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Cleaver Seed Coffee

Cleaver Seed Coffee is a traditional British recipe for a classic coffee-like drink made from wild cleavers seeds. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Cleaver Seed Coffee.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

50 minutes

Total Time:

70 minutes

Serves:

3–4

Rating:

Tags : Wild FoodBritish Recipes

Cleaver seeds (the brown, hard and dried ones you see in later summer and autumn) are the closest a wild forager will get to coffee. It tastes like coffee, has the colour of coffe and even has a mild caffeine hit. It's also a good coffee substitute in desserte like tiramisu and coffee cakes.

Turning them into a coffee substitute (or adulterant) is really easy, simply pick, clean, dry roast in the oven, grind and brew.

Ingredients:

100g cleaver seeds

Method:

Pick the dried seeds in late summer or autumn then discard as much of the stem as you can. Pick over the seeds and remove any stray leaves or pieces of stem.

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) then arrange the seeds in a single layer on a baking tray. Transfer to the centre of your oven and toast for 45 minutes. Give the seeds a stir half way through so they toast evenly. You are looking for the seeds to darken a little (but make sure they don't burn or your drink will be very bitter). When they are properly roasted they will smell of coffee.

Once toasted, turn the seeds into a bowl and allow to cool. They can be stored as seeds and just like coffee, grind when you need them.

To use, turn the seeds into a coffee grinder (they are very hard, so you will need a strong/powerful one) then render to a powder.

I prefer a stove-top espresso maker for preparing the coffee as it gives a stronger end result. Also you can spice your coffee with cinnamon, allspice, ginger, vanilla (vanilla is interesting, use the beans after making custard). If you don't want your coffee as strong then use one of those in-mug conical strainers (like used for chai) filll the strainer with the ground cleavers, pop in your mug and fill with boiling water. Allow to steep for a few minutes, stirring the grounds a few times during that time. Take out your strainer and your cleavers coffee is ready. You can also make cleavers coffee in cafétiere (but this will be weak and will look more like tea than coffee).