Roasted Dandelion Root.

For anyone who misses the morning cup more than the jolt: a pot simmering on the stove, the kitchen filling with a deep, toasted smell, and a dark mug with no caffeine in it at all.

These are dark, gnarled chips of dandelion root, roasted until they turn the color of strong coffee and smell almost like it too, deep, toasted and faintly bitter, with none of the actual bean. The root is wild-harvested rather than cultivated, gathered from hedgerows and meadows across Eastern Europe in early spring before the plant flowers, when its bitter compounds are most concentrated. It is washed, sliced and slow-roasted in small batches over several hours, since too fast a roast scorches the outside before the inside dries through.

Dandelion root has long been dug, dried and roasted as a coffee substitute across European folk tradition, by households that wanted the ritual of a dark morning cup without the caffeine.

Details

• Ingredient: roasted dandelion root, wild-harvested in Eastern Europe
• Caffeine: none

How to use

Simmer a heaping tablespoon in water for ten minutes rather than simply steeping it, since roasted root gives up its flavor slowly. Strain, then drink it black like strong coffee, or with a little milk. The cup is a rich reddish brown and tastes of roasted chicory and scorched caramel.

A dark, honest cup for slow mornings.