The Badger family was weeding our severely neglected garden beds the other day, and excavated some rather huge dandelion roots. The Badgerling and I had heard of pioneer types making "coffee" out of dandelion roots, so culinary adventurers that we are, we decided to make some and try it.
Here are the roots, cleaned up and cut into about 1" pieces. We sliced the really thick ones so they would all cook a little more evenly.
We roasted them in a 350F oven for about an hour, until they turned a nice, dark, coffee-like brown. The house smelled rather nice, if a bit odd. This evening, I put about 3 tablespoons of the roots in about 3 cups of hot water brought them to a boil, simmered the mix for around 10 minutes, then poured it through a strainer. The resulting beverage has a nice color and smells rather nice.
Taste? Not bad. It has a nice, pleasant roasty flavor without the bitterness or sharpness of actual coffee. A bit bland. The next batch, I'll grind the roots and/or use more. Would be nice mixed with chicory root, maybe, but that doesn't grow around here. I put a little honey in mine; the Badgerling added a splash of milk, both with satisfactory results. It isn't coffee, but next time I feel the need for a warming, roasty tasting drink without the caffeine, this might do the trick. And of course, it's extraordinarily affordable.
