sugar or salt of course. Check out the eerie green that gets enhanced by the milk's whiteness - it was almost luminiscent! O_o
Finally, after you are done with the tea, you can actually eat the buckwheat itself. The hot water would have softened and semi-cooked it. I tried a bit of it, and there wasn't much taste - I presume it had already dissipated into the water. Its texture was something like sunflower seeds... not the roasted or baked ones, but the moist versions you get if you add them into the middle of baked breads. I didn't eat them all though, because I was already suspicious of any weird chemicals. But additives aside, it would actually have been a very healthy and tasty drink cum snack indeed!
Found this drink interesting? Check out more unusual drinks here! Also, if you don't live in particular regions of East Asia, neon green buckwheat tea might be highly unusual to you. If you found this interesting, you can explore more exceptionally unusual food and drinks here!
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