'... can be used to make a substitue for coffee' - if (like me) you're a reader of books about foraging, wild food and bushcraft, you'll have seen this phrase applied to an assortment of different things.
So it's possible to make fake coffee - OK, but how good is it? - let's find out.
Experiment One - Dandelions
Dandelion is a perennial weed that forms a thick, fleshy taproot resembling a parsnip - this root can be roasted and ground to make a coffee substitute.
This is one coffee substitute that I've actually made before, and I liked it - it's a lot of work, but I'm repeating it so I can document it here.
My vegetable plot contained all the raw materials I needed - about a dozen young-ish dandelion plants.
I'd have liked older plants with thicker roots - these were approximately pencil thickness, but there's enough here for a small scale experimental batch of dandelion coffee.
I washed the roots clean - once under the outside tap, then I then trimmed off the foliage and took them indoors where I rinsed them again.
I chopped them quite small and spread them out on a tray to dry.
I washed the roots clean under the outside then trimmed off the foliage.
Waste not, want not - the leaves were greatly appreciated by Tomás - our ancient guinea pig.
The chopped pieces only need to dry for an hour or two - just to stop them sticking on the tray when they're heated.
I baked the roots on a metal tray in the oven at 120 C for about 15 minutes until they were completely brittle, then took them out and crushed them in a dish using the back of a dessert spoon.
I spread the crushed fragments back on the metal tray and put them back in the oven, turning up the heat to 170 C and baking them for a further 10 minutes, until they turned dark brown.
If you're trying this for yourself, take care with the timing - you might need to keep watch to prevent completely burning the pieces during the second roast.
I used about one and a half tablespoons of the dandelion coffee grounds in my cafetière - leaving it to brew for a minute before pouring.
Here's what it looked like. Scroll down for details of the tasting...
Tasting
It pretty much looks the part - although it lacks the tawny foam you get with real coffee.
The flavour is certainly deep and complex - reminiscent of coffee, but with a nutty, earthy body and licorice-caramel overtones.
The aroma isn't particularly intense or enticing and there's a slightly syrupy, slippery mouthfeel to it - nothing unpleasant, just different.
Verdict
It's more like coffee than probably half of the granulated instant coffee I've ever tasted, That alone may not represent a resounding recommendation to some people, but truthfully, this is a pleasant and drinkable beverage.
If you're quite particular about your coffee, this substitute may fall short of your expectations. But if you're willing to try something just a bit different, you might just like it.
4/5 - It's got a fair bit of flavour.
2/5 - Neither good nor bad - not much aroma.
3/5 - It's not coffee, but it's quite nice to drink.
2/5 - It tries hard, but falls a bit short of being coffee.
