The Coffee Root · 2026

Chicory — benefits & uses

The blue roadside flower whose root makes a gut-friendly coffee — what it does, and how to grow it.

Blue chicory flowers with roasted chicory root and a cup of chicory coffee on a wooden table
Traditional use

Digestion

The root supports digestion and the liver — a bitter that gets things moving gently.

Also for

Coffee substitute

Roasted and ground, it makes a rich, caffeine-free coffee-like brew — roasty and bitter.

Grows like

A hardy wildflower

Bright blue flowers on a tough, drought-proof plant; the taproot is dug in fall.

Bonus

Prebiotic inulin

The root is rich in inulin, a prebiotic fiber that feeds good gut bacteria.

Simple chicory "coffee": roast dried root pieces until dark, grind, and brew like coffee. Not medical advice — go easy if you have gallstones or are pregnant.

Grown & used, on video

Grow your own chicory

Chicory is one of the ten non-GMO seed varieties in Nicole Apelian's Medicinal Garden Kit, with her remedy guide covering its uses.

Herbs for digestion →

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