[ElaineM]

Thanks Jackie. Yes. This is so interesting. Both a fresh package of Japanese mugi cha and the Chinese barley are going on this week's shopping list. I love mugi cha.
I suspected they might come from the same grain, but I wasn't sure, because I couldn't find my Japanese-Chinese dictionary. Japanese use kanji like Chinese do.
I thought if I look at the kanji I could probably figure it out. The pronounciation of words is often different, but the meanings are generally the same, because the Japanese use kanji characters. In other words Japanese might use the same root kanji for barley as the Chinese do, but the Japanese word is usually pronouced differently.
I hope you are doing well on the barley Pam. Let us know how it goes. If it helps you it might help others who have similar problems. Take good care of yourself.