Dandelion Root Herbal Coffee Recipe

This article includes a recipe for dandelion root herbal coffee, which combines dandelion root with burdock root, chicory root, and spices to make a roasted, delicious “coffee” tasting beverage that is perfect for afternoons when you don’t want caffeine, or if you want to break a coffee addiction, or if you love herbal beverages that are good for your health. This article also includes a book review for The Backyard Herbal Apothcary by Devon Young.

Dandelion Root Herbal Coffee 

Yep, that’s right. Dandelion Root “coffee”! I feel like my readers are going to fall in one of two groups here: Group 1: “What? Dandelions are icky weeds!” and Group 2: “Dandelions do SO much amazing stuff!” One of my goals in life is to spread a love and deep joy for the natural world, so I hope that any of you in group #1 will open your hearts and minds to trying dandelions! <3

I’ve talked about dandelions before, and I’m sure that I’ll keep on coming back to these amazing, persistant, beautiful, highly medicinal”weeds”. Here are some of my other dandelion articles:

• The Medicinal Uses of Dandelion
• How to Make Dandelion Infused Oil
• How to Make Digestive Bitters

Medicinal Benefits of Dandelions

According to Devon Young, in The Backyard Herbal Apothecary, “dandelion roots provide a very important prebiotic starch known as inulin. Inulin acts as an energy source for beneficial gut microbes” (pg. 72).

Dandelion roots are not only amazing for your gut health, they are also wonderful for your liver. You can read more about the medicinal benefits of dandelions here and here is a digestive bitters recipe for your liver health.

While the roots are great for your gut and liver, dandelion leaves are “an excellent source of vitamin A, while also offering vitamins C and B, as well as magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and folate. With such a diverse nutrient profile, dandelion is an excellent tonic herb that supports and promotes all-around good health and vigor.” (The Backyard Herbal Apothecary, pg. 73). 

Finally, the dandelion flowersare ALSO beneficial for your health by helping with skin moisturizing and pain-relief. It’s perfect to use in homemade salves and lotions. I make this dandelion infused oil every year and I use it in many of my homemade herbal recipes.

The Backyard Herbal Apothecary Book Review

Devon Young, a fellow writer (and friend) from Nitty Gritty Life reached out to me to review her herbal remedy book. She’s a brilliant writer and she is as passionate about herbs as I am, so I was very excited to check out her book.

The Backyard Herbal Apothecary is an absolutely beautiful book with herbal remedies and information on each herb/plant. I LOVED her pictures and totally want her to take pictures for my future book. Not only are the pictures beautiful, the information on the herbs and plants was very helpful.

One of the things I REALLY liked about this book was that it included both medicinal information on the herbs AND how to grow (or forage) them. I have never read an herbal remedy book with ‘how to grow’ info in it before. That made this book very unique and very helpful for me (because…you know…I kinda love gardening…ahem).

This book is perfect for beginner herbalists. The information is very easy to read, with plenty of helpful bulletpoints, and most of the herbal remedy recipes are based around a particular herb, so you can really focus on getting to know how to use one herb at a time if you want. As with most herbal books I own, my main “complaint” is wanting more recipes. I’m just a greedy researching type, though. 😉

Click here to learn more about The Backyard Herbal Apothecary.

Enough rambling! Let’s get onto the dandelion root herbal coffee recipe! This recipe is great because the herbal roots are roasted, which gives a depth to the flavor that can be lacking in store-bought dandelion root herbal coffee. I also love the addition of cacao nibs and cinnamon chips for an extra dimension to the flavor. Mmm…it’s perfect for afternoon or evenings when you’re craving coffee, but you don’t want the caffeine! It’s also perfect for people avoiding coffee/caffeine and for people who want those lovely medicinal benefits from dandelions, chicory, and burdock.

Dandelion Root Herbal Coffee Recipe

Shared with permission from The Backyard Herbal Apothecary

Yield: 1 pound

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. dried dandelion root (see note below)
• 5 oz. dried chicory root (see note below)
• 5 oz. dried burdock root (see note below)
• 1.5 oz. cacao nibs
• 1.5 oz. cinnamon chips

Directions:

1. Measure ingredients with a digital kitchen scale.
2. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Spread the dandelion, chicory, and burdock roots onto a baking sheet. Roast the roots in the oven for approx. 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Roots are adequately roasted when they are somewhat brown and have a toasty fragrance. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool.
4. In a food processor, add the cooled roasted roots, cacao nibs, and cinnamon chips. Pulse until the mixture resembles the texture of coffee grounds, taking care not to produce too fine of a powder.
5. Transfer your ground herbal coffee blend to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and prepare as you would a regular pot of coffee. Use more of the blend if you prefer dark roasts, less if you lean toward lighter notes.
6. Use within 6 months.

Notes:

**My favorite online place to buy dried herbs and spices is Mountain Rose Herbs.

Once you’ve got your dandelion root herbal coffee made, consider purchasing The Backyard Herbal Apothecary and then sit in your favorite chair and enjoy some delightful reading with a tasty drink. The perfect day!

Got extra dried dandelion root? You can use extra dandelion roots in this digestive bitters recipe. Enjoy!

Check out my Herbalist Gift Guide for more awesome things that herbalists will love.