What Is Chicory Coffee?

Cafe Du Monde’s Coffee and Chicory

If you ever swing by Cafe du Monde here in New Orleans, you may notice that the coffee has a unique taste.  The brew will have a slightly bitter flavor, with an earthy woodiness to it.  This flavor variation that you notice is the chicory additive.

Chicory is made from the root of a flowering plant found mostly in the Mediterranean region of Europe.  While the chicory plant’s leaves are often eaten in salads, the chicory root can be ground and used as either a coffee additive, or even a substitute.

Chicory became popular here in New Orleans during the American Civil War, when the Union Army occupied the city and blockaded the port.  This effectively shut down the city’s access to coffee from Latin America.  The locals responded by cutting their coffee with chicory, and the chicory-coffee blend has been a New Orleans tradition ever since.  Cafe du Monde has the most famous chicory coffee around, but even modern coffee shops keep with the tradition, such as Community Coffee’s chicory blend.

So next time you are in town, try this quirky local coffee blend and sip on the city’s history.