How to Brew Civil War Coffee with Sweet Potatoes

[@TastingHistory]

CORRECTION: I misspoke and said Lee surrendered in 1863. It was, of course, April 1865. Mea culpa.

[@TheLoneDragoon]

I have written about sweet potato coffee in my book. Thanks for doing a video on it.

[@cousinjake7986]

I haven't been getting notifications for my favorite part of Tuesday for weeks! Glad KZbin remembered to remind me of my favorite history content!! And thanks for it Mr Max!

[@jeffreyharris3440]

Slip of the tongue. Happens to all of us. Doesn't diminish one bit from an interesting topic. I don't drink coffee, but it was still very interesting from a logistics point of view.

[@ingridasvilainyte8783]

Amateur, forgot to roast it... in fact it tastes little different from real one. Mostly made from barley, rye, wheat, acorn etc

[@richardrybicki749]

As a former Civil War reenactor I have made and distributed for coin or trade different coffee versions.

[@mvondoom]

Respectfully, I think a small mistake was made. The rye recipe states that once dried, the rye can be parched and prepared as normal coffee, i think that means they intended for it to be roasted (parched) like coffee beans. Most rye coffee I've ever had is roasted. I think both the rye and the sweet potato were meant to be toasted until dark in color.

[@johgu92]

Oh you're probably right

[@samuelcowan9776]

I was thinking the same thing, especially after seeing the rye recipe. That would definitely improve the color and flavor. As Max says, green coffee beans were common and roasted in the field/home. Recipes I've seen for acorn coffee require roasting as well.

[@MiguelDunham]

Exactly! Roasting brings out a bitterness and nutty quality

[@DigitalPetrol]

Came here to comment this

[@cburns0280]

+ 1 to this comment.

[@Jonasgarland]

Not going to lie, the hardtack gag never fails to get a laugh out of me. Please keep finding an excuse to add it into videos! 🤣

[@TastingHistory]

Oh, I will 😂

[@frocat5163]

I literally posted this exact comment while yours was still the top comment...and I completely missed it! It's nice to find a fellow connoisseur of fine humor!

[@guidotettelaar3257]

Hardtack always delivers!

[@jonathanbair523]

oh how a few seconds clip has made a never ending surge of laughter....... Love it....

[@noisyfireknight]

all of the hardtack references makes me want a hardtack compilation. *Clap Clap*!

[@Zaadin19]

I love that he still uses that one clip of him clacking the hard tack together, even two years later. It cracks me up every single time.

[@jasperpunster2123]

Unlike the hard tack, not even chipped.

[@LunarLocust]

He actually changes back into that outfit and uses the same hard tack in a new shot every time.

[@supergeek1418]

​@@LunarLocust *LOL* !

[@Trassel242]

Here in Sweden, during WW1 and WW2, we were under rationing. Coffee was one of the foods severely rationed, so people made their own coffee substitutes using things like roasted dandelion roots and roasted acorns. Some people said it tasted better than real coffee, but I’m pretty sure they were just putting on a brave face.

[@getreal200]

Chicory is great, not bitter like coffee.

[@jenniferstrover1276]

I used to go to a cafe in Melbourne, Australia that did a dandelion latte. It's still used as a caffeine-free "health food" coffee alternative.

[@jorlando0087]

I love that "putting on a brave face" is multicultural

[@GygasDistruttore]

Bad real coffee tastes like death. So bad fake coffee probably tastes the same, if not a little better.

[@UncleUncleRj]

I mean.. yeah coffee *tastes* not very good... but... it's still awesome, and you can't really replicate it's effects with dandelions, afaik.

[@falconwind00]

My dearest Abagail. Your lovingly made package has most grandly lifted this soldier’s spirits high. But I dare say, the coffee was of some disappoint, for I am of quite some certainty that I requested a venti pumpkin spice latte.

[@markrossow6303]

#Fact

[@robinsanders5541]

There was a similar attitude towards tea in the British army. Officers were known to stop by troops and ask them for a cup of it. The better officers would sit and enjoy the tea with the men and talk through their troubles. The practice was known to reduce the number of officers that would be shot by the men in battle.

[@markrossow6303]

British tanks added internal tea kettles ...

[@catoninetales]

I watched my mom (who's from Georgia) wage a 20 year battle trying to keep the squirrels away from the birdfeeder, so imagining Max chasing off squirrels from his historical-reenactment sweet potatoes and rye really makes me giggle.

[@kpopf4nmom]

😂 Same here! Your mom would likely appreciate the newer feeders that are treated to make them weather resistant and slick as Teflon! 😂 We have fun watching the young squirrels try and fail until they learn to just grab the seeds that are scattered in the grass. 😂😂

[@Lady_Flashheart40]

We have multiple bird feeders, and they have these cones you can put on the poles that will keep them from climbing up! They are clever little buggers though lol. We built a clubhouse for my son next to one of the bird feeders, and the squirrels started jumping onto them from the roof! 😅

[@melissalambert7615]

Ha, ha! I want a video of Max's squirrels eating sweet potatoes.

[@Wolvenworks]

In before the mark rober collab

[@fredericapanon207]

In that case, she will enjoy the Squirrel Olympics videos that Mark Rober made. Those squirrels are definitely athletes.

[@Shirayuuki1]

When I was little my mum used to give us "kid's coffee" which was essentially toasted barley, ground up and brewed with milk and sugar. It had that same toasted flavor sans caffeine. I still make it from time to time and it brings back so many good memories

[@sharonmacmillan2269]

Postum?

[@brianw3415]

I really like the barley tea from Japanese grocery stores. It's quite good as a cold tea brewed in the fridge for 2 hours. I may try it as a hot tea some time to see how it tastes but it comes in a larger bag for I think 2 quarts of water. Very good stuff though so go poking around for it if you like barley teas.

[@coyotelong4349]

That actually sounds delightful, and a lot tastier than actual decaf coffee

[@SomeBuddy777]

Coffee Milk: A teaspoon of the adult at the table's coffee stirred into a child's cup of sweetened warm milk! It's a cup of "I'm all grown up now!" coffee 👦

[@williamjones6053]

Dude I just tried this ...holy phuck it was good ..peace out n good vibes

[@neowulf3418]

Quite nice of you to feed the local squirrel population. The fluffy ones are often overlooked.

[@sandradermark8463]

Are they red or gray squirrels?

[@johgu92]

​​@@sandradermark8463 thought America had no red squirrels?

[@Iflie]

Maybe he should give them the hardtack, who will win? Squirrelteeth or hardtack? *clackclack*

[@mamiebobb4173]

Don't feed the squirrels hardtack though. They'll lose their teeth and then you'll be morally bound to feed them sweet potato tea for the rest of their little squirrely lives!

[@MyPammer]

They ate plenty off my beautiful tomato plants...cute little rascals.

[@SlitherThing]

This one might merit a revisit; it looks like you have neglected to roast the rye or the sweet potatoes. The "parching" step in the rye recipe almost certainly refers to roasting the grains to darken them. The sweet potatoes very probably would have been roasted as well, in the same way dandelion and chicory roots were treated when making ersatz coffee. I think you would get a much more accurate and more coffee-like (though how much is debatable) result if you were to give that a try.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

If it tastes better than dishwater, it's probably approximately representative of some such recipe that got popular somewhere... ;o)

[@RikuIshmaru]

I was wondering if they were supposed to be toasted too lol… I was just thinking about how distinct sweet potato and rye are in both taste and smell.

[@lordagmar]

i thought the same thing considering a substitute i saw on the townsend channel roasted wheat berries and ground them for coffee

[@Kododie]

Yeah I don't think you can make any coffee substitute that even remotely resembles a taste of a coffee without roasting. Coffee it self is roasted so without this step you're just making a tea or a soup.

[@sharondesfor5151]

When I was pregnant the first time, I'd never gone uncaffeinated more than a day since college. I ended up using Postum in lieu of coffee my entire pregnancy, and found myself liking it. It's basically a mix of roasted grains, and while it's not coffee, it hits the same craving receptors. I'm still happy to have a cup of Dandy Blend, which as you can guess is roasted dandelion roots. I still need a single cup of real caffeinated coffee a day, but the rest of the day is open for substitutes. 😋

[@Falx415]

I love it when the fan favorite character Hardtack makes an appearance, it's always such a joy.

[@j.d.4697]

Probably going through hard times as it's hard-pressed to find other gigs.

[@dominusregni]

"clack clack!"

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

My grandmother used to tell me that during & after WW2, my great-grandmother sent her to pick dandelions, including the roots. She'd make the leaves into a salad or cook them as a substitute for spinach, and she'd chop up, dry and roast the roots and grind them into a substitute for coffee.

[@ChickenPermission617]

Oh interesting. I’ve heard of the leaves being used for salads and the flower part itself made into “honey”. But never heard of the roots being made into coffee!

[@O___P]

That's still a thing in Europe. You usually mix the powder into real coffee to lower caffeine, or drink it on its own for caffeine-free coffee (beats decaf). Personally, I prefer date kernels, roasted and ground though. Those can pretty up cheap coffee too.

[@taekwongurl]

Great Depression cooking from around the world needs more videos! Was just reading up about how certain European nations dealt with their own economic rationing. Spoilers, it's really sad.

[@Taven03]

Chicory is also used as coffee substitute (even coming back a little bit in popularity)

[@bababooie7296]

@OnSquareOnLevel Reminds me of Sid from Ice Age eating a dandelion!

[@viviancandelario4766]

In the Philippines, the poor farmers made "Rice coffee " since we have an abundance of rice. I was 10 years old when I first tried it, I accompanied my father visiting his classmate who was a farmer. It smelled divine! Nutty fragrance. It was served hot with milk from water Buffalo (Karabaw). I'll never forget how soothing it tasted. It's still made today and sold as Rice coffee.

[@mix-n-match834]

I feel like in both recipes one thing that was lacking was actual roasting process - I assume that most of "real" coffee at that time came as raw grains so authors of both recipes did not included that step.

[@cheutho]

I think it's a valid possibility. Old recipes often assume you knew what to do with something, and leave out a lot of details.

[@josephpotter5766]

@@cheutho There's no question about this, the recipe literally says 'parched'. Max just didn't follow the recipe.

[@cheutho]

It went into the oven until it was completely dry... which I believe counts as parched. Like mix-and-match said, the thing is that he forgot that coffee in that era was usually green coffee that you roasted yourself before grinding, so anyone from the 1800's who was making a substitute coffee would likely have roasted whatever they were using before grinding and brewing, just like they would've with coffee.

[@Lanoira13]

@@cheutho The sweet potato coffee is sorta guilty of this, but the Rye coffee does says "ready for parching, to be used like the real Coffee Bean" so they didn't completely LEAVE OUT the roasting, they do imply "prepare this like you would coffee", but they weren't the most clear, probably since as you said they assumed it would be obvious to the reader since most people knew how to prepare coffee and how these recipes worked. To be fair to the sweet potato coffee, it was clearly written to make coffee go further, and as the recipe stands probably would've made a great half tea sweet potato flavored coffee, so they might not have intended it to be roasted at the time. Though people probably did fully brown the sweet potatoes later down the line to emulate the coffee taste, they might not have done it with this Rye mix, since the Rye would already be roasted to emulate the coffee, the sweet potato powder could've just been used as a flavorful supplement to dilute it/make it go further, or it could've been roasted to double down on the coffee taste. Who knows. lmao

[@arfyego0682]

Coffee was issued in a variety of ways: Ground, roasted beans Roasted, whole beans Whole beans, in the green You kind of never knew what you were gonna get, and many soldiers had to learn on the fly how to roast and grind coffee with whatever they had. I assume this step was left out as it wasn't always applicable, and it was something you did with your coffee anyway -an american civil war reenactor :)

[@rachelchanel7941]

The line “…Just as tasteless as the day it was baked” slayed me, especially because he smiled while saying it. I would definitely try this. I’ve never had sweet potato tea, nut there’s a first time for everything 😊

[@Pammus_]

Recently, I got from Cafe Du Monde a can of 100% Chicory, as I'm no longer allowed caffeine. I found the taste very acrid and sour, and I've needed to doctor it more heavily with milk and sugar than I would normal coffee. I much prefer the roasted barley tea bags I found at the Asian market. The taste is very similar to coffee, but smoother and slightly sweeter, and its not harsh on the stomach or guts like I've found coffee to be. Highly recommend the barley as a substitute if you don't care about the caffeine!

[@be6715]

@Pammus_ You might seek out Postum - I've heard good things about it - though never tried it myself.

[@Pammus_]

@@be6715 Thanks for the recommendation! Interesting history on it. I'll give it a go!

[@jgkitarel]

Very true about roasted barley tea, which is a popular drink with meals in the Far East aside from regular water as it dates from the days when reliably clean water was a pipe dream, so they would boil roasted barley in the water to not only make the water drinkable, but give it taste. This also helped prepare the barley to be mixed with rice, so as to stretch out rice supplies, if not outright replace it when the rice supply went out.

[@jontell726]

Maybe consider Crio Bru?

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

@@be6715 Postum is good but it reminds me more of cereal milk than anything. Good, but not 1:1 ; toasted barley tea is closer in my experience

[@randomgirlxrulz]

I had roasted barley tea for the first time recently when I visited Japan, and I was shocked by how similar it tasted to coffee! Like other commenters have said, maybe roasting the rye and sweet potatoes would lend a more coffee-like flavour.

[@jujijuman]

barley tea tastes NOTHING like coffee. i know a place in atlanta called cherry blossom ( its a korean spot near GSU) that made barley tea. was it good? surprisingly yeah. was it coffee? god no. id call it cereal tea before i called it coffee

[@jonathankorman4031]

@@jujijuman Barley tea tastes *everything* like coffee beans. It doesn't taste like heavily carbonized coffee beans, but if you get some light roast coffee that's a little *too* light, it will taste remarkably like barley tea AKA Starbucks coffee always tastes the same because everything that's burnt beyond recognition... well, tastes the same, and incidentally not so much like barley tea.

[@winstonsmithsoul]

It’s relatively easy to make at home in the oven. Just follow similar instructions to roasting coffee. It’s a nice change from coffee coffee :)

[@jgkitarel]

Yeah, roasting he barley before making it into tea definitely gives it a coffee like taste. Spent three years in the Far East (Korea to be precise) and I've had roasted barley tea several times. Also just regular barley tea, which has a taste like dark bread, in my opinion. This has historically been a common type of "tea" used in the Far East to ensure that water was safe to drink after being boiled. It also helped soften the barley before they ground it mix it with rice to stretch out rice stocks, and was often an alternative when rice stocks ran low. It also boosted the nutritional value of the rice due to it not being only rice.

[@winstonsmithsoul]

@@jgkitarel Funny thing I was a bit broke and couldn’t afford coffee so I made American civil war dandelion coffee. Very bitter and astringent but gave me an idea. Yes I reinvented barley coffee, thinking I’d come up with a winner. Very rudimentary baked in the oven after researching coffee roasting. Then I googled it, yep the Italians have done it for centuries, it’s called Cafe D’orzo. My version is quite nice for a change, it doesn’t contain caffeine and has alleged health properties.

[@araccooninagarage9014]

i tried this recipe once! me and my dad made it for a history project in school and i brought in a jug of it for the class. safe to say i passed, but this is pretty close to what my dad and i did! only difference, we roasted it until it was dark in color based on a journal we found while researching it in the public library. either way, this is really accurate, love your channel, man! :)

[@enscroggs]

Try toasting the rye. When home brewing dark beer the recipe often called for adding toasted barley to the wort. The caramelized grain made the wort much darker and the flavor of the finished beer was often reminiscent of coffee.

[@Paul-zt3dw]

This is the only history content I can get my wife to watch with me. Books, documentaries, museums, etc all are like pulling teeth. The hardtack always gets a giggle out of her too

[@chrysanthemum8233]

If a person doesn't giggle at the hardtack jokes at this point there's probably something wrong with them 😆

[@Raven-Jomi]

Fun fact, you can buy a rye-based coffee substitute in Germany. It's called "Caro Kaffe" It tastes similar to Coffe, it's a bit more sour and is Caffeine free. I used to love the stuff and would drink it with milk and sugar ☺

[@lazzurroClaudio]

Me too, I loved it as a kid.

[@robertbrodie5183]

had that a few times in late 80s in berlin offered by ww2 survivors

[@marabanara]

I still drink Caro here in Australia!

[@tz8785]

Apparently it's sold as Pero in the US, probably since it would have been too similar to Karo.

[@Broockle]

Why bother when you can get Ovomaltine. Seriously 😂

[@jcrbama]

The grinder on the Sharps carbine was originally for grain. Lt. Col. Walter King, a soldier in the Missouri cavalry developed a grinding mill that could be incorporated into the buttstock of a Sharps carbine. Paperwork from the inspection board from King notates the use was for grain, though that never really came to fruition for several reasons. Adding the grinder compromised several functions of the rifle as well. Only about 100 were produced and only a dozen or so still exist.

[@meshuggahshirt]

Most of the so-called "coffee-grinder guns" were hand-cranked machine guns

[@ioanaalina5583]

My mom grew up in soviet union Romania and often told me how special coffee time feels for her since the Revolution, because there was only chicory "coffee" available before, and now she gets to enjoy so many real coffees from all over the world

[@mysbhyv1707]

In the Philippines, we have corn coffee and rice coffee (brown, black, red rice varieties). Rice is toasted on a pan and ground finely, taste very near like strong, aromatic coffee. Kapeng Barako is the strongest and most delicious, from the province of Batangas.

[@leyalaatasto9096]

Hiya kabayan! Rice coffee was my first thought too when I saw the rye, my lola used to drink it a lot as a kid. I've also had soy coffee, which I absolutely adore.

[@Varphi_]

All those sound delicious 😋

[@janesmith5194]

That sounds really good! I like toasted rice in my tea, although I keep it whole and mix it with the tea leaves :)

[@The1337scientist]

Very interesting. Here in Europe there are also variants like that made from roasted grain. I believe both the sweet potato and the rye should have been roasted before grinding… the rye coffee recipe even says „dry it in the sund“ and „parching like the real thing“. And I believe in this instance it means roasting…

[@nitesy381]

Speaking of philippines and coffee and people doing coffee runs under fire, 150 years and people are still willing to die for it. There was a somewhat viral video of a person doing a coffee run in a firefight in marawi , 2017

[@keegandecker4080]

One of my favorite fun facts about the American civil war is that the army of northern Virginia surrendered at appamatox court house after mistakenly receiving a shipment of yams instead of ammunition from the rebel capital. They had been shot at, frozen, burned, and starved but the thought of having to stomach one more meal of yams was enough to bring the rebellion to an end. “No more marse Roberts, I can’t go on no more.”

[@sophisteacated]

Theres a South Korean drink called a goguma latte, which is just sweet potato (but specifically the Japanese sweet potato, golden inside, purple outside, tastes like cake) roasted/steamed/whatever, and blended with milk and sweetener. Not coffee but this reminded me of it!

[@odinfromcentr2]

Ooh, I need to get me some Japanese sweet potatoes (if they have them) next time I go to the city.

[@evan8463]

I looooved this drink. I can't seem to find it in the US tho lol

[@hinachansansensei]

​@@odinfromcentr2doublecheck your potatoes before you buy, there's more than one kind of sweet potato grown in Japan. I think OP is talking about the Satsuma-imo (assuming the colors mentioned are the potato when cooked), but I could be wrong. Definitely not Okinawan sweet potatoes tho -- those are only purple on the inside (very vibrant when cooked, but look streakier when raw).

[@anitanalley2417]

We have another project forr Max!

[@jw1731]

😂 I love that description “tastes like cake” so true too

[@jasonwilliamson8416]

As a long time Civil War living historian I really appreciate this episode. I've roasted my own beans on occasion and I've also made the sweet potato and acorn versions. In my professional opinion George Pickett was simply trying not to hurt his wife's feelings because these concoctions are NOT good!

[@slwrabbits]

Well, at least he seemed appreciative of the effort involved?

[@egrettacaerulea]

Was 'Bless your heart' meant literally back then? Because otherwise, he was pretty explicit about his feelings.

[@temperingtantrum]

As a northerner that tried to be with a man from the south, I *hate* that phrase. Oh, I'm doing something you don't approve of? Obviously the quickest way to get me to change my behavior is with undetectable sarcasm... Best way to get me to do what you want must be to A) not say what I'm doing wrong and B) use a phrase that sounds nice-ish about what I did do.

[@online4christ660]

A couple of years ago I was on a holiday camping in a forest. Having no acces to fresh ingredients we came up with the idea to make hot chocolate using coffee creamer and cocoa. Every night at camp I enjoyed it very much after a full day of hiking. But when I had been back home for a couple of days, I made it again and found it barely drinkable, although it was the same stuff. Moral of the story is that circumstance plays a role in taste perception I think.

[@mariecarie1]

@@online4christ660That’s a good point. Beggars can’t be choosers, especially when it comes to war rations. The smallest things that seem trivial or disgusting when safe and sound at home might seem like a real treasure when you aren’t.

[@aiko9393]

In Java, Indonesia, tricky merchants would mix roasted dried corn and coffee, mill them together, and pass it on as coffee blend. They may did this because there were shortage, but they still do this now. Some people like it because it's not too strong, easy on the stomach, and easy for the heart. My father told me of a coffee merchant in Surakarta Indonesia, whose blend he calls "goncang pikir". I asked whether it's so mindblowing, because goncang means shake and pikir means mind. He said, "Nah. It's short of jagung sekranjang kopi secangkir (a basket of corn, a cup of coffee beans)." 😂

[@paulw6550]

I think the reference to parched for the rye is like parched for parched corn where you lightly roast it. The rye needed to be roasted dark like a coffee bean. the roasting brings the familiar flavour. Same as when they roasted chickory or dandelion root. Great stuff!

[@pierresosa6156]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@mamadeb1963]

That's what I was thinking. Think about the Celestial Seasoning's coffee sub, Roastaroma, which is made from roasted grains.

[@SamBarge1]

Yes. I think roasting the rye would improve the colour of the "coffee" if not the flavour.

[@Iflie]

Yeah that would make sense, I was waiting for the part where he'd toast it like coffee, that's certainly what the soldiers would do. I like a fake coffee and it is roasted grains and chichory, I'm sure it's not coffee but it's not like a tea at all and as dark as coffee in water.

[@miloumilhouse]

You can still find chicory (100% or mixed with instant coffee) in supermarkets Europe, especially France and Belgium. It tastes really good and it's a very good alternative to coffee

[@Tricksterbelle]

Chicory is so smooth and great as a dessert coffee. I was so excited to get some Du Monde Chicory after I moved to California

[@zacharyrollick6169]

Good stuff.

[@thesmirkingwolf]

Good old New Orleans coffee

[@D71219ONE]

Don’t say this to James Hoffmann! 😂 He HATES chicory coffee.

[@KatySC]

Yeah you can find chicory “coffee” in US too

[@undertasty]

Finland had a shortage of coffee during and after WWI, WWII and the Winter War, and coffee was rationed for a long time. To a Finn, this is a horror, since Finland was and still is at the very top when it comes to coffee consumption per capita in the world. To supplement the meager amounts of real coffee, people added things like chicory root and dandelion root to it, or rye or barley. My own grandmother told me how she dug for dandelion roots to be used as coffee as a kid.

[@matthewwoods6501]

I've been looking to try dandelion coffee. It seems interesting

[@martinivers489]

Yes but you had pervitine.

[@EtruskenRaider]

@@matthewwoods6501dandelion root “coffee” is not great (at least when I tried it) but dandelion flower tea is amazing. One of the best stress relievers I’ve ever consumed.

[@lizlawley6680]

My Mum spent a whole day going round the kitchen garden digging up every dandelion root she could find. Not easy work, the roots go down a long way, and they're tough. Then they needed scrubbing, cutting into short lengths, and finally roasting or rather baking in the oven, to dry them out and give them some colour. Then when they were dry as hardtack, but not burnt, just toasted, you could grind them up and brew them like coffee. I never tried it as I was only seven and had no truck with adult drinks like tea, yeuch, I thought coffee would be the same, even though it smelt far better.

[@martinivers489]

@@lizlawley6680 You can do it by sticking a small stick or metal bar just beside the plant in the earth, and move it sideways a little. If you are careful, you can just pull out the plant with the root them. But the leaves will very easily rip off if you are to fast.

[@winters1mgsfan]

It makes me feel so connected to history, knowing that soldiers of the past still needed coffee as much as my soldiers and I did in the 2010s. Great episode!

[@Broockle]

Less so with hardtack tho I imagine 😆

[@NO7theMessiah]

Roasted grains in tea (most commonly buckwheat or barley) is common in Korea. Sweet potatoes are also common in beverages, especially in the winter.

[@Dr_Monitor]

I came up with a recipe for this that has caffeine, has the color, and even the flavor. All you need is sun dried yaupon leaves (it’s a species of non-toxic holly that actually produces caffeine in the leaves and stems. The berries on fruiting varieties of yaupon are still toxic, so steer clear of those), and you also need sweet potatoes. Roast sweet potatoes on a low heat (say 250F/121C) until they appear burned (if you’re worried about wasting food, try this with just the skins or with sweet potatoes that are bruised or damaged or even substitute with carrot peels as those work too). Once the sweet potatoes have been roasted and the yaupon dried, grind them up as you would coffee and brew it as you would regular coffee. This was one of those pandemic recipes I came up with considering I have yaupon bushes in front of my house and had tons of sweet potatoes and carrots in my fridge at the time. The flavor is similar to chicory coffee and is thankfully not as acidic.

[@noobfl]

the efford and creativity, people put in to making coffee substitutes in desperate times is phenomenal. there are hundreds of recepies from all over the world and times.

[@Bacteriophagebs]

People will do anything to get a fix of their addiction, and caffeine addiction is no exception.

[@deakniles7759]

For the rye recipe after the rye had been dried out, the newspaper mentions parching it. Parched corn is roasted corn kernels (think corn nuts) . So I imagine the intent was to toast the rye which would have made it darker in color and add some coffee like flavors.

[@twilightzone39]

I love that he just casually has hardtack. I need more people with hardtack in my life

[@jimchabai3163]

Some oral history for you: maybe 40 years ago, my Grandmother (who was born in 1904) told me during the depression, people would make 'coffee' out of cereal grains. I can't remember which grain, but it may have been barley or perhaps wheat. She said it was roasted in the oven until it was as dark as coffee, and then ground up. I think it may be that the almost burnt taste of it would mimic the bitterness of real coffee. Back not that long ago, there were products like caf-lib and others which were just called cereal beverage which were marketed as 0 caffeine substitutes (maybe still available today), were made from barley. The look was identical to typical instant coffee.

[@Makumbator]

In germany we still have Caro "coffee" made from barley, chicory, malt and rye. Often called childrens coffee. I use it in my bacon and beans receipe (and sometimes for nostalgias sake as breakfast coffee on sundays). WIkipedia tells me it is sold under the name pero in the US.

[@CourtneySchwartz]

@@MakumbatorMormons in the USA drink chickory “coffee” because they avoid caffeine and alcohol due to religious prohibitions.

[@jesselduque2858]

In the Philippines, there's rice coffee. You roast and toast the uncooked rice grains over the stove until they were very dark and that's what you boil to get the "coffee." It was a substitute for when there's no real coffee beans -- or instant coffee powder -- to be had.

[@maitemf]

@@MakumbatorYes! I think is the same brand as ee have in Spain, but here the name is Eko. I used to drink it when I was a child, I loved it but now I don’t like it at all😅😅. I’ll die for a good coffee now😝😝

[@charleskroeger5735]

@@Makumbator I have seen Pero but not tried it. I do have Roma I keep around. It has the same ingredients you listed for Caro. This Roma I bought in the US is made in Portugal. On the back of the bottle Kaffree Roma .. is made from roasted malted Barley with a touch of chicory and rye.

[@ArtifexExMachina]

I think those recipes were meant to replace the green coffee and were supposed to be roaster before grinding up. Also if you malt the barley and then roast the malted barley, the flavour is much closer to coffee. Malt coffee as a non caffeinated alternative to coffee is still popular in some parts of Europe.

[@irenafarm]

We had malt coffee when I was a kid - I don’t remember why, but there was a coffee shortage or something and the gov’t surplus food we got, included that malted coffee. It’s actually pretty tasty, though it doesn’t at all compare to good coffee.

[@PlanetaryDweeb]

roasted malted barley is also available in Brazil as a coffee substitute, there it's called cevada, which is the Portuguese word for barley

[@andreabartels3176]

After WW2, there was lots of rationing for foodstuff and real coffee. Malt coffee was an alternative, mixed with a little bit of real coffee to get more coffee-like flavour for adults.

[@DH-xw6jp]

Ye gad, why would you make coffee out of malted barley, when you can use it for beer?

[@MyHeartsBeat]

We had malt coffee or chicory coffee as kids and always reffered to it as "children's coffee" so while the adults had the real coffee we could pretend we also had coffee and I really like the taste so even as an adult I like drinking these alternatives.

[@bubwal23xifan]

The grinder on the stock of a Sharp's rifle was used for coffee. Sharp's rifles were breach loading rifles with a bullet already packed in its own cartridge. The grinder was originally meant to grind grains to make flour or the like. The issue was any place that a soldier was where they could forage enough grain would be close to a mill where it could be ground correctly. So, the soldiers would use it for coffee instead so they didn't have to use their rifle butts

[@Baker11ification]

I was taught as a kid by my 80 year old neighbors how to make Chickory Tea by boiling the roots. With a little honey I remember it being good, made it again as a young adult for my future wife, every time I see the blue flowers out in the fields I have good memories.

[@c-money9623]

In Natchitoches, Louisiana, there's a coffee shop that still makes all of these old coffee substitutes along with modern day specialty blends As a kid, I remember visiting there and my parents buying a bag of chicory and sassafras.

[@Gatorade69]

How long ago was that ? I think sassafras is now illegal, or at least heavily monitored. Edit : Seems like it's just the oil. "Safrole is a precursor for the clandestine manufacture of the drugs MDA and MDMA, and as such, sales and import of sassafras oil (as a safrole-containing mixture of above-threshold concentration) are heavily restricted in the US."

[@c-money9623]

@@Gatorade69 it was like 10 years ago. 2011 ish. I just

[@HootOwl513]

Sassafras is good. I went with my parents to Arkansas in the early '60s and got some sassafras hard candy. Later you could buy Sassafras Bark Tea in health food stores. Sassafras is a key component in Sarsaparilla and real Root Beer. Hansen's Creamy Root Beer used to have real Sassafras in it, but it was altered to make it legal. The Gov't determined Sassafras was a carcinogen, but I believe a 50 lb sack of it fell off a shelf and killed a lab rat, and that scared them. File gumbo powder has Sassafras in it.

[@j.m.9727]

Southerner here. In the South, sweet potato and yam are used interchangeably but both refer to the orange-fleshed sweet potato. The word yam came into play because they wanted to differentiate between sweet white-fleshed potatoes (which are called O'Henry potatoes) and orange-fleshed potatoes. Yam isn't as popular as a term as sweet potato nowadays (the term is mostly used in African American cuisine or by the older generation, especially those raised "in the country"). Regardless of the cultivar, it's a sweet potato (or yams) to us if it has orange flesh.

[@cypherknot]

Yams are a different species of plant from sweet potatoes.

[@j.m.9727]

@@cypherknot , yes, but we're talking about colloquial English, not scientific.

[@jacobcurda6031]

Texan here…. Can confirm …. Sweet potatoes are orange

[@almostoily7541]

​@@cypherknotdid you know Florida released an insect to eat yams because they are invasive? I can't imagine that going wrong 😂 I'd like to grow true yams because... more food for less work.

[@mahenonz]

In New Zealand we call sweet potatoes “kumara” and what we call yams are known elsewhere as “oca.”

[@flyrobin2544]

I think coffee's ability to save off hunger might also be why coffee was so important to the success of the war. Someone would be smart to market this sweet potato coffee !

[@Ohwhale79]

I'm OBSESSED with your ability to insert the hard tack video clip every chance you get. I LOVE IT and it makes me laugh literally every time! It might be one of my favorite things about your channel. 😅😂

[@iduswelton9567]

I used to make coffee that had Chicory in it - I liked the taste of it - Louisiana Coffee has Chicory in it - the can with the White label is the strongest one - my favorite blend is 1/3 Kenyon coffee, 1/3 Arabica coffee and 1/3 French dark roasted coffee - that's 1/3 pound of each kind - grind the beans on the setting one click from espresso grind - a 1/3 of a cup of the mixture will make 10; cups in ur dripalator - a Mr. Coffee machine is a good choice - before brewing add a pinch of salt onto the coffee grounds to smooth out the acid taste in the coffee

[@RingofSecrets]

This is what I love so much about your videos. It's the small bits of history that often get ignored, but tell us so much about the larger picture!

[@seanspartan2023]

Chicory is still popular. I make chicory coffee every now and again when I get a craving for some.

[@klashking332]

Love the Regieleki in the background

[@amandazammit2595]

As a native New Orleanian, I love my coffee and chicory!!! Which is difficult to find in Kansas, so thank goodness for the Internet. Each time I have a cup, it brings back memories of my grandparents and Saturday pancake breakfasts; especially when I add real sugar and PET evaporated milk to the coffee with chicory. Whenever I visit home, I stop as many times as possible to Cafe du Monde for beignets and a cafe au lait. 😊

[@jillparks]

I understand World Market carries cans of Cafe du Monde's coffee and chicory blend, and even box mixes of their beignets. Although after sampling the real thing in NOLA, I don't blame you for going back home to get it. 😊

[@sewingintrifocals-alisonde7778]

I think they have chicory coffee in the New Orleans Square area of Disneyland here in Calif. I also think it’s the Cafe du Monde brand. I know they do sell delicious beignets. Anyway, you might be able to get cans of New Orleans-style coffee on line.

[@sewingintrifocals-alisonde7778]

@@jillparks, that is good news!

[@Aswaguespack]

I grew up with drinking “coffee milk” made with fresh cow’s milk (the cream was skimmed off in the boiling and used to make fresh butter and J&B Coffee & Chicory (an old defunct NOLA Brand that came in big sealed cans. Afterwards the cans were saved to store nails, screws, and assorted small parts. J&B Coffee &Chicory was what we grew up drinking. (we grew up 50 miles up river from NOLA)

[@bendavis3778]

During the Civil War, the Agar Gun (Basically a single barrel gatling gun) was nicknamed the "Coffee Mill Gun" because cranking the handle to fire the gun was a lot like cranking the handle on a coffee grinder. I also heard of a recipe for coffee substitute using roast peanuts, something the Confederate States would have in abundance

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Roasted peanuts seems like they'd be pretty workable. Did people ever refer to the Gatling and other "manual machineguns" as coffee grinders given how they were operated by cranks as well?

[@bendavis3778]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Not sure. I've only ever heard of the Agar Gun being called that. I think it might also have something to do with the shape of the hopper

[@nonamesplease6288]

Ager gun.

[@meltedplasticarmyguy]

During my tenure in the army, the coffee produced by my platoon in my second unit was, to use a more appropriate term, jet fuel. Firstly, we never washed the pot, only rinsed it out when necessary. We would brew a fresh pot on Monday morning and add additional scoops of grounds each subsequent day. By Friday, there was about a week's worth of coffee in the filter. Strong or bold are not sufficient words to describe the Friday pot. It was a level that was comparable to that of coffee concentrate. I cannot fathom the amount of caffeine that was in those cups. These days, my coffee consumption has tapered off greatly, having switched over to tea for my morning beverage.

[@nunyabizness4354]

Ah, memories. Especially when in the field, the mess would send up a container of coffee to the TOC whenever they could, usually once a day. It progressed from drinkable to OK (added powdered creamer hoarded from MRE's) to almost drinkable (added more creamer powder plus sugar) to "well, I gotta have caffeine" throughout the day. Sometimes after a REALLY long deployment we would use the instant coffee from the MRE's stirred into the cold coffee. We were mechanized, so we had the carrying capacity.

[@stepps511]

I was present for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, a very grand celebration, indeed. Fortunately, I was not drinking coffee at that point in my life, nor did they have anything but the real deal if memory serves. Fascinating story today, Max. Thank you for this and the reminder of the anniversary.

[@meetmeindreamland]

Here in New Mexico, folks often used a variant of atole as a coffee substitute. I made a batch for myself once-- it's pretty simple, toast corn meal and simmer into a thin porridge-- and man, I gotta say, I'm sticking with real coffee from now on.

[@kkattrap]

chocolate atole / champorado makes for a thick hot chocolate. Cinnamon and vanilla are great for a basic atole. Not coffee tho!

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

It sounds like trying to drink a watered-down polenta mush! 😮 Yikes. Or does one roast the meal until it starts to burn...? (Which cornmeal does seem very predisposed to do, I gotta say, from years of making polenta pancakes!)

[@meetmeindreamland]

@@anna_in_aotearoa3166 So, I went and dug up the recipe since I hadn't actually looked at it in years. It's from a 1978 New Mexico Magazine cookbook and it's credited to the "Joseph Lonewolf family of Santa Clara." 2 cups blue or white cornmeal 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Milk Brown the cornmeal in a hot oven (425 degrees) for 8 to 10 minutes by spreading in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and stirring several times to prevent scorching. Mix sugar and cinnamon with browned cornmeal. Use this mixture like cocoa. Stir into hot milk and simmer for 10 minures-- about 2-3 tablespoons per cup. I think I should try this again.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

@@meetmeindreamland That's fascinating! Thank you for sharing 😊 It's remarkable what an array of things are used to make drinks around the world... Have seen some in Asian supermarket here that seem to use purple yams, in powdered form? And of course there's the tapioca bubble tea that seems to have taken the world by storm...

[@bithboyband]

Ive been bingewatching these in a random way - and I love the hardtack joke with the clinking. Its great.

[@cammobunker]

Folks talking about using Dandelion root as coffee substitute, be advised that Dandelion root tea is a fairly powerful natural laxative. You've been warned. I imagine Max did not include it because he had visions of people posting "what have you done to me ?" on their phone from the restroom. That said, in the book "Hardtack and Coffee" there's a letter from a Union soldier who talks about having a quart of coffee at a time, and doing this sometimes three and four times per day. That's a lot of coffee.

[@finnr0890]

In the past I’ve made a coffee substitute using dandelion roots. I used pretty much the same method as you used with the sweet potatoes. At first I made the mistake of not roasting nearly long enough, and ended up with a starchy, earthy, potato like beverage. I fixed this by roasting far longer, until the roots were nearly blackened, giving them a burnt but pleasant flavor, emulation that of a dark roast coffee. Using more or less of the root powder can get you anywhere from a tea like beverage, to a rich espresso strength brew, and I think this makes quite a nice coffee substitute, at least the best I’ve tried.

[@getreal200]

I dug and dried some roots, how did you roast yours? I have chicory and I mix it with coffee but would like to try dandelion too.

[@finnr0890]

@@getreal200 I cleaned the roots well and sliced them into 2-3 millimeter thick pieces. I laid them flat on a baking sheet and baked at 200°F or 93°C for about 90 minutes. I don’t remember the exact time, but just bake until your largest slices are no longer squishy in the middle. At this point grinding and brewing would make a tea like beverage, but if you roast longer until some pieces char slightly, you’ll get closer to a coffee flavor. I used a spice grinder to get it as fine as possible and usually add about a teaspoon to west 16 oz water.

[@getreal200]

@@finnr0890 thank you!

[@SN-sz7kw]

I have recently discovered lupine coffee as I have a reaction to chicory. It’s pretty decent, esp with cream. Really helped me get off my excessive caffeine habit.

[@pirateyarn6331]

Thank you for showing a lighter side of the Civil War. It always fascinates and inspires me how creative people will get to restore a bit of normalcy to their lives.

[@FelisTerras]

My late grandma would still buy chichory coffee way into the 1980's. Due to WWll, coffee here in Europe was pretty much unavaiable, and she got so used to it, that she continued blending it with normal coffee, until she could no longer care for herself. And yes, that particular brand exists to this day.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

It's funny how chicory was a substitute but which people really ended up liking, so it stuck.

[@avnostlga]

Yes. Can't make Vietnamese coffee without it! Tastes great. There's a can in my fridge now.

[@melissaharris3389]

Chicory coffee IS very good.

[@macswanton9622]

"Fill it to the rim, with 'Brim'." Was their tagline and brand name

[@FelisTerras]

​@@avnostlga I wasn't aware it's one of your national specialities. Guess, some lesser known things are popular, no matter where^^

[@stephaniewilley2224]

As usual, your presentation is both entertaining and educational.

[@PorcoWest]

As an old soldier I can tell you for sure that anyone who was issued a sharps with a grinder used it for the coffee and big props to that union officer for getting that roaster. Also Max thank you kindly for all the content over the years now I truly hope all is well for you. Pob lwc i ti

[@DonPatrono]

doubt they actually did for a few reason 1) very few were made and even fewer issued 2) several museums who had coffee grinder carbines put them to the test, and found the grinder not robust enough to actually grind roasted coffee beans 3) that grinder could grind only very small amounts per time, probably less than what you'd need to make a cup. You'd be faster in using the actual butt end of the rifle to smack a potful of beans

[@samuraieko5408]

@@DonPatrono It may not have actually been used to grind coffee in practice, but that was most likely the intention in it's design. We can assume the design was flawed, hence it's limited production and use. Using it to grind charcoal for gunpowder, which is what Max suggested, doesn't really make sense, because creating gunpowder in the field is not simple, quick, or easy. You would need sulfur and saltpeter in addition to the charcoal, and you'd need to grind the charcoal very fine and tumble it with the other ingredients for a long time. It's also rather dangerous, as even a static electric discharge from your finger could detonate the powder. Finding sulfur and saltpeter in the field is pretty much not going to happen. Charcoal is the only ingredient that would be readily available, and even that you would have to make yourself. If you needed gunpowder in the field, you were getting it from the supply wagons. Powder and bullets were made in factories and shipped to the armies as paper cartridges in packages of 10 each, which were themselves loaded into crates that contained 1,000 cartridges each. There wasn't really a need to make gunpowder in the field anyway, as ammunition was one thing that was never in short supply. The Confederates would lament how they had plenty of bullets, but no food to eat.

[@jenniferstrover1276]

When I was a kid, my (Australian) family would go on holidays to vegetarian health retreat. They had a caffeine-free coffee alternative called Caro, which according to Wikipedia is a mixture of roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye. I was too young to drink coffee at the time so I had no point of comparison. But I remember it being warm and comforting, and more substantial than a cup of tea.

[@amygodward4472]

We have it here in Europe, too ☺️ love Caro!

[@CaptainPancake1000]

In the USA it's called Pero! I love this stuff.

[@DavCynLondon]

I remember Caro! It tasted great but caused me serious headaches.

[@Sk0lzky]

Barley+rye+(sometimes)corn+(sometimes)chicory (all roasted!) was the world war 2 and commie era coffee substitute back in commie times. Doesn't taste anything like coffee but it do be refreshing! I'd rather drink a slightly fermented malt/grain drink (similar to kvass), but grain coffee is a flavour of my childhood as well! Farmer family/10 PS You may wanna try dandelions roots, it's a very southern US thing but it supposedly has a much more similar flavour profile to actual v. dark roasted coffee (I tried, it doesn't, but people claim it does so maybe I'm wrong lol) Oh, there's also a popular instant variety, it's an amazing summer drink as it gets really foamy when you stir the powder in, it's some unholy commie invention but god damn does it work well

[@sophiesmith5922]

nah. Never too young! Had my first cup of joe at age 4....with chocolate ice cream instead of milk and sugar! My uncle loves me.

[@havardrivansson7902]

"Pickett today is widely perceived as being a tragic hero of sorts-a flamboyant officer who wanted to lead his troops into a glorious battle, but always missed the opportunity until the disastrous charge at Gettysburg. Historian John C. Waugh wrote of Pickett, "An excellent brigade commander, he never proved he could handle a division." He quotes George B. McClellan, the Union general, as saying: "Perhaps there is no doubt that he was the best infantry soldier developed on either side during the Civil War."

[@ethanbremner51]

I am a big fan of this channel but I think the history portion of this video is maybe the best thorough exploration of a concept "coffee and the civil war" that you have done to date. Just awesome.

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

Reminds me of that episode of Townsends where John roasts wheat berries to make malt coffee. Also, Cafe Du Monde's blend is delicious

[@evelinharmannfan7191]

During WW I and WW II, Germany had difficulties to get coffee as well. My grandmother 👵told me that her parents and later she herself would roast barly and chicory root (cichorium intybus) at home . At first, the barly was soaked and prepared as if for malting . Then they would roast the ingredients in big pans on the stove, constantly stirrring it to avoid burning. You could even buy such a substitue coffee (Ersatzkaffee) ☕ as a ready made mix under different brand names. This "Malzkaffe" aka "Muckefuck" coffee was still popular even in the 1960s, because it was considered cheaper and healthier. Both barley malt and chicory root are very beneficial for the gut biome, and supposedly help you deal with stress.

[@samuelhall5278]

It's good to know that the massive coffee addiction I had in the army as a warrant officer is actually part of a long and storied Army tradition.

[@hardcharging]

As a current soldier my son is convinced I joined the Army to drink coffee; something he openly said to me.

[@andybrooks7228]

When my father was in the British Army back in the sixties they mostly had tea as I understand it, at least that's how he recalls his experience at the mess hall were he always had a pint (imperial 568ml) of tea and enough breakfast both cereal and cooked to feed a small family. I don't recall him mentioning coffee but tea definitely held the dominate part of his memory's of that time.

[@mprojekt72]

On my father's side, they claim that the only reason why we are coffee addicts is because at least one of us, in every generation since 1775, has served in the Army. I may be the last military-coffee drinker in the family.

[@mprojekt72]

@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist2 I am not the droid you are looking for. I'm less than 49% white, and my ancestors turned rude, pushy Christian missionaries, who we didn't invite to breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even dessert, into dead invaders and interesting fence decorations.

[@Wolvenworks]

@@andybrooks7228considering the world-renowned English Breakfast…all i can say is i envy the english ability to make a decent brunch for a brekkie. Especially when pork ham and sausages aren’t exactly cheap in jakarta (only local producer worth a damn for western pork products is in Bali so it’s dirt cheap there)

[@sjukfan]

I have a Swedish cookbook from some time during World War II when there were a food ration here, on among things coffee. There's one recipe for "coffee" with dried potatoes mixed with coffee grounds, and another one where they use roasted dandelion roots.

[@Gatorade69]

Yeah, there's recipes for dandelion root 'coffee' in a lot of places. That is one of the more well known substitutes.

[@lakrids-pibe]

Roasted dandelion roots, chicory, rye, sugar beets... The leading brands of substitute coffee in Denmark was called *Rich's Kaffe-erstatning* and you can still buy it in museum shops. Not roasting the the rye is a mistake. All the ingredients should be roasted.

[@chuckdeyo291]

Glad to hear you bring up chicory. As a Michigan man, and a coffee drinker, my trip to New Orleans years ago saw me without a drinkable coffee for 2 weeks. I swore I will never go without again. Thanks for covering the history of foods so well.

[@EmilyJelassi]

I had me dad watch this video.. he’s a coffee addict and he was shocked that the civil war soldiers had to come up with new and creative ways to get their “coffee” fix. I’m an avid tea drinker, and I have to admit that sweet potato tea sounds interesting. Very interesting video 😊❤ Edit: I know that you’ve already done Parmesan and cucumber ice creams, but I’d love to see you attempt kulfi! I recently had a chance to try it (pistachio) and it was absolutely delicious!!

[@BlueRidgeCritter]

This was fascinating. Chicory was still very commonly used (usually mixed) well through the Great Depression, at least here in the Appalachians. My grandmother fooled my grandfather for years, I am told, by slowly introducing it in increasing quantities. And like you showed, you can still get it. I like it, myself. I have also drank "wheat coffee", which appears to be basically the same as your rye, but we roasted it prior to grinding. If you didn't roast it, it's bland. The sweet potatoes I'd bet could have been roasted a bit, too. But yes, I'm sure with most things, they were trying to just feel better and knew darn well it wasn't coffee. I would imagine that anything was better than plain water!

[@robertbrodie5183]

chicory coffee was not uncommon in pa dutch country in the 1960s mostly amoung depression survivors

[@jgkitarel]

Anything to add a pleasant enough flavor. How do you think tea got started and how there are still so many "teas" that are not made from tea leaves? Dates from the days when reliable access to clean water, or just wanting something that tasted different if the water WAS reliably clean. Just as a lot of thin broths were popular drinks in the Middle Ages, really.

[@inkermoy]

A friend said that his grandpa used to drink Postum, a wheat and molasses drink as a coffee substitute. We looked on Amazon and they still make it.

[@pierrer.m1802]

Chicory coffee is still quite popular in France, both mixed with regular coffee (Chicorée-café) and pure (Chicorée). Most forms I've seen are either as an instant powder or some kind of thick syrup.

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

Chickory-root powder is still added to degree coffee in tamil nadu too

[@Spoonishpls]

I don't drink coffee for reasons, but my family and I in the US drink Chicory coffee and I very much love it. I go 50/50 with chocolate for a dessert drink

[@adilsongoliveira]

After the civil war, Brazil invited some people from the confederate states to come and live here. We needed the farming experience (specially cotton) and we had plenty of land to give in return. Their settlement created the city of Americana, which is a town that borders mine and still has festivals that keep the folklore and culture of the south US. We can say that, in the end, at least they could drink all the good coffee they might want :)

[@vbrown6445]

Yes. You also still had slaves. That would have been very attractive to them.

[@adilsongoliveira]

@@vbrown6445 True. It may have been an incentive as slavery here ended in 1888, only 4 families that immigrated from US had 66 slaves at the time so, not much in pratice.

[@HikuroMishiro]

Interesting. Although despite popular belief the vast majority of people in the Confederate states did not have slaves so I doubt it was that aspect that was attractive to them so much as they were just seeking their own freedom from the Union.

[@vbrown6445]

@@HikuroMishiro Freedom to do what, exactly? After the war, they had all the same freedoms they had before the war, except the ability to own slaves...

[@HikuroMishiro]

​@@vbrown6445 Largely economic, the South was already heavily burdened by taxes before the war (mainly starting it) and this burden the economy of the South was decimated after the war. The federal government also had federal rule over the states and appointed their own people into office which often saw corruption and lower quality of life for those they were governing. The right to hold offices and even vote was curtailed for Confederate supporters. The vast majority of Southerners that moved to Americana in Brazil did not go on to buy slaves there, so regardless of what exactly their reasons were it clearly it had nothing to do with slavery.

[@AverySadBear]

It was also common to roast dandelion as a coffee substitute! Edit: I believe it was the root. Edit edit: I asked my mom, she made the sweet potato one as a kid with her mom apparently.(Her family was really poor as a kid) She did mention she roasted her potato after drying it out, that would probably make a huge difference in flavor. Edit edit edit!: I would love to see you try roasting the ingredients to see if that makes it more "coffee-like"

[@SpiceCh]

Rye generally was quite common in coffee imitations. I remember coffee imitations from the days of WW2 were made with rye and chicory. But the grounds were roasted in the version I know of - not simply dried.

[@rjn8327]

I'm really glad that Max keeps making these videos, because i can't quite find something like them.

[@deejsaan6678]

I've not read all of the replies, but living close to the state of Kentucky there is a "Kentucky Coffee Bean Tree" that grows far and wide out side the state of Kentucky. The seeds in the pods are roasted & ground to make a beverage similar to coffee. I understand great use of it was made in the south during the civil war. Unroasted seeds are toxic & potentially dangerous but people have consumed the roasted & ground seeds as a coffee like beverage for many years.

[@jkpiecko]

😂 we had a very similar "coffee" in Central Eastern Europe, during the times of the communism - it was called "kawa zbożowa" ("wheat/rye coffee") and it is still served - mostly to kids on summer camps, in schools, or by people filled with nostalgia 😂 anyway - tastes nothing like real coffee but goes well with milk and has that nutty flavour. Chiccory is also used to make it - you can get it as instant powder almost anywhere still ;)

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Communist Europe is another interesting place to look for coffee substitutes. I'm to understand that years of dodgy coffee blends and coffee substitutes was a contributing factor to German reunification.

[@brick6347]

I just commented the same. And I love Inka, it's the best! I sometimes make my boy a "frappe" with it and he's delighted.

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Dud they make jokes about these too?

[@rickybryan1759]

Chicory was quite famously used in Australia during the depression to cut the coffee. To this day you can still buy ‘coffee and chicory’ syrup. You can still see the chicory roaster chimneys dotted around Phillip Island. It’s a nice blend.

[@dennisp.2147]

There are still at least a half-dozen coffee companies in the US still selling "Louisiana coffee" coffee mixed with chicory. It's actually one of my favorites.

[@TerryMcQ79]

​@@dennisp.2147Cafe du Monday is my go to That's Cafe du Monde. Darn auto correct

[@jenniferstrover1276]

I was also thinking that a Mucket is just an American Billy!

[@MichaelHill-dt4dq]

​@terrymcq8757 I personally love cafe du monde..my wife thought I was crazy until I snuck a few cups on her. She's a fan now as well

[@ouestlelivre]

​@@dennisp.2147I remember learning about the chicory. I'm from Louisiana. Community Coffee sells a coffee with chicory mix (I think)

[@vicroc4]

Another interesting historical note: Pickett is much maligned by his association with the last major action at Gettysburg, but the blame truly should fall on Lee and Lee alone. Longstreet protested the idea of the attack, as he had Lee's other fumbles during the battle, but Lee was still grieving the loss of Jackson after Chancellorsville and refused to listen to Longstreet. It mainly became associated with Pickett because his division - which had not yet been involved in the fighting - was chosen to spearhead the assault. His troops made up only a third of the forces involved, but ended up receiving almost half of the casualties.

[@Bob_Jonez]

Speaking of using grains as alternatives for coffee in Italy there’s a variety of coffee called Caffe d’orzo made from barley and it was used extensively during and after WWII as real coffee was expensive due to the war.

[@DonPatrono]

still used today as a coffee alternative for those who have issues with caffeine. It's probably the coffee substitute that gets closer to actual coffee in smell and taste....and it still would fool absolutely nobody

[@DomyTheMad420]

i still can't get over how i fell in love with your channel. fell in love with history as i aged, always loved cooking but i never imagined someone would combine the two?! your channel is easily my favorite find of the year!

[@windyhicks3319]

I love your channel . Interesting. I'm going to make this for curiosity reasons. Thanks for sharing. Very fun.

[@writerinrwanda]

In the UK, people sometimes make dandelion coffee. You dig up the roots, wash them (thoroughly) and bake them, then grind into a powder. Tastes quite good, but not the same as coffee and takes a lot of digging to get enough roots.

[@chuckwieser7622]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but you should trying making the burnt bread coffee they made on Navy ships when the coffee beans ran out.

[@qhack]

I was always under the impression that regardless of the ingredient one still had to roast it before grinding it down. This is what gives it the color (and maybe the taste).

[@MegaZeta]

Most likely, but I wonder if the "secret ingredient" here weren't burnt ingredients from poor preparation. None of this stuff would taste like coffee, roasted or not, beyond the power of suggestion if it were roasted, darker and _looked_ more like coffee. But burnt coffee tastes much like a great many other things burnt.

[@10191927]

😂 I just imagined Max going into his yard fighting off Squirrels eating his rye and potatoes.

[@rebeccahart1190]

I have quite a bit of experience on making and trying coffee substitutes. I'm sensitive to caffeine. And I'm gluten intolerant, so I can't use most coffee substitutes on the market, like Postum, Pero and the like. I've used hickory root, dandelion root, chickpeas, rice, peanut with the oil extracted, etc. They don't taste like coffee. But the all were roasted, just like coffee is, before making a beverage from them. I believe your sweet potato coffee needs the dried potatoes and rye to be roasted before you make the drink. I think it will be closer to a coffee flavor. I'm a historical reenactor and a fellow food history nerd. I think they assumed in those recipes the product would be roasted, so didn't mention this.

[@Canis_Corpus]

Im a bit late to the party but id like to share a tidbit of firearm history! Soldiers most likely did use the grinder on the sharps as a coffee grinder, it wouldnt be the only time a feature on a gun was used by soldiers in an ununtended fashion. During the second world war Germany issued many of their soldiers a Kar98 and that specific rifle has a little metal notch on the stock used to field strip the bolt for cleaning. Many soldiers used this little notch as an ash tray! Long winded comment i know lol

[@tyrepair]

As others have commented, it would be interesting to try this out after roasting the sweet potatoes and barley. But, sweet potato tea (as you prepared it) sounds lovely!

[@mountainmover777]

My parents kept the coffee for themselves, but they did let us kids have a cup of Postum if we wanted. The internet tells me that It's made from roasted wheat bran, wheat, and molasses. Good times! I haven't had a cup in years as I'm a big boy now and I drink coffee. I might have to see if I can find a jar of Postum for old times sake though!

[@stanbrown32]

I have wondered how similar the coffee substitutes would have been to Postum. When I was in third grade, I had a teacher who drank Postum every day lol.

[@lesterstone8595]

It's strange that he didn't mention Postum. I used to drink a 1/2 coffee & 1/2 Postum concoction in an effort to stave off caffeine addiction.

[@censusgary]

Postum is popular with Mormons (who are forbidden to drink coffee or tea), so if there are Mormons in your community, there will be Postum in the grocery store. Some Mormons even have a “Postum table” (identical to other people’s “coffee table.”)

[@inderpalsingh713]

this guy has such a pleasant personality that adds extra touch to his videos

[@jasondickerson9939]

A historian friend once recounted a period piece about chicory coffee in the post war era that was pretty amusing. 19th century grocer Francis Thurber notes in his book "From Plantation to Cup" the following anecdote about chicory as a coffee substitute. Thurber disliked chicory and often told the story of a discriminating patron who inquired of a New Orleans hotel restaurateur, “Have you any chicory?” “Yes, sir.” “Bring me some.” After the waiter brought a small urn of chicory the guest asked, “Is that all you have?” “We have a little more.” “Bring me the rest.” The waiter brought an unopened can. “You have no more?” “No, sir.” “Good. Now go and make me a cup of coffee.”

[@gadgetgirl02]

Watching this, it occurred to me that Max might enjoy the recipes in Roughing it in the Bush by Susanna Moodie. She includes recipes for dandelion coffee, and for bread made with "milk-leavings", among other how-to hints.

[@DavCynLondon]

This is the best video I’ve seen in a while. Always interested in the Civil War, so this was a most welcome lesson in my other favorite subject, “coffee”. Nicely done!

[@esverker7018]

I still remember reading some Civil War fiction story for middle school, and a significant plot point was the rationing causing the mother's debilitating caffeine withdraws. Just because everyone drank so much of it.

[@BethDiane]

In my 8th grade history class, wr had some sort of a practical unit that involved making foods that might have been eaten during the war. I made a world war one recipe for a cake that was sweetened with raisins.

[@gardnerhill9073]

That was "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt - I think all of us of a certain generation read that one. I remember the mother having terrible headaches that only coffee could soothe. (Much later I learned about migraines and that caffeine is still used today in the medications that deal with them.)

[@censusgary]

Yes, that was in “Across Five Aprils.” We read it in eighth grade.