TeaChat

I was in a small coffee shop in Beppu, Oita Japan one day mostly to check it out to see if it would be a good place to display my work. I didn't want to drink coffee so the owner offered me goya tea. I knew what goya was - bitter gourd used in stir fries, and fresh in salads. Goya is the Okinawan name (southern Japanese island).
But as a tea? I knew it was quite bitter for those who are not used to it but now I really like it and don't think it is bitter. However, goya tea is goya dried and then roasted and then infused in hot water for a tea that is not bitter at all. If you have ever tried mugicha (barley tea) then it is similar.
Now in Southern China, I decided to give goya tea a try since goya is very abundant here. I sliced up a few and dried them then roasted them. You have to be very careful when roasting them because the dried goya is very combustible as I have experienced! The first batch burst into flames in the fry pan
I also found it interesting that goya tea is marketed as "Goya Tea" and sold in the local supermarket here!

Sounds interesting, I like mugicha so I would be willing to try the goya tea... around were I live "goya" is a brand of latin food/drink.

interesting I wonder what "goya" means in your area of the world?

I don't know...I use their coconut milk in a can in cooking

sanamionline wrote:interesting I wonder what "goya" means in your area of the world?

the founders of the company are originally from spain, and i assume the man in the top hat on their olive oil label is to look like the self portrait by the spanish painter, goya.
that's my guess.
i would like to taste the goya tea you are preparing. apart from the taste, what kind of effects does it offer?

I see so goya is a persons name in spanish.
anyway back to goya or bitter gourd, it is traditionally used in dishes from stir fries to raw in salads in warmer climate regions as a health food as an
aid to digestion but I drink it any time I feel like it. Raw some people will find it bitter but as a tea not bitter at all and has a similar taste to mugicha (roasted flavor).

it didn't occur to me that what you are refering to is what we call bitter melon. i eat it all the time in soup, and/or with scrambled eggs. but never as tea. i do find it curious that the tea is not bitter as you wrote, but you roast it so maybe that is what is changing the taste. i do enjoy roasted corn or barley tea, so i should try goya tea. thanks for mentioning something new.

just be very careful when you roast it!! it combusts very easily - slow and low heat

Some other names for Momordica charantia:

bitter melon, bitter gourd in English
苦瓜:kǔguā, in Mandarin Chinese
Karela/Karella in India,
Ampalayá from Tagalog,
Cerasee (Caribbean and South America; also spelled cerasse)