Recipes

How to brew chicory root: three methods I actually use

Chicory is the cheapest, most versatile coffee alternative in your cupboard. Here are three methods — French press, pour-over, and stovetop — plus a latte recipe.

Priya Ramachandran
By Priya Ramachandran Recipe Editor
A glass French press filled with dark chicory coffee, chicory root pieces scattered beside it

I’ll say the loud part first: chicory root is the best coffee alternative you can buy for under ten dollars. I’ve tried all of them — mushroom powders, carob blends, grain coffees, the whole aisle. Chicory is what I keep going back to, because it’s cheap, it’s shelf-stable for months, and it actually behaves like coffee in a brewer.

I’ve made chicory in every form a home kitchen can produce. These are the three methods I use week-to-week, plus a proper latte recipe for when I want something indulgent.

What you’re buying

Before you brew anything, know what’s in the bag. Chicory comes in a few forms, and they are not interchangeable.

  • Roasted, ground chicory root. Brown, coarse or medium grind, looks like dark coffee. This is what you want for brewing. Brands: Leroux, Cafe du Monde (the “Coffee with Chicory” has coffee in it — check the label), French Market Chicory (pure).
  • Raw, dried chicory root. Pale tan, woody pieces. This is what herbalists use for teas. It’s bitter-vegetal and doesn’t taste like coffee. Don’t buy this for brewing coffee-style — you’ll be disappointed.
  • Whole roasted chicory. Larger dark chunks. You grind these yourself, same way you’d grind coffee beans. Freshest flavor, but a burr grinder handles it better than a blade.
  • Chicory blends. Often labeled “herbal coffee” or “coffee substitute.” These are chicory combined with carob, barley, dandelion, sometimes dates or almonds. Easier on first-timers because the blend rounds off chicory’s sharpness. Teeccino’s French Roast is my go-to when I don’t want to measure — it’s already chicory-based with carob and barley, and it brews in any standard machine. Think of it as the pre-mixed option if you don’t want to DIY your blend.

For the recipes below, assume pure roasted ground chicory unless I say otherwise. If you’re using a blend, the ratios work the same.

Method 1: French press

This is my everyday. Chicory has more body than coffee, so the French press’s full-immersion style suits it beautifully. You get a thick, almost chocolate-dark cup.

You’ll need:

  • 32 oz French press
  • 4 tbsp (about 24 g) roasted ground chicory, medium-coarse grind
  • 24 oz (about 700 ml) water at 200°F
  • Kettle and timer

Steps:

  1. Preheat the French press with hot tap water. Dump the water.
  2. Add the chicory to the empty press.
  3. Pour water (200°F — just off the boil) over the grounds. Saturate evenly.
  4. Stir gently with a wooden or plastic spoon. Do not use metal on glass.
  5. Place the lid on top with the plunger pulled up. Steep 6 minutes. (Coffee is 4. Chicory needs more time to fully extract.)
  6. Press slowly — slower than you think. A 15–20 second press.
  7. Pour immediately into cups. Don’t let brewed chicory sit on the grounds or it’ll keep extracting and turn sludgy.

Troubleshooting: Too bitter? Grind coarser, steep shorter (5 minutes). Too weak? Grind finer, or add a spoonful more chicory. Cloudy? Finer grounds can slip through the mesh; go up a grind size.

Method 2: Drip / pour-over

This is my weekday go-to when I need coffee-in-a-carafe for the whole morning. Chicory works beautifully in a standard drip machine. A Chemex or Hario V60 also works if you’re pour-over-inclined.

Ratio: 1:15 chicory to water. So 30 g chicory to 450 g (about 16 oz) water for a full pot, or 15 g chicory to 225 g water for a single cup.

Grind: Medium-fine, finer than you’d grind for French press, roughly the texture of granulated sugar. This is important — chicory extracts differently from coffee and wants a slightly finer grind to compensate for shorter contact time with the water.

Pour-over method:

  1. Heat water to 200°F.
  2. Rinse your paper filter with hot water. Discard the rinse water (this removes paper taste and preheats the dripper).
  3. Add chicory to the filter. Gentle shake to level.
  4. Pour just enough water to saturate the grounds — about 2× the weight of the chicory. Wait 30 seconds. (This is the “bloom.” It lets the chicory release its gases and primes it for even extraction.)
  5. Pour the rest of the water in slow spirals from center outward. Keep the grounds submerged but not drowning. Total brew time: 3:30 – 4:00 minutes.

Drip machine method: Load chicory into the filter basket, fill the reservoir, press go. It’ll come out fine. A 10-cup machine doing a full pot with chicory takes about the same time as with coffee.

Method 3: Stovetop simmer (the New Orleans method)

This is the old way. It’s how coffee with chicory was made in New Orleans and across rural France for generations, and it’s how my grandmother made it in her kitchen with a battered enameled pot. It’s slower but produces a deeply concentrated, almost syrupy cup that’s traditionally cut 50/50 with hot steamed milk into café au lait.

You’ll need:

  • Small saucepan (2 qt)
  • 2 tbsp roasted ground chicory (medium grind)
  • 12 oz cold water
  • Fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth
  • Hot whole milk (or oat milk), for serving

Steps:

  1. Combine chicory and water in the saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat — bubbles should just be breaking the surface, not a rolling boil.
  2. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir once at the halfway mark.
  3. Turn off heat. Let stand 2 minutes to let grounds settle.
  4. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer (or a cheesecloth-lined strainer for a cleaner cup) into your mug. You’ll have about 8 oz of strong chicory concentrate.
  5. Top with an equal amount of hot steamed or warmed whole milk. Sweeten to taste — a teaspoon of cane sugar or a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk is the traditional move.

This makes one proper café au lait. Double everything for two, or quadruple for a weekend brunch crowd.

Flavor adjustments

Chicory takes additions beautifully. Some combinations I keep going back to:

  • Cardamom. Add 2 lightly-crushed green cardamom pods to the French press with the grounds. Steep together. Remarkably warm, slightly sweet, faintly floral.
  • Orange peel. A 2-inch strip of fresh orange peel (pith removed) added to the stovetop simmer. Brightens the bitter notes.
  • Cacao nibs. 1 tablespoon of roasted cacao nibs added to a French press with the chicory — the result reads like a mocha without any chocolate sweetness.
  • Cinnamon stick. Add one 3-inch stick to the French press or stovetop. Subtle but warming.
  • A pinch of salt. Sounds odd. Isn’t. A tiny pinch — less than 1/8 teaspoon — in your cup takes the edge off chicory’s bitterness without making the drink taste salty.

A basic chicory latte recipe

This is my Sunday-morning indulgence version. Makes one 12-oz mug.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz brewed chicory concentrate (from the stovetop method above, or a double-strong French press)
  • 4 oz whole milk (or oat milk)
  • 1 tsp maple syrup or light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of cinnamon, plus more for topping
  • Small pinch of flaky salt (optional but recommended)

Steps:

  1. Brew your chicory concentrate. Strain into a warmed mug.
  2. In a small saucepan (or a milk frother), heat the milk until just steaming — don’t boil. Whisk or froth until foamy.
  3. Stir the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt into the chicory. Stir until the sweetener dissolves.
  4. Pour the warm frothed milk over the chicory, holding back the foam with a spoon, then spoon the foam on top.
  5. Dust with cinnamon. Serve immediately.

That’s the whole range. If you want to go deeper, our chicory ingredient guide walks through the history, the gut-health angle, and why this humble root is having a moment — and our best chicory coffee roundup covers the specific brands worth buying.

Chicory is forgiving. You can overshoot the ratio, oversteep by a minute, use the wrong grind, and you’ll still get a drinkable cup. That’s more than you can say for coffee, and it’s most of why it’s lived in French and Southern kitchens for 200 years. Brew it, play with it, and find the method that fits your mornings.

Reader conversation (2)

We read every response. Selected reader notes below.

  1. Nora V.

    The stovetop simmer method is exactly how my grandmother made “coffee” every morning. Seeing it written down feels like a gift. Adding cardamom was her touch too.

  2. Paolo T. · Brooklyn

    Made the chicory latte recipe this morning. The 50/50 ratio with steamed milk is better than any oat milk latte I’ve had. Reordered more chicory.

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