Purple Flowered Coffee Alternative?
Reducing coffee intake may be hard but this plant makes it much easier.
Walking on a trail or driving down a gravel road in the summer you probably have seen many knee high plants with purple flowers. It is probably Cichorium intybus or otherwise known as Chicory. This family of plants has a range of species with the most popular being endive and radicchio that you can find in many fancy salads.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) - Taken by Dr. Kris Kuciel, ND
But did you know that Chicory roots taste like coffee?
Gaining much popularity in North America over the years as a coffee alternative, the roots of this plant have been used for its coffee-like taste for quite some time. During the 1800s when France went through a country wide coffee shortage, chicory roots were harvested, dried, ground up and mixed with coffee grinds to prolong the remaining supplies. Many times after that it was used in other coffee shortages around the world. Now you can commonly find it in your grocery store.
Does it really taste like coffee?
Simply put, it resembles the taste of coffee very much. Brewed properly and mixed with a milk or milk alternative, it becomes much harder to differentiate. It has a more earthy, nutty taste and smells similar but more so like smokey tobacco. If you drink your coffee black and have a refined pallet for different roasts you will probably taste the difference.
Why drink it?
Lots of reasons! In my practice I recommend chicory often. The main reason being for reducing caffeine intake. Chicory is caffeine free which is great for those who want to have another cup of coffee in the evening due to cravings. Coffee has endless benefits but there can be too much of a good thing. Stress, anxiety and insomnia are big factors that result from excessive coffee drinking. Some people become so used to their routine that they may not even notice what could be causing their symptoms.
Another large reason for recommending chicory ‘coffee’ is for people living with digestive problems. Caffeine and coffee cause a lot of bowel stimulation in some. For people who have developed digestive conditions like IBS, drinking coffee causes a lot of discomfort and usually have to take it out from their morning routine. A brew of chicory root helps make that transition less painful. And the inulin fiber found in chicory root provides a good source of pre-biotic to feed good bacteria in the digestive tract and improves the motor function of the bowels.
But wait..
This is up to the individual though, as consuming a pre-biotic fructooligosaccharide (FOS, a chained molecule of fructose sugars) can cause bloating and discomfort from the gas released when broken down in the gut by bacteria. That is why low FODMAP diets are popular in those who have IBS, SIBO and other digestive conditions. But there is lots of research that also show the benefits of increasing inulin fiber for digestive cases too. A topic for a different day. Every individual is different.
If you are looking for a coffee alternative and think tea tastes like diluted flavoured water, chicory is a great choice. As with coffee, chicory also has varying tastes based on how it was roasted, sourced and brewed. So give it a few tries! I recommend getting a bag of ground chicory and brewing it in a french press.
Like these kinds of posts? Dr. Kris Kuciel has many plant/herbal related posts on his Instagram page. Follow at @thebotanicalguy. And for more recommendations and a look into your overall health, book a free 15 minute consultation to get started. Subscribe below to get notified about more blog posts!