Acorn Coffee

[skunkkiller]

HAVE ANY OF YOU TRIED ACORN COFFEE ? I LOVE THE STUFF. YOU LEACH THE ACORNS FOR THREE DAY IN 3 CHANGES OF WATER OR ONE DAY IN A STREAM THEN ROAST JUST LIKE COFFEE AND MAKE JUST LIKE COFFEE.

[canid]

i know of an oak just down the street that recently dropped a heavy load of acorns for it's size. i meant to hit it up for collection anyway, and this is a good idea.

[Trabitha]

I love coffee taste...but it's the caffeine that keeps me a comin' back.

[hunter63]

I'll probably have to try this my self, but I agree, after trying some "coffee" substitutes, they don't seem to have the kick, (no caffeine).

SK have you tried making flour with acorns?

[preachtheWORD]

I have also heard of thoroughly dried, baked, and ground roots from dandelion and chickory being used as a coffee substitute. (Not to mention Kentucky Coffee Tree)
I have not tried these, but I mean to someday.

Some previous posters seem to have hit on an important point - coffee drinkers want caffeine!

So, are there any natural sources of caffeine that are readily avaiable in North America?

[crashdive123]

I have also heard of thoroughly dried, baked, and ground roots from dandelion and chickory being used as a coffee substitute. (Not to mention Kentucky Coffee Tree)
I have not tried these, but I mean to someday.

Some previous posters seem to have hit on an important point - coffee drinkers want caffeine!

So, are there any natural sources of caffeine that are readily avaiable in North America?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

[Rick]

I've done the dandelion. It's okay. It's not coffee but it will do in a pinch.

[hunter63]

This is the part that kills me, all the stuff that was accidentally "discovered" by some important.

Stolt directly from the site Crash posted under history of caffeine:

Quote> According to one popular Chinese legend, the Emperor of China Shennong, reputed to have reigned in about 3000 BC, accidentally discovered that when some leaves fell into boiling water, a fragrant and restorative drink resulted.[32][33][34] Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's Cha Jing, a famous early work on the subject of tea.[35] The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century....... <Quote

I'm guessing a lot of slaves died as a result of all the big shots experminting with all things"fun".

"Your highness, this one didn't die, and is really toasted, maybe on to something "fun"?

[Batch]

We have wild coffee down here. It is caffeine free but contains a hallucinogenic called dimethyltryptamine.

The only North American plant with coffee like caffeine is Yaupon Holly.

[wareagle69]

the caffine for me is not the urge its the flavor, caff or decaf no matter like a good instant with a spoon of sugar and some french vanilla creamer or baileys.
one of the projects this year includes coffee substitutes, acorn, dandelion and chicory testing mixing all three and also mixing individually with my instnat to draw out me stocks, i would imagine there are many variables to these weeds as far as local influences and time of year when picked and dried

[canid]

The only North American plant with coffee like caffeine is Yaupon Holly.

you are forgetting Theobroma cacao. chocolate contains both caffeine and theobromine, and almost identical alkaloid. while originating from the amazon basin, it has long been naturalized through cultivation in parts of Mexico.

[Old GI]

I'll probably have to try this my self, but I agree, after trying some "coffee" substitutes, they don't seem to have the kick, (no caffeine).

SK have you tried making flour with acorns?

Coffee substitute? Isn't that decaf (and a poor one at that)?

[canid]

i agree; there is no substitute for coffee. there are other fine hot beverages, but it isn't the same

[crashdive123]

I always thought that Army coffee was a coffee substitute.

[Rick]

Coffee....nectar of the gods and free in Traxistan.

[Old GI]

I always thought that Army coffee was a coffee substitute.

crash: I think you're right.

[justin_baker]

Ill try some this fall. Plenty of oaks around here

[justin_baker]

I'll probably have to try this my self, but I agree, after trying some "coffee" substitutes, they don't seem to have the kick, (no caffeine).

Around here, there are nuts from the bay laurel tree. They are fully of caffeinee and the squirrels go nuts over them. Ill try using those and see what they taste like.

[crimescene450]

so what exactly do you do? soak the acorns for 3 days?
and how much acorn do you use?



and on the acorn note
does anyone know how to make flour out of acorn?

[esp]

During the civil war, soldiers used ground up okra seeds for coffee. Okra seeds are abundant (if you plant okra that is), so I save them for emergency coffee if need be.