Hi there, it's Minami.

Recently, with the acceleration of de-plasticization for environmental protection and climate change measures, straws that used to be plastic are now paper straws or other materials.

Straws may not be common in Japan, but in other countries they are often littered and become a problem.

There are many different types of straws, but plastic straws take a very long time to return to nature.

So this time I would highly recommend barley straws!

I actually used the barley straw and wrote down my impressions, so if you're interested, read on.

そもそも麦は英語でストロー（麦わら）

In Japan and abroad, the straw actually comes from the word straw, meaning wheat.

そもそも、麦わらは英語でストロー（straw）！

日本語のストローの語源は、麦わらだったんですね～。

The ear of wheat is the straw, but the history of the straw itself was initially a plant, but a different one.

What caused the shift from wheat to plastic in the first place?

In the first place, if barley straws were fine, why did they become plastic? Don't you think?

I did some research and found out that grasses such as awn and wheat began to be used to drink clear liquids when drinking beer fermented with natural yeast, which has a lot of sediment and suspended solids.

It seems that there is a background of straw production in areas where rice used to be the mainstream, for example, in Japan, where wheat was grown as a back crop for a double cropping of rice, but now that almost only certain overseas companies are producing wheat, it seems that plastic straws have started to be favored over wheat straws because they can be produced regularly and inexpensively.

The plastic straw was invented by Giulio Natta in Italy in 1954, and Monte Caccini began full-scale production in 1957.

But in this article, I want to spread the word that barley straws are good. To be honest, I'm going to write about how I personally think that barley straws are better than plastic straws.

I actually bought a barley straw online to test how it felt to drink out of! Surprisingly, no downsides!

In fact, when I first learned about the existence of barley straws, I wondered, "What do barley straws look like?" so I bought one on Amazon.

So, in conclusion...

It doesn't taste grassy at all!

Perhaps it's hard to say that barley straws don't taste good! I don't think I can say that, but at least I didn't feel it at all. It is no longer any different from a regular plastic straw.

I've never tried stainless steel straws before.

(I'm prone to migraines, so I try to avoid metal objects.)

I have a bamboo straw, so I can compare.

The bamboo straw tastes like bamboo, doesn't it? I don't know what it is, but I can't help but feel that it affects the taste of the drink.

On the other hand, I can't feel the barley straw at all! You can lick it and not taste a thing!

And it holds up pretty well in the dishwasher.

And!!!!

After using the barley straw, I had to soak the barley straw in water for about an hour...No got pruney！！！！

Bamboo straws don't get blistered, but the part of the straw that is submerged in water becomes very dark in color.

But the barley straw is a bit squishy. But the barley straw is a little bit squishy (it's totally drinkable. It's not as squishy as paper straws), but to be honest, it goes straight back.

I put it in the dishwasher to try it out (honestly, I thought I'd have to throw it away after one use, so I tried it on a throwaway tackle).

If it were a paper straw, I would have to throw it away.

The disadvantage is that you can't drink hot drinks. In that case, I guess I'll have to use a hard straw, such as a bamboo straw or stainless steel straw.

If I turn to wheat now, won't something palm oil/avocado-like happen?

Now, if only people would realize the convenience of a barley straw.

Isn't it like palm oil, wasting wheat for straw production and diminishing the fertile soil due to overproduction?Some of you may think that this may be the case.

But, I think that's probably not true.

Straw consumption is not that much of a necessity in our lives, and more importantly, there is a wide range of consumer choices nowadays, including a large spread of products.

This was my information and discussion based on my use of barley straws.

We use paper straws, stainless steel straws, and other types of straws.

I have bamboo straws, barley straws, etc.! There are many kinds of straws available in the world.

I was not able to learn about the processing process this time, but I would still like to recommend barley straws over paper straws.

Why don't you take this opportunity to try a barley straw?

...Companies that use paper straws now, can we please get barley straws?