What chicory is
A plant, Cichorium intybus. Certain varieties are grown for their roots. The root is chopped, roasted and ground, and it has been used alongside and instead of coffee for a very long time.
Chicory is a flowering plant with blue flowers, grown in Europe, in India and elsewhere. The varieties used with coffee are grown for their thick taproot.
How it is prepared
The root is lifted, washed, chopped and dried, then roasted and ground. Roasted chicory is dark brown and looks broadly similar to ground coffee, which is part of why the two mix so unremarkably.
How it behaves
- It contains no caffeine.
- It dissolves readily and gives a dark colour and noticeable body.
- It is distinctly bitter, in a rounder way than coffee bitterness.
- It stands up well to milk and sugar, which is much of why it suits filter coffee.
In many places chicory first entered coffee as a way to stretch an expensive ingredient. In South Indian filter coffee it is valued today for what it does in the cup: body, colour and a bitterness that stands up to milk.
From the shop
Our coffees, 80:20 with chicory
Ground and packed fresh, only after you order.
