Hacker News Reader

Your link: “ We think the magic is actually in the balance of caffeine and theobromine. In addition to caffeine, yaupon also contains theobromine, which most people know from chocolate. Theobromine is similar to caffeine, but has a milder effect. And its uplifting effect is one of the reasons chocolate is known as an aphrodisiac. Theobromine has health benefits as well!”

They buried the lede! Theobromine is awesome! Mix in some theanine and enjoy being in flow (or pretty close).

Every so often I like to brew up some cacao instead of coffee; it's like a chocolate tea and feels quite nice

> The bushes grow to small trees that can, over time, completely cover a landscape since the send up sprouts from their shallow roots.

That makes me worry about it acting as an invasive.

Yaupon is native to the southern US. If it were going to cover the land it would already have done so.

Also technically this description encompasses strawberries. If that were sufficient to be invasive, there’s be way more strawberry bushes out there.

Do you drink your coffee with chicory in it, or made out of the chicory itself? I'd love to try it anyway, mind elaborating?

I drink my coffee with ground chicory added dry before the boiling water is poured. I use a stainless steel French press and add coffee grounds first in the amount that I have found yields the best flavor profile for that press and then I add the ground chicory to the coffee grounds again measured to yield a consistent flavor. Once the coffee water boils in the kettle, I pour and stir until the grounds are all wetted and then I add water if necessary to the edge of the pour spout so I have a consistent volume of water. After three to five minutes of steeping I press the grounds and pour the coffee into my almost never-washed cup.

I find that it makes a delicious brew that has all the flavor of the coffee you use but none of the acid profile even if you use a dark roast or espresso base. It really is the best I have ever enjoyed.

In old times past, chicory served as a coffee substitute. It has no caffeine but it does produce a delicious brewed drink flavored similar to coffee. When coffee was more scarce or people could not afford it, chicory was the drink of choice.

You can buy bags of chicory from Community Coffee company in Louisiana where I buy it. They will ship it right to you. There are probably other places where it is available.

If you would like to try New Orleans style coffee which was my introduction to it when I worked in the oilfield, buy the New Orleans blend of coffee and chicory and try that to see if it is to your taste.

If that works for you, buy bags of chicory and your favorite coffee (Community has many flavors and I really like all of them) and then design your own blend.

I think you will like it.

Here is a link to their chicory page where you can buy both products.

https://www.communitycoffee.com/products/coffee#/filter/Coff...

Good luck and let us know what you think if you try it.

That's quite an an answer, thanks for going into such detail. I also almost never wash my cup, and love a french press, but have been doing pour-overs most of the time lately. I visited Baton Rouge a few years ago and would love to return, especially now knowing about chicory.

> Good luck and let us know what you think if you try it.

Are you an owner?

Not an owner. I considered putting that disclaimer in earlier and should have but forgot.

I am just someone who has loved coffee and enjoyed it for decades. While working in the oilfield many years ago I found myself in need of coffee and for that rig, the coffee was provided on contract by the local Community Coffee sales person. They serviced many rigs in the region. After grabbing a cup I ended up liking it enough to ask about where it came from and found out about Community Coffee. It turns out they provide coffee for a lot of rigs in the industry probably because a lot of people in the industry are from Louisiana.

I also found it as the company brand in several other O&G companies where I worked. In Texas, many stores carry it so it is not hard to find. Once my wife and I discovered that we could order it online though we started ordering in volume so that we would hopefully never run out. LOL.

Everyone who visits and ends up with a cup of my coffee to drink always remarks about how delightful and smooth it tastes. It really is fantastic stuff. I love it.

There are other companies that sell ground chicory and coffee/chicory blends but the one that I enjoy the most is the one from Community. Pure nostalgia and a pleasure to drink hot, warm, or cold. I prepare a liter at a time and usually end up finishing off 3-4 liters per day minus the single cup my wife enjoys daily. She occasionally has two if the weather is cold.

Man I love that stuff. I love coffee with chicory. I should write a song about this but I'm not a writer, I just love coffee with chicory. Maybe I've had too much today. Time to make another pot to test that theory.

What an eloquent story. I love how much you love coffee, it really comes comes through in your description. I thought I drank a lot, but 3-4 litres is next level.

Most of the companies I've worked for have had the most upsetting coffee possible, and I certainly wouldn't expect to find good coffee on a rig. Logically I would, because you'd stand to make your workers less miserable (as for any company), but companies don't seem to think that way most of the time.

Recently I've been buying the light roast beans from the roaster in my neighborhood (via a grocery store also down the street) and they're usually roasted within a week or two of me buying them. How are you able to buy in such quantity for personal use and keep them fresh? Do you just stagger your orders or have them scheduled?

My gf also only has about a cup a day, and I could pretty much have a cup going all the time. It doesn't have much of an energy effect after the first, but I do have to resist making a new cup at midnight if I want to get to sleep.

> naturally caffeinated

Isn't there ways to cross pollinate stuff? I've been out of school for awhile and I never got into biology... but why couldn't we get caffeine in, say, apples? or wheat? caffeinated bagels would rock...

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/cros...

> First, cross pollination can only occur between varieties, not species. So, for example, a cucumber cannot cross pollinate with a squash. They are not the same species. This would be like a dog and a cat being able to create offspring together. It is simply not possible. But, cross pollination can happen between a zucchini and a pumpkin. This would be like a yorkie dog and a rottweiler dog producing offspring. Odd, but possible, because they are of the same species.

For the very low chance someone wants to give this a try, be wary of any zucchini you grow yourself, if it tastes even mildly bitter it might kill you. The chance that this happens is greatly increased if cross pollination occurs. Most people don't seem to know this.

> ... if it tastes even mildly bitter it might kill you.

Hadn't heard of this before either. Looking around online, and yep, it's a real thing (was kind of wondering ;>):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrow_(vegetable)#Toxicology

Do the berries also have caffeine in them?

I believe that the berries may have some small amount of caffeine but in quantity they can make you sick.

This link is a really good link to explain harvesting and enjoying yaupon tea.

https://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/yaupon-holly.html