The Ranger's Blog

Post details: Costa Coffee? Free, actually

Costa Coffee? Free, actually

By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener

The Wildlife Gardener made some of that old wartime staple, dandelion coffee today. Determined to make weeds work for rather than against me, I dug some mandrake-like dandelions out of the patch I was preparing for broad beans, then wondered what I could usefully do with them :

[More:]

I scrubbed the roots and put them on a baking tray. I baked them at 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4) for about 25 minutes, checking them frequently so they turned dark brown and crumbly but didn’t burn:

The Junior Wildlife Gardeners crushed up the roots in a pestle and mortar until they resembled coffee grounds:

Then we poured boiling water onto our ‘coffee’, let it brew for a few minutes, strained it and added milk and sugar:

So, what was it like? Not unlike coffee, actually: the same bitterness, a similar flavour albeit, oddly, somewhat plasticky. I was expecting Italian Mr Wildlife Gardener, coffee connoisseur and devotee of Caffè Nero to screw up his face up in disgust, but he pronounced it 'Drinkable - I wouldn’t say no if I lost my job'.

Not so great for the mornings as dandelion coffee is naturally caffeine-free, but the bitters that give the flavour apparently stimulate the liver, bile duct and digestive system. What a great bedtime drink, I thought, but considering that the French for dandelion is pissenlit, I think I'll stick to cocoa.

UPDATE: see Costa Coffee 2 for a new and improved recipe!

3 comments so far, see them and add yours here!

Posted on 12th April 2009 at 6 58 pm
by The Wildlife Gardener
1811 views

Categories: Notes from a Wildlife Garden, Princess Tightwad

Permalink

Share |

Comments:

Comment from: rupert bear

Mais, oui-oui!

Permalink 13/04/09 @ 11:15

Comment from: The Wildlife Gardener

You're funny, Mr Bear.

Permalink 13/04/09 @ 13:48

Comment from: Paul

To be honest I do not really believe that the roots taste like coffee!

Permalink 14/04/09 @ 08:06

The thoughts and writings of The Virtual Ranger, since 1995 the host and mascot of Naturenet, the UK's most popular independent environmental website; along with interjections from his real-life alter ego, Matthew Chatfield, and others. Featuring not only Naturenet and countryside related stuff, but, as on Naturenet, plenty of other material - more or less at random - that takes The Ranger's fancy. But you can be confident that soon enough he'll be rather sarcastic.

Next post: Backwoods bungle 12

Search

	Follow The Virtual Ranger on Twitter
	Follow the Wildlife Gardener on Twitter

Post details: Costa Coffee? Free, actually

Costa Coffee? Free, actually

Comments: