Barley is a commonly grown grain used as a feed grain for malting, food, and sometimes for forage. It belongs to the grass family Poaceae (Gramineae) which also includes wheat, barley, Oats, Rice, Rye, Maize, Millets, and Sorghum.

Gramineae also include plants such as bamboo, sugarcane, and pasture grasses supporting grazing animals. Barley is a main component in brewing malts today, a change from the brewing malts of the past where it used to be made from malted peas, beans, potato flakes, potato starch, couch grass rhizomes.

The first known use of barley in the rising of agriculture was found from physical dating deposits of barley using the radio-carbon method. From this method, it was found that the first use of barley occurred in 7000BC in the early settlements of Kurdistan at altitudes between 2000 - 4000 feet. Emmer wheat and two-rowed barley were grown and both were derived directly from the wild in that region.

Barley is a hardy species that can be grown under a wide variety of climatic conditions ranging from the Arctic to desert areas. Today, it is also quite successful in North America, Including Mexico, Western Europe, North Africa and parts of Asia where it is a staple food grain. In Canada, most of the barley produced is grown in the rich, black soils of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Barley is a well-known grain cultivated throughout the ages. As a food grain, it has been mentioned in the bible 37 times for its uses. As a spiritual use, it was used in festivals as it was barley that ripened first in the harvest of the grains and its sheaf was used to celebrate the Festival of Fruits. A quote in Leviticus (23:9) states "...bring the first sheaf of the harvest to the priest on the day before the Sabbath. He will wave it before the Lord in a gesture of offering" .

Cebada - Barley Link

Barley Properties Favored by Aztec's

Diuretic,  Digestive,  Coolant,  Calming,  Febrifuge,  Constipation Relief and used for Diseases of the Respiratory Apparatus (pleurisy,  Pneumonia)