Chicory Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a perennial of the daisy family, Asteraceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa and naturalized along roadsides across North America. From a basal rosette of dandelion-like leaves it sends up stiff, sparsely leaved, branching stems 30 to 120 centimeters tall that carry, from midsummer, clear sky-blue flower heads 3 to 4 centimeters across with square-tipped, fringed rays that open at dawn and close by midday. The long, fleshy, pale taproot is bitter and milky; roasted and ground, it is the coffee blend of New Orleans, and forced in the dark the plant gives Belgian endive. We extract the dried root.