Coffee and Caffeine FAQ

Chicory became popular in the United States as a coffee additive during the Union blockade of the South during the Civil War. It was also used again during World War II to "stretch" coffee. It has lost popularity in the US as a coffee additive in recent years. Chicory is also used in many Vietnamese coffee blends as well. Chicory is still used in “New Orleans” or “Louisiana” blends.

As a flavoring, chicory has a tendency to mellow bitter coffee. Today several commercial chicory blend coffee is available with various ratios of coffee to chicory. Chicory is also available by itself in many grocery stores. I recommend going with the method of buying your chicory and mixing it with fresh roasted coffee; by default any coffee you buy pre-ground and premixed will be stale when you get it. As a starting point for adding your own chicory concentrations in commercial blends vary from 10-30%.