Jane
-
05:17:19 pm on July 26, 2006 | # |
I’ve tried a couple of varieties of powdered barley fiber supplementation that seems to be very popular with Japanese, including a sample of “Aojiru.” I thought all young powdered barley would taste the same, but that was not the case. Some actually tasted quite bitter, and even the ultra expensive Aojiru (at about $1 a dose) had a sharp taste to it.
So far, I liked the taste of this product the best:
The English label listed “Young leaf of barley” as the ingredient, and had the following warning: “Do not swallow a daily serving at once. Discontinue use if this product does not agree with your physical constitution.” I was hoping that this product would help my physical constitution, not disagree with it! Thankfully, I had good results with this brand of young barley.
Unfortunately I’m not Japanese, and even when I know enough Chinese to understand that the box touted “No additives” and “No pesticides”, that was the extent of my understanding of the product.
Where to Buy It
I purchased mine in a Marukai store in Gardena, California. Marukai is a distributor of this “Itoh” brand of powdered barley.What It Looks Like
Other than the packaging of the brand, I did a Google Image Search and came up with pages of pictures of different powdered barley drink products and pictures of what the powders looked like.How I Use It
The taste is actually very mild, which is why I prefer it. On the Aojiru infomercials I’d see caucasian consumers declaring that the Aoijiru brand “tastes like green tea.” I’ve had green tea and I’ve had Aojiru and trust me, it does not taste like green tea! As I’ve said previously, Aojiru has a sharper taste than the brand that I’m writing about here.It’s hard to describe the taste, but since it’s barley, it does have a very slight hint of barley flavor and is quite pleasant.
The powder is quite fine, don’t expect to be chugging down coarse ground grass. You can mix it with tea or water or juice. I’ve even mixed it into coffee, but I like to experiment with my food.
Why I Like It
I carry packets with me when I’m traveling, and like the portability of the individually packaged powder. You are automatically getting one serving per packet.I also like it because it works and doesn’t give me unpleasant GI side effects like gas or bloating.
Drawbacks
A drawback of the product is that it can be quite expensive. I get boxes of this stuff when it’s on sale, and even then, it’s about $9 for a 30-packet supply. I find that I need to take a couple of packets of this stuff per day, which means it’s a 2 week supply for $9.For those of you want to try something different than your usual fiber supplementation, I’d recommend young barley powder as an alternative. Of course, you want to first discuss it with your doctor to see if you should continue your usual fiber supplementation even when taking young barley powder.
With all herbal supplements of this type, the claims on the boxes (at least the ones with English translation) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means you should take some of the more miraculous claims with a grain of salt – figuratively! I get a good initial laugh at some of the testimonials I see on the Aojiru infomercial where the old Japanese folks say things like, “this really cleans my blood” or “when I drink this I feel I can get a bowel movement.” But then I remember that some people watching may completely believe in the more egregious claims, I feel concerned.
Overall, young barley can be a helpful fiber supplement, but it is NOT a wonder product and certainly NOT curative of blood born conditions.
Other Barley Fiber Supplements
I have not tried these other barley type of fiber products, and am including these in case you prefer other forms of green / young barley supplements.
Rocky 1:46 am on July 31, 2006 | #
I am currently considering manufacturing young barley grass powder, is there still a market for this? is drinking of young barley grass a new “thing” or it has been in the market for long time?
Jane 10:37 am on July 31, 2006 | #
I think there is, but it’s my own personal opinion.
Green drinks have been a new “thing” for at least a few years, so it may not be as new as you’d like.
However, how well you target the consumers most likely to benefit from your products will define your market better than our speculation of whether barley is still an “it” drink.
Michael 1:54 am on June 19, 2007 | #
It’s hard to describe the taste, but since it’s barley, it does have a very slight hint of barley flavor and is quite pleasant.
Omugi 4:11 pm on August 22, 2007 | #
You are paying too much for Japanese barley powder.
You can buy it exactly same one only $8-$9 at Japanese supermarket call ” Marukai.”
Jane Chin, PhD 7:43 pm on August 22, 2007 | #
Omugi, I don’t actually use Aojiru (and I agree, it is extremely expensive), since I do go to Marukai and buy the $8 variation.
That said, I’ll have to note that Aojiru claims to have additional stuff added to it that the other barley powders do not, hence they may believe their product justifies the premium price. Since I don’t care about the difference I go with the cheaper variation.