Introduction: Make "Coffee" From Acorns (Roasting Ersatz Coffee)
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How to make "coffee" from acorns (AKA ersatz coffee). No decaf process is necessary - it's naturally caffeine free. Roasting the "coffee" produces a wonderful aroma. The taste is delicious but difficult to define. Perhaps an approximation is to describe it as something between coffee and chocolate - maybe approximating a caramel flavor.
14 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
Acorn coffee tastes great! But I wonder if you did it right ?! You have to crack the shell and then peel the skin (like almonds). Hot water can help to get the skin off. You need to do it without losing too much time (hours) because the acorns become brown (but I dont know whether it affects the taste). Then pestle and roast them, after that you can use the acorn coffee like normal coffee (the roasting makes it nonperishable, too). The coffee looks like normal coffee when brewed and has a nice, nuttily taste. You can take green acorns, they dont have to be brown, just wait until they fall off from the trees :-P
BTW: You can buy acorn coffee, but it costs 28 Euro / 35 Dollar a kilo / 2,3 lb (?) .
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Hi blueye81,
At 28 Euro/Kilo, $15/lb it certainly seems worthwhile to make instead of purchase! That's the price of higher end regular coffee here. :-)
As with most recipes, there are no doubt many variations to the process. The one shown in the video works well. It is quick, reliable and produces a fine tasting "coffee". We shell the acorns in batches and put the "meat" in the freezer, where it remains fresh for a long time.
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
You are right, there are different ways of producing acorn coffee. After reading my text again, it sounds a bit harsh. Sorry for that.
My last try of making acorn coffee went wrong when I took green ones, even without the inner skin they tasted like ugh (after a storm in June, maybe they werent "ripe" enough!?). Well, German saying: "No master fell just from heaven!".
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
Very probably the green acorns were the problem. Everything we have read indicates that one should avoid green acorns for "coffee" or flour. And yes, practice makes perfect! Everyone must start somewhere. :-) When next you have the opportunity to find ripe acorns, give it another try!
8 years ago on Introduction
A bit late and off-topic, but I find it very interesting that even this "easy" way to make other coffee than normal is so difficult :-D I live in Germany and nobody in my age (approx. 30) nor with higher age does know about acorn coffee, but the knowledge about it had been there (WW2). Damn Adenauer (German politician), lowered the tax for coffee in 1953 so that acorn coffee becomes less interesting, I think :-)
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
The hardest and most time consuming part of this process is the harvesting and shelling of the acorns. The roasting process itself is relatively quick and easy. But yes, overall it does take quite a bit of time.
9 years ago on Introduction
Thank you.. great demo and tasteful ending!
9 years ago on Introduction
My "taste" memory remains as an acrid and bitter taste. Not like coffee which is less bitter and not acrid (unless burnt or some other factor creates 'bad' coffee.) Thanks for asking!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Hmm, we can only guess, but suspect either the temperature of roasting was not high enough or it was not roasted for long enough. The "coffee" resulting from the process shown in the video is neither bitter nor acrid. Indeed, the smell alone while roasting is downright sweet! :-) If you get the chance, try it as shown. While hardly instant coffee, it's not a great hassle to make.
10 years ago on Introduction
Survival guides say that you have to soak acorns prior to ingesting them in order to reduce tannic acid to palatable levels.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
It's not soaking, per se, that would get rid of the tannins. The method is called leaching and needs to be done several times in order to wash the bitterness from the acorn meal; although, some acorns are more bitter than others, i.e. Valley Oak (yuck) versus Chestnut Oak (yummm). Also, growing conditions greatly affect their taste as well. Natives american tribes that used acorns as the staple of their diet had different preferences depending on their geographical location. As a docent who teaches elementary school children about the plants used by Northern California natives, I have experimented with making some of the "delicacies" our local natives survived on, and have made rock biscuits out of Coast Live Oak acorns, which wasn't half bad, albeit a bit bland. I employed the same methods used by natives: gather acorns after shaking from the tree, cull the acorns by removing the ones with holes and the obviously rotten, store the acorns outdoors in a granary lined with bay laurel leaves (keeps the bugs away) for 6 to 12 months to dry, shell the acorns and winnow the seed covering, grind the acorn meat into a coarse meal, place the meal into baskets and run water through them several times (save the water with tannins for dying baskets), add a little water to leached meal to make a "paste", then place a small amount of the paste onto a rock that has been heated in a fire, turn once after paste has set. It was an awful lot of work for a little bit of nourishment. I could have seasoned the mush paste with a variety of plants available, such as blackberries or currants, pickleweed, salt grass, or bay laurel.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
Hi tvds1,
When making acorn flour or such - yes. However, soaking is not necessary when roasting as seen in this video. The tannins are converted/destroyed. The resulting "coffee" is not bitter at all.
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
I wonder why baking the flour does not destroy the tannins then?
Personally, I'd go for the wash out the tannins technique and then the flour could be used for any purpose. And I'd feel better knowing I was safe from the tannins.
When I was a kid and baked acorn bread, it wasn't washed out enough. :(
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Perhaps it is due to the temperature of roasting being much higher than that of baking. Washing out the tannins also removes much starch. Subsequent roasting results in a very bad tasting "coffee".
There are tannins in regular coffee and tea too. What was the effect on you as a child?