Someone mentioned Postum in another thread, and that got me to thinking about another coffee substitute: chicory.
Has anyone ever tried chicory? Does it really taste very much like coffee? What are some brands of chicory-laced (or all-chicory) products so I can try it for myself? I’m talking about something I can go into a grocer’s or health food store to find, not something I have to order over the web.
–SSgtBaloo
Chicory is a common weed. You can find it growing in the cracks of the sidewalks and near street signs. If you’re feeling brave, dig some up. The roots are the part of the plant used as a coffee substitute.
Just across the border (that would be Ontario), coffee with chicory is quite common. So I don’t know if they use chicory entirely as a substitute, but I do know they use it for flavor. If you get a Canadian coffee at the right places, you’ll really notice the difference. It’s chicory.
There used to be a commerical during my childhood that bragged that their coffee contained chicory. Again, as a border kid, I don’t remember if this was US or Canadian television. Back in the antenna days, we received plenty of both.
I believe chicory was used as an “extender” during WWII (and possibly earlier wars) to mix in with coffee beans to effectively give you more coffee. It’s quite popular in New Orleans where that’s the standard type of coffee (that and au’lait). My girlfriend tried it and said it was pretty awful. I’ve heard it gives most people the runs. You can order it from the Coffee Du Monde shop if you are really curious.
Yes, but before that grain/chicory coffee was pretty much the default everyday coffee for the masses and “bean” coffee was a luxury item. At least it was here, the situation could have been different in the US.
Right now I have a mug of “coffee surrogate” made of grain and chicory, but no coffee, in front of me. Ok, I admit that I brewed it after you brought up the idea 
Here’s an article on some of the faux coffee concoctions, most of which will be some sort of chicory and grain mixture:
http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GER/is_2002_Summer/ai_89646373
Acorns have been used as a coffee substitute as well, believe it or not. Seems pretty straight forward:
http://www.recipecottage.com/drinks/acorn-coffee.html
Note that it says “sweet acorns”. Some species of oak have edible acorns, others are so loaded with tannin as to be unpalatable. Frankly, I think I’d just rather eat the acorns. Acorns (the edible kind) are surprisingly good, actually.
None of the above has any caffeine.
The OP asked for a brand (actually several) Here’s a personal favorite.
http://www.cafedumonde.com/coffee.html
It’s the site of the Cafe DuMonde in New Orleans. All they serve is Beignets (French donuts) and chickory coffee.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting their store in the French Market and sipping their product while watching the world go by at Jackson Square.
They prefer to serve half chickory coffee/half hot milk.
We sold it at Gloria Jean’s coffee shops when I used to work there. Perhaps you have one near you. It was part of the “New Orleans Blend”. About $3/lb.
Personally, I thought it made coffee taste like old leather. We had a few regulars who apparently enjoyed it though.
Years ago there was a brand of coffee called Lusianne(sp.) that had chicory in it, haven’t seen it in quite some time though.
I was just reading a book on musical anecdotes this week and there was a story about Brahms and chicory.
Johannes Brahms was rather particular with his coffee and couldn’t stand chicory in it. When he and a group of friends stopped at an inn whose proprietress was known for “extending” her coffee with chicory, Brahms asked her, very diffidently, “I don’t suppose it’s possible that you have chicory, madam?” The proprietress told him that yes, she did have chicory.
Brahms asked her, “May I see the brand, please?” The woman brought out two boxes of a brand of chicory powder and handed them to him.
“Is this all you have?” he asked her. She told him that yes, it was.
Brahms then pocketed the boxes and said, “Good. Now go make us some good black coffee!”
Pretty much every Eastern European shop I’ve been stocks a product called Inka, which is chickory coffee. Does it taste like the real thing? Only in the vaguest sense. However, it is a very nice hot beverage in its own right, and I don’t at all disparage it.
It’s certainly never given me the runs, and I don’t find it awful at all. However, while I always drink my regular coffee black, I need some sugar and cream for chickory coffee. It’s a bit to harsh and bitter to enjoy on its own, in my opinion.
Chicory is odd. It tastes kinda like coffee, but also like bark (if you can imagine what bark might taste like). I used to drink a chicory tea made by Bigelow ( I think you can still get it). I found it was an aquired taste, but I did come to enjoy it. With sugar and milk, of course.
I like French Market Coffee with Chicory, available at many supermarkets. Caveat: Reduce the measurement of the grounds, compared to what you would use for regular coffee. A little goes a long way.
I tired chichory after reading “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” I found some in a health food store back in the 70’s. Today it might be in the grocery. It does taste like very strong coffee, but it lacks caffeine.
Not not more they don’t. They got all sorts of touristy favorites like OJ and Coke.
As well as a coffee substitute, chicory leaves can be used in a salad .Here is one example :- http://www.freerecipe.org/Side_Dishes/Salads/chicory-salad-recipe.htm
Ditto that, my mom is from New Orleans, I lived there for awhile myself. French Market is the only coffee we ever drank. It’s got plenty of coffee in it and just enough chicory to give it some bite. I couldn’t drink straight coffee for a long time. Kroger’s grocery stores carry it here in East Texas.
And yeah, a little bit’ll do ya.