Cleavers coffee!

[Pignut]

Read on a site somewhere you can make coffee out of cleavers seeds anyone had a go?

 

[Toddy]

Mmm, me It's actually okay. Not as good as dandelion but it is quite palatable.


Have look at post 25 (Moonraker's) on this thread :-

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=5603&highlight=sticky+willie

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Pignut]

Thanks for that!

Is there anything cleavers can be mistaken for?

 

[Toddy]

I don't think so; well certainly not around my neck of the woods. They're pretty distinctive, little whorls of sticky leaves on squarish stems that ramble through grasses etc., they're growing against, and thus up, the fences of the lane across the road right now......and through my tulips I notice

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Pignut]

Thanks Toddy!

There is tones of the stuff here, so coffee it is

 

[locum76]

an easy way to identify cleavers is they stick to everything like velcro.

we call them sticky willys where i'm from.

 

[fred gordon]

I understand from a botanist friend of mine that cleavers is closely related to the coffee plant (i. e. it belongs to the same botanical family.) Business opportunity, 'Cleavers Instant'

 

[JonnyP]

Thanks for that!

Is there anything cleavers can be mistaken for?

Cleavers (goosegrass) is the plant you used to pick as a kid and stick it onto your mates back.
I was not aware you could make coffee from it, so thanks for that.............Jon

 

[troyka]

what, makes it coffee? many drinks people refer to tea, when there is no tea in it, or coffee like the cleavers you mention, but how are they defined as a tea or a coffee.



Ian

 

[JonnyP]

what, makes it coffee? many drinks people refer to tea, when there is no tea in it, or coffee like the cleavers you mention, but how are they defined as a tea or a coffee.



Ian

Good point, Tea in an infusion and so is coffee, so what is the difference ?
Tea can refer to many plants, but coffee is coffee, but then again you can make coffee from dandelion roots, so maybe coffee has to taste like coffee, which perhaps cleavers infused does....................Jon

 

[Toddy]

They're both infusions but one has a *thickness* to it that the other lacks.
Teas are light, watery infusions; coffee like chocolate or barleycup is most like an infusion but with very fine particulate suspended in it. Can't think of any other way to describe the difference Both dandelion and cleavers are very good though. Didn't like acorn coffee much Anyone got a decent recipe for them?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[JonnyP]

They're both infusions but one has a *thickness* to it that the other lacks.
Teas are light, watery infusions; coffee like chocolate or barleycup is most like an infusion but with very fine particulate suspended in it. Can't think of any other way to describe the difference Both dandelion and cleavers are very good though. Didn't like acorn coffee much Anyone got a decent recipe for them?

Cheers,
Toddy

Good explanation there Toddy. According to my excellent wild food book, acorn coffee is one of the most traditional wild food recipes and yet is one that is not much used. Boil the acorns whole for 15 mins, which makes it easier to get the shells off and to reduce the bitterness. Boil and peel the acorns then split and dry them. After drying for a day or so grind them in a coffee grinder and roast them in the oven or under a grill, watching all the time to make sure they don't burn. They should be a good brown coffee colour. Infuse about 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup for a few minutes. The taste does not resemble coffee, but is supposed to be quite pleasant...................Jon

 

[Pignut]

Also my understanding that coffee uses a roast product for the infusion, tea does not

Thanks for all the ID help as well, was covered in the stuff the other day after some serious strimming! was just wondering if there was another plant that is similar, but I dont think there is

 

[demographic]

I tried acorn "coffee" a while ago and as a bit of a coffee snob have to say it was crap, I would rather drink warm water.

Nows the time when someone pops up and says how nice it is.

 

[Jumbalaya]

Is there anything cleavers can be mistaken for?

Cleavers/Goosegrass is in the same family as the bedstraws which look very similar. Some of these are downy and slightly bristly, but cleavers is much more so; with recurved bristles which help make it sticky. Cleavers leaves also generally seem to be longer and more pointed at their tip.

M

 

[Jumbalaya]

Speaking of tea and coffee in the outdoors; try the dried leaves of Ground Ivy / Glechoma hederacea. The aromatic and slightly bitter leaves make a reasonably acceptable tea which can be sweetened if you like.

M

 

[Toddy]

Also my understanding that coffee uses a roast product for the infusion, tea does not

Thanks for all the ID help as well, was covered in the stuff the other day after some serious strimming! was just wondering if there was another plant that is similar, but I dont think there is

Now that's abetter description.
Cheers,
Toddy