Will chicory make a comeback?

My earliest memories of coffee go back to when I was a young kid. Maybe 10 or so.

My dad was a pastry cook, and owned his own cake shop. I would go over and help him out - usually on Sunday nights and during school holidays. I’m not sure how much of a help I was, but he always let me dip the leamingtons in the pink jelly and roll them in coconut, or cut out the shrewsbury biscuits. Jimmy the Greek’s fish ’n chip shop two doors down was possibly my real incentive for these visits.

For whatever reason, my dad didn’t have normal coffee. He didn’t have instant - not even the nasty stuff, and he certainly didn’t have ground coffee or beans.

What he had was a bottle of Coffee and Chicory Essence. A dark oozy substance. Where he got it from is anyone’s guess, mine would be Rattray’s. That was the place he went to get supplies for the shop. Bulk stuff. It was like a big warehouse or Costco, but not for regular people. You couldn’t just rock up there and buy your groceries. You had to have an account. Basically it was for shop owners. You get the picture.

So I remember the C&CE. I can picture the bottle, and I’m guessing my dad bought it a dozen bottles at a time. I think it was made by Cerebos - the sauce people, or Bushells - the tea people, or maybe Greggs - the coffee people. He possibly bought it as coffee essence for a cake recipe, and then doubled up on it as a beverage for smoko (along with a freshly made scone or pikelet).

For whatever reason, there was never fresh milk at the cake shop. This doesn’t make any sense to me when I think about it now, as surely lots of cakes require milk. What I remember is condensed milk. You’d put that in the bottom of an enamel cup, glug in some C&CE, and then add hot water. Not from a kettle, I don’t ever remember seeing one. But from a big pot of water boiled on the gas burner.

Then you’d stir it all together and enjoy. I probably wasn’t allowed to drink it when I was 10, but maybe when I was a bit older.

Chicory as a beverage, if you didn’t know, is made from the root of the chicory plant. It is roasted, then ground, and used as a coffee substitute. Pretty blue flowers. Very interesting little plant.

Believe it or not, you probably have some in your backyard, as chicory is more commonly known as the cornflower. But I prefer some of its alternative names: Wild bachelor’s buttons, bunk, ragged sailors and, not surprisingly, coffeeweed.

It is still widely used across the globe, but predictably, rose to prominence during hard times, e.g. war, when coffee would have been rationed.

Chicory also had a bit of a heyday during the 'East German coffee crisis' of 1976–79. Yes, you read it here first! Specifically, the East German government engaged in barter with third world countries, exporting weapons and trucks in exchange for coffee and energy. It's a fascinating story.

Perhaps, due to the current global crisis, we might see this humble beverage rise to stardom again.