Chicory (Cichorium intybus), also known as blue daisy, blue dandelion, coffee weed and cornflower, is an herb belonging to the dandelion family. Cultivated for its taproots, the chicory plant has a light-blue flower which attracts insects like bumblebees.

Popular as a caffeine-free coffee substitute, the inulin in chicory is converted to a compound with a coffee-like smell when roasted. Acetophenone provides the characteristic chicory aroma and sesquiterpene lactones are largely responsible for chicory’s bitter flavor.

Chicory root contains large amounts of inulin, a naturally occurring polysaccharide and dietary fiber, as well as sugars (including fructose and mannose), pectin, choline, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, coumarins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, essential oils, phytosterols and other compounds.*