How To Make Fresh Homemade Roasted Dandelion Coffee or Tea (Part 2)
{Read PART ONE of this Article} Put about 2 cups of the chunky roots into a food processor or blender on high until they are chopped up into a course mixture. Put this mixture aside, and continue to grind/blend up the roots about 2 cups at a time until all of your roots are thoroughly ground. You can also roast the roots whole instead of grinding them first, but grinding them first is easier.
Spread the coarsely ground dandelion roots on a cookie sheet that is about a half an inch deep. You can place several cookie sheets in the oven at once if you can.
To begin drying and roasting the roots, set the oven temperature to about 250 degrees and leave the oven door slightly open while the roots are roasting so that excess moisture can escape. Roast the roots for about 2 hours. Stir the roots around frequently or rotate the cookie sheets occasionally to assure even drying and roasting. As the roots dry they will shrink down in size and will turn from a yellow-gold color to a dark brown color. Be sure not to let them burn.
Once the drying and roasting process is finished, allow them to cool down. You can then store them in a glass jar or container.
If you prefer, you can then grind the roots further until you get a fine powdered consistency so that they can be brewed better in a coffee pot. Otherwise, you can leave them as they are and prepare the coffee the same way as you would make tea by pouring boiling water onto the dried dandelion grounds.
Use 1 tablespoon of the roasted roots for each 1 cup of water, or use 1/3 cup of root for each quart of water. You may adjust these amounts to your taste depending on if you want your coffee stronger or weaker.
You can place your set amount of roots into a pot on the stove and allow them to simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes or until the water becomes a rich coffee color, and then strain the water, or you can place the roots in a cup and pour boiling water into it, let it steep for awhile, and then strain the liquid.
The fresh green leaves and yellow flowers of the dandelion can be used to make Dandelion Tea as well. Try picking younger more tender leaves for better taste. Remember to never use dandelion that has been sprayed with any pesticides or other harmful chemicals. After thoroughly washing and rinsing the leaves and/or flowers, chop them up and toss them into a mug of hot water--or you can add the hot water after.
Let it steep for about 10-15 minutes (any longer and the tea may be too bitter) and enjoy!
{Read PART 1 of this Article}
Also see: How To Make Dandelion Tea (Video)
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~Related Articles~ How To Make Dandelion Tea (Video)