Chicory As a Coffee Replacement?

A long time ago, chicory was used as a replacement for coffee. Nowadays, they meet each other in the same cup!

For some coffee drinkers, the flavor of their favorite beverage improves by adding some tasty spices. Also, baristas know that to reach a perfect score in the most distinguished palates, it's necessary to combine coffee with other ingredients.

But many years ago, people mixed their morning cups with a particular root that was even more valued than coffee. Surely you have heard of chicory. If not, Coffland Corp will show you what it is all about and how this ingredient almost vanished the coffee industry!

Brief history of chicory

Around the 16th century, Holland farmers started to use the raspy root of chicory flower as a sweetener for their drinks. Later, it was sold as a coffee-like beverage due to its natural properties and its cheaper production.

Chicory root recipe traveled around the world to France, where Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor, wanted to make its nation less dependent on other countries. Back then, chicory grew freely in French fields, and after that, it was used to adulterate coffee due to the costs of importing process. French people drank chicory with their coffee until they replaced the green beans completely.

After that, in the middle of the 17th century, this root was imported to the United States, starting a big campaign of production in New Orleans. In the time of the Great Depression, New Orleans economy was sustained thanks to the chicory trade.  

Chicory was so popular back then that several countries used it in their coffee recipes, as the German Milchkaffee or the famous Cafe du Monde, that rapidly developed a big franchise until nowadays.

How to drink chicory

First, you need to bake, roast and cut its root. The final result is a fine golden rind that has to be brewed after it's ready to drink. Its appearance is lighter than grounded coffee, but its taste is very similar.

Chicory is a decaf drink, and it's commonly combined with coffee to improve the body's beverage. To prepare a chicory drink, add one teaspoon of ground chicory and coffee for each cup and brew it using your favorite method. In New Orleans, it’s a tradition to mix this drink with hot milk or even roasted cacao powder for a sugary result.

Nowadays, chicory has a considerable production rate, probably not as profitable as coffee, but it heckles its heels! Here at Coffland Corp, we don't care how coffee is prepared while it's delicious and high quality. But why not to try something not-that-new? Explore all the chances making a chicory-coffee beverage and tell us how it was!

Chicory is a great companion for coffee. Try it for yourself!

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