Maybe you’ve heard of Dandelion Coffee? Or dandelion tea?
What is dandelion? Dandelion is a perennial of the Asterales family and widely regarded as a weed. They can be found nearly anywhere in the world. In North America, you can find them almost everywhere you look! Here at our place, if we did not keep up with the mowing, you could very easily see that most of our “lawn” is actually dandelions!
Dandelion is good for a variety of uses. The leaves and flowers can be added to salad. The roots make good “coffee” or tea. The blossoms are used to make dandelion wine and dandelion jelly. As a child I would make dandelion crowns by braiding the long stems into a circle. Also, whenever I got bit by a bug as a child and the bite was very itchy and bothersome I would split open the stems of dandelions and smear the “sap” over the bite and it brought instant relief. It turns out that dandelion is anti-inflammatory and has skin soothing properties. All I knew as a 6 year old was that it worked. (If you did not grow up playing in the woods, creating potions and making mud cakes my heart goes out to you!)
How is dandelion beneficial to us? Dandelions contain antioxidants, which help neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals are produced naturally in the process of digestion, but also from contact with contaminates such as poisons, cigarette smoke and more.
Dandelions can help reduce cholesterol, inflammation, lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar. They can help with weight loss, contain antiviral and antibacterial properties, aid digestion, help protect against UV damage and according to this study, even help reduce the risk of cancer.
Dandelions also contain vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K and vitamin C. They even contain Folate, which is important for the proper development of unborn babies.
It is worth noting that optimal harvesting of dandelion roots is done in late Fall to early Spring. This is because the plant is dormant during this time, and has stored much needed and beneficial nutrients in the roots in order to survive the Winters. In the Spring and Summer months the plant is growing vigorously and expending much of those nutrients and energy into producing blossoms.
Let’s make Dandelion Coffee!
You will need a shovel. Preferably a spade.
A basket, bucket or bag to collect the roots in.
Dig the dandelion roots up and cut the top of the plant off. I you desire, save the leaves to clean and eat later, or give to your chickens or compost. Knock off as much dirt as you can outdoors, you don’t want tons of dirt in your sink.
Next, clean the roots with a vegetable brush in your sink. Then remove as many of the hair-like roots as you can-these will just burn in the oven.
After you wash them and remove the hair-like roots, trim the tops and any unsightly spots.
Next chop the roots into small pieces, roughly 1/4″ or so. Then put the chopped pieces onto a pan in a low heat oven, about 200-300 degrees.
Roast the roots for 30 minutes then give them a stir. Put them back into the oven to continue roasting. I roast mine for roughly 2 hours total, checking and stirring every 30 minutes until they are as dark and dry as I like.
After the roots have cooled, you can pulse them in a blender if you would like. This step is not necessary.
Now you are ready to make your Dandelion Coffee!
To make your coffee, heat desired amount of water on the stove. Add the amount of roots you would like-more for darker, more robust/bitter flavor or less for more of a nutty, tea like experience.
If you have a mesh tea steeper, you can use that. I currently do not have one, so I added the roots directly to the pot and when done steeping, I strained it through a cloth.
Now you are ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor! You can drink it black, or with cream and sugar or honey, however you like!
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