Have Your Cup, and Eat It Too

If you’re just enjoying chicory coffee with beignets, you’re missing half the fun

- ALANA AL-HATLANI, JOSH MILLER

PEOPLE FROM all over the world travel to New Orleans to savor the beignets and chicory coffee at Café Du Monde and to watch the spectacle at Arnaud’s as the skilled servers flambé brandy and curaçao and combine it with the famed dark roast for their tableside Café Brûlot. But before chicory became a popular coffee add-in, it was just a humble wildflower. It’s believed that this plant first came to America as a stowaway weed on ships from Europe. Part of the Asteraceae (daisy) family and closely related to dandelions, the plant has roots (which are caffeine-free) that are ground, roasted, and seamlessly blended with coffee to make the city’s bold signature drink.

This pairing wasn’t just culinary creativity—it was born of necessity. During the Civil War, the Union Navy cut off access to harbors across the South, halting all imports. Some say that locals turned to chicory root to stretch their dwindling supply of coffee—a strategy borrowed from the French, who had learned to do the same during the Napoleonic Wars.

New Orleans had long been established as a coffee city prior to the Civil War, with a stream of unroasted beans from the Caribbean flowing into the region. In fact, one of the area’s first recognized baristas, Rose Nicaud, served café au laits in the French Quarter. Although she was born into slavery in 1812, she was able to buy her freedom thanks to the popularity of her stand in the French Market’s Hall of Vegetables. Before beans could be purchased ground, she would grind them fresh—likely with the addition of chicory during leaner times.

Still prominent in the Big Easy today, chicory is favored for how it rounds out the natural bitterness of coffee, creating a smoother flavor. It’s also a star ingredient in these decadent desserts, adding a taste of New Orleans history to every bite.