Dandelion coffee (also dandelion tea) is a

tisane Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plain ...

made from the root of the

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

plant. The roasted dandelion root pieces and the beverage have some resemblance to

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

in appearance and taste, and it is thus commonly considered a

coffee substitute Coffee substitutes are non-coffee products, usually without caffeine, that are used to imitate coffee. Coffee substitutes can be used for medical, economic and religious reasons, or simply because coffee is not readily available. Roasted grain ...

History

The usage of the dandelion plant dates back to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Additionally, for over a thousand years,

Chinese traditional medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or ...

has been known to incorporate the plant.

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie ( Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Family Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, on th ...

explained how to prepare dandelion 'coffee' in her memoir of living in Canada, ''

Roughing it in the Bush ''Roughing It in the Bush'' (Full title: ''Roughing It in The Bush: or, Forest Life in Canada'') is an account of life as a Canadian settler by Susanna Moodie. Moodie immigrated to Upper Canada (soon to become Canada West), near modern-day Pete ...

'' (1852), where she mentions that she had heard of it from an article published in the 1830s in ''New York Albion'' by a certain Dr. Harrison. Dandelion 'coffee' was later mentioned in a '' Harpers New Monthly Magazine'' story in 1886. In 1919, dandelion root was noted as a source of cheap 'coffee'. It has also been part of edible plant classes dating back at least to the 1970s.

Harvesting

Harvesting dandelion roots requires differentiating 'true' dandelions (''

Taraxacum ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

'' spp.) from other yellow daisy-like flowers such as catsear and hawksbeard. True dandelions have a ground-level

rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

of deep-toothed leaves and hollow straw-like stems. Large plants that are 3–4 years old, with taproots approximately 0.5 inch (13 mm) in diameter, are harvested for dandelion coffee. These taproots are similar in appearance to pale

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

s. Dandelion roots that are harvested in the spring have sweeter and less bitter notes, while fall-harvested roots are richer and more bitter.

Preparation

The dandelion plant must be two years old before removing the root. After harvesting, the dandelion roots are dried, chopped, and

roasted Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...

. The roots are sliced lengthwise and placed to dry for two weeks in a warm area. When ready, the dried roots are oven-roasted and stored away. To prepare a cup, one will steep about 1 teaspoon of the root in hot water for around 10 minutes. Alternatively, packaged dandelion root coffee can be purchased. People often enjoy their dandelion coffee with cream and sugar.

Health claims and uses

Although popular in alternative health circles and in Chinese medicine and central-eastern European folk medicine, there is no empirical evidence that dandelion root or its extracts can treat any medical condition. In addition, very few high-quality clinical trials have been performed to investigate its effects. Health risks associated with dandelion root are uncommon; however, directly consuming the plant by mouth could lead to stomach discomfort, heartburn, allergic reactions, or diarrhea.

Chemistry

Unroasted ''

Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tuf ...

'' (among other

species) root contains: ;

Sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteraceae (daisies, asters). Other plant families with SLs are Umbelliferae (celery, parsley, carrots) ...

s * Taraxacin (a

guaianolide In organic chemistry, a guaianolide is a type of sesquiterpene lactone consisting of a gamma-lactone and either a cyclopentane or cyclopentene, both fused to a central cycloheptane or cycloheptene structure. There are two subclasses, structural i ...

) *

Phenylpropanoid The phenylpropanoids are a diverse family of organic compounds that are biosynthesized by plants from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in the shikimic acid pathway. Their name is derived from the six-carbon, aromatic phenyl group and ...

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s: dihydroconiferin,

syringin Syringin is a natural chemical compound first isolated from the bark of lilac (''Syringa vulgaris'') by Meillet in 1841. It has since been found to be distributed widely throughout many types of plants. It is also called eleutheroside B, and is fo ...

, and dihydrosyringin *

Taraxacoside Taraxacoside is an acylated γ-butyrolactone glycoside with the molecular formula C18H22O10 which has been isolated from roots of the plant ''Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous per ...

(an

acylated In chemistry, acylation is a broad class of chemical reactions in which an acyl group () is added to a substrate. The compound providing the acyl group is called the acylating agent. The substrate to be acylated and the product include the follo ...

gamma-butyrolactone

) * Lactupircin ;

Carotenoids Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips ...

Lutein Lutein (;"Lutein"

Violaxanthin Violaxanthin is a xanthophyll pigment with an orange color found in a variety of plants. Violaxanthin is the product of the epoxidation of zeaxanthin where the oxygen atoms are from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Such ROS's arise when a plant i ...

;

Coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

s * Esculin *

Scopoletin Scopoletin is a coumarin found in the root of plants in the genus '' Scopolia'' such as ''Scopolia carniolica'' and '' Scopolia japonica'', in chicory, in '' Artemisia scoparia'', in the roots and leaves of stinging nettle (''Urtica dioica''), in t ...

;

Flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

* Apigenin-7-glucoside * Luteolin-7-glucoside * Isorhamnetin 3-glucoside * Luteolin-7-diglucoside * Quercetin-7-glucoside *

Quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

Luteolin Luteolin is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, with a yellow crystalline appearance. Luteolin is the main yellow dye from the '' Reseda luteola'' plant, used for dyeing since at least the first millennium B.C. Luteolin was first isolated in pure f ...

Rutin Rutin (rutoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside or sophorin) is the glycoside combining the flavonol quercetin and the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranose). It is a flavonoid glycoside found in a wide variety of pla ...

* Chrysoeriol ;

Phenolic acid Phenolic acids or phenolcarboxylic acids ? are phenolic compounds and types of aromatic acid compounds. Included in that class are substances containing a phenolic ring and an organic carboxylic acid function (C6-C1 skeleton). Two important nat ...

s *

Caffeic acid Caffeic acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a polyphenol with a key role in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in energy metabolism. Caffeic acid is also one major polyphenol responsible for maintaining normal le ...

Chlorogenic acid Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is the ester of caffeic acid and quinic acid, functioning as an intermediate in lignin biosynthesis. The term chlorogenic acids refers to a related polyphenol family of esters, including hydroxycinnamic acids ( caffeic a ...

* Chicoric acid (dicaffeoyltartaric acid) * ρ-hydroxyphenylacetic acids ;

Polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

s *

Glucan A glucan is a polysaccharide derived from D-glucose, linked by glycosidic bonds. Glucans are noted in two forms: alpha glucans and beta glucans. Many beta-glucans are medically important. They represent a drug target for antifungal medications of ...

mannan Mannan may refer to: * Mannan (polysaccharide), a type of carbohydrate * Mannan people, a social group of India * Mannan language, a language of India * ''Mannan'' (film), a 1992 Indian film * Manannán, known in Manx as ''Mannan'', a figure i ...

s *

inulin Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a ...

(8) ;

Cyanogenic glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s *

Prunasin (''R'')-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (''R'')-mandelonitrile. Natural occurrences Prunasin is found in species in the genus ''Prunus'' such as ''Prunus japonica'' or ''Prunus maximow ...

;

s (of the

germacranolide Germacranolides are a group of natural chemical compounds classified as sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteracea ...

type) * 11β, 13-dihydrolactucin * Ixerin D * Ainslioside taraxinic acid * β-glucopyranosyl * Taraxinic acid * Glucosyl ester * 11-dihydrotaraxinic acid and 13-dihydrotaraxinic acid * l'-glucoside *

Lactucopicrin Lactucopicrin (Intybin) is a bitter substance that has a sedative and analgesic effect, acting on the central nervous system. It is a sesquiterpene lactone, and is a component of lactucarium, derived from the plant ''Lactuca virosa'' (wild lettu ...

Lactucin Lactucin is a bitter substance that forms a white crystalline solid and belongs to the group of sesquiterpene lactones. It is found in some varieties of lettuce and is an ingredient of lactucarium. It is also found in dandelion coffee. It has b ...

* Cichorin ; Eudesmanolides * Tetrahydroridentin-B * Taraxacolide-O-β-glucopyranoside *

* Dihydroconiferin *

Syringin Syringin is a natural chemical compound first isolated from the bark of lilac (''Syringa vulgaris'') by Meillet in 1841. It has since been found to be distributed widely throughout many types of plants. It is also called eleutheroside B, and is fo ...

* Dihydrosyringin * Taraxasterol * ψ-taraxasterol * Homo-taraxasterol * Stigmatsterol ;

Triterpenes Triterpenes are a class of terpenes composed of six isoprene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of three terpene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the pre ...

Cycloartenol Cycloartenol is an important triterpenoid often found in plants. It belongs to the sterol class of steroids. It is the starting point for the synthesis of almost all plant steroids, making them chemically distinct from the steroids of fungi and a ...

* α-amyrin * β-amyrin *

Arnidiol Arnidiol is a cytotoxic triterpene with the molecular formula C30H50O2. Arnidiol has been first isolated from the bloom of the plant ''Arnica montana''. Arnidiol has also been isolated from the plant ''Taraxacum officinale''. References Furt ...

* Faradiol *

Lupeol Lupeol is a pharmacologically active pentacyclic triterpenoid. It has several potential medicinal properties, like anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity. Natural occurrences Lupeol is found in a variety of plants, including mango, '' Acaci ...

* Taraxol * Taraxaserol and * 3β-hydroxylup-18-ene-21-one ;

Sterol A sterol is any organic compound with a Skeletal formula, skeleton closely related to Cholestanol, cholestan-3-ol. The simplest sterol is gonan-3-ol, which has a formula of , and is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom on ...

s * Taraxasterol * ψ-taraxasterol * Homo-taraxasterol * β-sitosterol * Stigmatsterol *

Campesterol Campesterol is a phytosterol whose chemical structure is similar to that of cholesterol, and is one of the ingredients for E number E499. Natural occurrences Many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds contain campesterol, but in low concentrati ...

;Other * Lettucenin A * Taraxalisin, a serine proteinase *

Amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

s *

Choline Choline is a cation with the chemical formula . Choline forms various Salt (chemistry), salts, such as choline chloride and choline bitartrate. An essential nutrient for animals, it is a structural component of phospholipids and cell membrane ...

Mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

Pectin Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galact ...

References

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