# Chicory: the caffeine-free coffee substitute

**Canonical URL:** https://teas.co.uk/wiki/chicory-drink/
**Source:** teas.co.uk, UK tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

## Summary

Roasted chicory root tastes dark, bitter and caramel-like, with no caffeine. How it compares with coffee and tea, and how to brew it without it turning muddy.

## Description

Chicory is a root — the same plant family as the bitter leaves — dried, roasted and ground. Brewed, it makes a dark, bitter-sweet drink with caramel and burnt-sugar notes, and no caffeine at all. It has been drunk in Britain and France for centuries, in and alongside coffee, and it is the most convincing coffee substitute there is, precisely because it is bitter and dark rather than fruity or floral.
It is worth knowing about if you are cutting caffeine but miss the shape of a coffee: strong, dark, taken with milk.
The three products on the shelf



Product
What it is
Caffeine




Instant chicory
Chicory extract, dried into granules; stir into hot water
None


Roasted ground chicory
For brewing like coffee, in a pot or filter
None


Chicory and coffee blend
Both, in a stated ratio
Yes, from the coffee



That third one catches people out: a "chicory coffee" may be mostly chicory but still contain real coffee — one common French product lists 60% soluble chicory with 40% soluble coffee. If you need it caffeine-free, read the percentages.
Chicory versus tea
They solve different problems.

Chicory replaces the roasted bitterness and the milky, after-dinner heft of coffee.
Tea replaces the ritual and the lift, and has its own caffeine unless you choose a herbal.
For a caffeine-free drink that takes milk like tea, rooibos is the closer match; for a toasty caffeine-free drink, so is barley tea.

If you are moving off coffee, our tea for coffee drinkers guide covers the teas that hold up with milk.
How to brew it
Instant: 1 to 2 teaspoons per mug of hot (not boiling) water. Stir thoroughly — chicory granules clump. Add milk if you like; it takes it well.
Ground chicory: treat it like coffee. About 10g per 200ml in a cafetière, 4 minutes, pressed slowly. It is finer than most coffee grinds, so it can be muddy: use a paper filter if you want a cleaner cup.
Strength: chicory is more bitter than coffee at the same strength. Start weaker than you think.
Common questions
Does chicory taste like coffee?
Close, but sweeter and earthier, with less acidity and no roasted-bean aroma.
Is it caffeine-free?
Pure chicory is. Blends with coffee are not.
Is it good for you?
It is a drink, not a supplement. Chicory root is high in inulin, a fermentable fibre, which can cause wind or discomfort for some people in quantity. This page makes no health claim.
Can I use it in a coffee machine?
Instant, no. Ground chicory can clog espresso machines; a cafetière or filter is safer unless the product says otherwise.

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