Barley water

Barley water is a simple, ancient drink made by simmering pearl barley in water and straining off the grain, leaving a faintly cloudy, mild liquid that is almost always sweetened and sharpened with lemon. In its best-known British form, lemon barley water, it is a pale, cordial-like refresher long associated with the sickroom, the nursery and the tennis court. The flavour is gentle and grain-soft, lifted by citrus and sugar, with none of the bitterness of beer or the strength of spirits. Non-alcoholic and caffeine-free, it is one of the oldest recorded prepared beverages still drunk today.