pat, if i dont have a coffee grinder,  what would be the best way to grind dandelion root for coffee?

karen kay:

pat, if i dont have a coffee grinder,  what would be the best way to grind dandelion root for coffee?

You could use a grain mill, or put it in a sturdy cloth (like canvas), and bang it with the side of a hammer until it's smashed enough to use. If you have an old, NOT strong blender, you might try that with a small sample, but when I tried to use my Vitamix, I wound up with almost a powder, which didn't work very well because it was too hard to filter out. I wound up using a finely woven cotton cloth to filter it - kind of messy. 

does dandelion root taste like coffee?

charly:

does dandelion root taste like coffee?

I don't think it does, but some people it kind of tastes like coffee I think it's a drink all to itself. I enjoy it and as a matter of fact, I have a batch roasting in the oven right now. The only way to find out if you like it is to try it.

what i dug up in the spring, which was the wrong time,  didnt taste like coffee at all, more like a tea.  i cant stand tea, so i threw it away

karen kay:

what i dug up in the spring, which was the wrong time,  didnt taste like coffee at all, more like a tea.  i cant stand tea, so i threw it away

I think you might not have brewed it strong enough. When it's weak, I think it tastes a little like tea.

just want to make sure we are talking about the yellow flowers that are in your yard and some call them weeds and i call them flowers. i love the way they look. i remember my grandpa cutting and digging them out of the yard because he called them weeds. i remember pulling one up and it looked like a carrot type root or gingsang root. when do you pick them after the flower has grown and (blown) away. nothing like blowing a dandelion flower away once it is dead.

Yep, it's the same yellow flower that everyone tries to get rid of in their lawns. You dig the root in the fall, when things start to die down. Scrub it really good, chop it into pieces like a carrot and roast it in a slow oven until it turns deep brown. Then you grind it in a coffee grinder or something like that and make "coffee" out of it.