I’ve got to say this has been one of the coolest projects I’ve done in a long time. I’ve always loved herbalism and delving into creative DYI projects {like when we decided to paint the outside of our house ourselves, build a fence, take out the wall to wall carpeting}, and inside the kitchen {like raw chocolate, making our own bouillon, nut milks}. This one tops all of them, mainly due to the amount of time it takes, but if you have the courage, I highly recommend it.
I stand by my "Dandy Blend" herbal coffee, tall and proud, and call it my daily necessity {I’m on a chocolate break and somehow, this herbal coffee helps satisfy that craving}. But what if I could make my own herbal coffee?
Chicory is this glorious beautiful plant {definitely look it up before using it!} with edible blue flowers, and you can often find it on the side of the highway {although I don’t recommend eating it, since it probably picks up toxins so close to exhaust and what not}. I did order some seeds about 2 years ago and let the plant do their thing, and this year it multiplied and topped to about 6 feet. We did amend the soil with horse poo, leaves and compost, but I never thought it would grow so tall; maybe it’s time to harvest.
The roots are what I’m after, which we’ll wash, dehydrate, roast and grind, all in that order. Pulling on the plants gently, the roots came out happily, although I think some remained in the ground. It’s good for me, since I’d like to have them come back next year.
1. Wash & chop: The hardest and most consuming time is actually washing. You want to get these very clean, so I used a potato brush and brushed and brushed and brushed. I pulled out quite a few roots, but you can do this to however many you like. Cut these roots into same-sized pieces, about ½ inch is fine.
2. Dehydrate & Roast: I dehydrated them overnight at 110 degrees to dry them out {some circles don’t do this}, and then popped them into the oven at around 300 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. You sort of have to baby sit them to make sure they don’t burn. You can even do a lower temperature for a longer time, like 250 for 90 minutes also. This is the best part, since your house smells amazing while this is happening!
. Grind: once cooled, grind these in a coffee grinder as fine as possible. There will be some bits that just don’t break down, and that’s ok. Use about 1 heaping teaspoon per cup of boiling water, brew, strain, enjoy. I added stevia to mine. Store in an airtight container.
Yes, it’s a process and a project, but I do hope you get to make it. The taste is very much like burnt caramel, earthy, rooty, dark and rich, and tastes delicious. Well worth the adventure & my coffee cup thanks me.