Chicory

Description

The cultivated chicory plant has a history reaching back to ancient Egyptian time.

Medieval monks raised the plants and when coffee was introduced to Europe, the Dutch thought that chicory made a lively addition to the bean drink. By the 1840s, the port of New Orleans was the second largest importer of coffee (after New York).

Louisianans began to add chicory root to their coffee when Union naval blockades during the American Civil War cut off the port of New Orleans, thereby creating a long-standing tradition.