Seems relevant since we just had posts about King Cakes and such.

I get these news stories from time to time from The Smithsonian.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-c...0309-Weekender

If you want a tiny url Copy/paste it yourself.

A portion of the article reads:

"During the American Civil War, Louisianans looked to adding chicory
root to their coffee when Union naval blockades cut off the port of New
Orleans. With shipments coming to a halt, desperate New Orleanians
looking for their coffee fix began mixing things with coffee to stretch
out the supply. Acorns or beets (cafe de betterave) also did the trick.
Though chicory alone is devoid of the alkaloid that gives you a caffeine
buzz, the grounds taste similar and can be sold at a lower rate."

Jill

On Sunday, March 9, 2014 7:55:52 PM UTC-5, jmcquown wrote:
>
>
> "During the American Civil War, Louisianans looked to adding chicory
> root to their coffee when Union naval blockades cut off the port of New
> Orleans. With shipments coming to a halt, desperate New Orleanians
> looking for their coffee fix began mixing things with coffee to stretch
> out the supply. Acorns or beets (cafe de betterave) also did the trick.
> Though chicory alone is devoid of the alkaloid that gives you a caffeine
> buzz, the grounds taste similar and can be sold at a lower rate."
>
> Jill
>
>
It's been several years since I've eaten at a Bob Evans restaurant but their coffee had chicory in it. It was soooooo strong and soooooo bitter it would float a horseshoe. Blech.

On Sunday, March 9, 2014 7:27:30 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> On Sunday, March 9, 2014 7:55:52 PM UTC-5, jmcquown wrote:
>

> > "During the American Civil War, Louisianans looked to adding chicory
> > root to their coffee when Union naval blockades cut off the port of New
> > Orleans.
> > Though chicory alone is devoid of the alkaloid that gives you a caffeine
> > buzz, the grounds taste similar and can be sold at a lower rate."
>

> It's been several years since I've eaten at a Bob Evans restaurant but their coffee had chicory in it. It was soooooo strong and soooooo bitter it would float a horseshoe. Blech.

I used to eat at a Bob Evans once a year (Indianapolis was ringed with them)
and their coffee NEVER had chicory in it. Why would an Ohio-based chain
serve New Orleans-style coffee, anyways?

We did use to buy Cafe Du Monde or French Market coffee from time to time.
(Ground, in a can.) But we noticed that the longer the can sat, the more
bitter the coffee became, until it was undrinkable.

jmcquown wrote:
> Seems relevant since we just had posts about King Cakes and such.
>
> I get these news stories from time to time from The Smithsonian.
>
> http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-c...0309-Weekender
>
> If you want a tiny url Copy/paste it yourself.
>
> A portion of the article reads:
>
> "During the American Civil War, Louisianans looked to adding chicory
> root to their coffee when Union naval blockades cut off the port of
> New Orleans. With shipments coming to a halt, desperate New Orleanians
> looking for their coffee fix began mixing things with coffee to
> stretch out the supply. Acorns or beets (cafe de betterave) also did
> the trick. Though chicory alone is devoid of the alkaloid that gives
> you a caffeine buzz, the grounds taste similar and can be sold at a
> lower rate."
> Jill

I home roast coffee and went to the trouble of procuring chicory to try
mixing in - it's available only as already roasted, at least from my
source at the time, and both my wife and I decidedly did not like it,
threw the rest away, and haven't looked back.

-S-

On Sunday, March 9, 2014 11:29:25 PM UTC-7, wrote:


> We did use to buy Cafe Du Monde or French Market coffee from time to time..
>
> (Ground, in a can.) But we noticed that the longer the can sat, the more
>
> bitter the coffee became, until it was undrinkable.


Any coffee left sitting goes old and stale. I love French Market. I've never had it go bitter.
That's the thing about the chicory, you can have a dark French roast coffee blended with the chicory and you can have super strong coffee without the bitterness. If you are going to make New Orleans style coffee with chicory, you should drink it with the steamed milk as is done there.

On Monday, March 10, 2014 1:29:25 AM UTC-5, wrote:
>
> On Sunday, March 9, 2014 7:27:30 PM UTC-7, wrote:
>
> > It's been several years since I've eaten at a Bob Evans restaurant but their coffee had chicory in it. It was soooooo strong and soooooo bitter it would float a horseshoe. Blech.
>
>
>
> I used to eat at a Bob Evans once a year (Indianapolis was ringed with them)
> and their coffee NEVER had chicory in it. Why would an Ohio-based chain
> serve New Orleans-style coffee, anyways?
>
>
I asked the manager why their coffee was so strong and bitter and he said the blend they used had chicory in it. I would have thought they got their coffee from their warehouses that were stocked by the same supplier. But I do know their coffee was bad enough I stopped going there.