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The Food Issue
2016
grainswest.com7
BY SARAH HOFFMANN
IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE A TIME WHEN COFFEE
wasn’t everywhere, but hundreds of years ago Italian peasants—
unable to afford what was then a premium product—refined
the art of recreating the satisfying coffee flavour with novel
ingredients. Barley coffee, or caffe d’orzo (orzo means barley in
Italian), emerged from this tradition and the beverage enjoyed
a surge in popularity when wartime made coffee scarce in parts
of Europe. Now, in the age of coffee ubiquity, a few small com-
panies are bringing caffe d’orzo to the world.
Unlike Ovaltine, Cab-Lib, Postum or other grain-based
beverages, true caffe d’orzo is not water soluble. Instead, like
coffee beans, the barley is
roasted, ground and then
brewed using a drip coffee
maker, French press or,
in the Italian tradition,
a moka pot. The latter
produces coffee by passing
boiling water pressured
by steam through ground
beans or barley. It was
one such moka pot, set on
an Italian table after an
evening meal, that first
introduced Jeremy Levis to
caffe d’orzo.
“I thought, ‘Espresso after dinner—are you mad?’” said Levis,
founder and owner of Innocente Orzo, a U.K.-based company
that distributes barley coffee. Levis seldom drank coffee, as his
caffeine tolerance was low, but his host assured him that the
steaming beverage was completely caffeine free, so he gave it a
try. He liked what he tasted.
“It doesn’t taste exactly like coffee; it’s a much lighter taste,”
said Levis, who added that many people notice hints of whisky,
Guinness beer or chocolate.
When he returned to England from his trip to Italy, he could
not find barley coffee for sale—so he decided to distribute it
himself. He sources it from a company in Tuscany that has been
roasting barley for coffee since 1831. While Levis initially tried
marketing Innocente Orzo through shops and markets, most of
his sales are now from Amazon, where a 500-gram package can
be shipped to Canadian customers for about $25.
For people seeking a naturally caffeine-free beverage, caffe
d’orzo might be the perfect cup.
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ANEWTWISTONCOFFEECOULD LIVENUP YOUR CUP
TABLE
TALK
Ground roasted barley can be treated the same way as coffee grounds in a drip coffee
maker, French press or moka pot to produce caffe d’orzo.
Photos: JeremyLevis