Cleaver Coffee

Recently I was reading that Cleavers make good Coffee, as it is the time of year(September) when they produce seeds I thought I better give it a try.




I found out that Cleavers are very closely related to Coffee in the family Rubiaceae, so hopefully it yealds good results.

Once picked, I then dried and roasted them at 50 degrees for about 30 minutes in the Oven.

Alternatively you can leave them to dry for a week then roast for 5 minutes in the Oven.

Once dried/roasted I...



How to make Cleaver Coffee

Along with a few other tips I picked up:

The seeds make a reasonable coffee substitute when dried for a week, then roasted in a hot oven for 5 minutes, ground and steeped in boiling water as you would for ground coffee beans. Similarly to coffee and not surprisingly due to them both being members of the family Rubiaceae, goosegrass coffee contains caffeine although at a much lower level than real coffee beans.

Traditionally, (among the traditional and cash-strapped) roasting of coffee beans, seeds and other botannicals was done in the omniprescient black iron skillet; dry and over a medium flame. You must stir constantly however to avoid scorching. Modern folk however have been known to try those air-pump popcorn machines with similar success. Given their relative density, I should think this would work for goosefoot as well, but eww, the prickery outer skin! Never leave such a project unmanned, or for a minute stop stirring or shaking the pan if you're working with that.

Slow-roasted (low temperature) roasted ripe seeds when ground make a good coffee substitute without caffein. 

Cleavers seed is one of the best coffee substitutes, it merely needs to be dried and lightly roasted and has much the same flavor as coffee.

http://www.altnature.com/gallery/cleavers.htm