Dandelion "Coffee"

I was working in the garden yesterday, and pulled up this gorgeous dandelion root. 

I hadn't thought it was time yet to be harvesting the roots, however this one inspired me to do a quick first harvest of the summer. 

I pulled up a good handful, which was easy after all this rain, and went to working making them into "coffee" grounds.

These roots are full of lots of vitamins, and when roasted, create a drink very similar to coffee, and very delicious. 

So, this is how you do it.

First I picked a small bunch of roots, cleaned off the dirt, and let them dry. 

Then I roughly chopped the roots, and chopped them more finely in a food processor. Next I roasted the chopped roots. I had just a small bunch (really just a cup or two of "coffee"s worth) so this time I pan roasted the roots.

I keep a dry pan on low heat on the stove top until the roots have changed from off-white, to a rich brown colour, and give off a strong, sweet n' smoky scent.

You could also roast much larger batches in the oven, spreading the chopped roots thinly onto baking sheets. Then roasting the baking sheets at 250 deg F for about 2 hours. This pan roasting method took me somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes.

Once roasted, I let the roots cool off a bit, then ground them more finely in a coffee grinder. I use a french press to make my "coffee" so I ground them to approximately the same texture as coarse coffee grounds. They are a different plant than coffee, and do not grind into as consistent a texture.  This doesn't affect the quality of the drink though. Note - for storage, best to store like any herb, in a glass jar out of sunlight.

From there, I prepared the roots the same as I would coffee. In this batch I put 1 tbsp per cup of coffee into my french press, added the just boiled water, and let steep for 5 - 10 minutes.






Next time I would up the amount of dandelion root to 2 tbsp, the first was a little weak for my tastes.

Then all that's left is to sip and enjoy this caffeine free alternative to coffee.