In Boston, January is not the best time to gather wild herbs. I have a reasonable chance of recognizing common plants during the summer, but I was not at all certain that I could identify them and find usable components this time of the year. But, a brief investigation into common tisanes turned up the common use of roasted chicory root as a coffee substitute, adulterant, and digestive stimulant, so I set off to dig up some chicory.

Chicory is a common weed around here. I just recently found out that Belgian endives are actually forced winter sprouts from the chicory plant. The roots are harvested and then planted in sand in the dark, and the pale sprouted leaves are then harvested and sold as Belgian endives. Wacky that this high-end vegetable is the same plant as a roadside weed. (Contrast that with how dandelion greens in the grocery store are NOT actually from the common dandelion plant you find in lawns.)

Anyhow, even walking around an area where I know there is usually chicory in the summer, I couldn't find anything but snow and sad grass. So I implemented the fall-back plan and went to Whole Foods to pick up some chicory root drink. Blech. It tastes a lot like roasted plant material, a little coffee-ish, but I don't like coffee. I could not manage to drink an entire cup of it.

Since I was disappointed that I didn't manage to hunt down a wild supply of chicory, I decided instead to get as many people as I could to sample this beverage during the next week.

Social Event #1: TGIF party with coworkers from my department
I brought a kettle of hot water, spoon, and chicory drink mix to a Friday evening get-together at the office and attempted to get everyone else to try it. I was able to convince 7 people, about 30% of the attendees, to try the not-coffee drink. Comments included: "This doesn't taste like anything I've ever had before" "Smells like salt water" "More like tea than coffee" "Nothing like coffee" "Strange, there is no aftertaste" "If this was in ice cream, I'd think it was coffee ice cream" "I've had worse coffee at restaurants" "My mother-in-law makes worse coffee" "You were brave to buy this" "It's not bad" "You're like that guy who tried to get everyone to try Moxie" "You actually like this stuff?" and of course "Is this for that game you're playing?" Which led to a discussion of SF0, whether it is an ARG or a MMOG, and the pyramid scheme task. I give my co-workers top marks for willingness to try a random beverage that comes from roast roots.

Social Event #2: Board games birthday party at a friend's house
This time I got about 9 people, or nearly 50% of the attendees to try the chicory drink. Comments this time were a bit more positive but still mostly dubious. "Sound like it might be like Postem. My mother used to drink that." "Oh, I like this" "Tastes burnt" "I can see why people would drink this if they can't get coffee, but I feel sorry for them if this is all they have" "Just no" "Blech" "Tastes like Starbucks" and of course, again, "Is this for SFZero?" I can conclude that in general, my friends are somewhat more likely than my coworkers to agree to try a strange beverage that I hand them.