Garbanzo Bean Coffee
Reading Time: 5 minutes
By Wren Everett Coffee was once an energizing drink enjoyed in its native growing regions of Africa and the Middle East. But somewhere around the 17th century, coffee went international, eventually perfuming the air around Italian cafes and steaming from percolators over campfires in the Wild West. Tea reigned supreme through the rest of the world for a time, but inexorably, coffee invaded, spread, and set its addictive hold on the tastes of billions.
Nowadays, coffee is not just a drink in America — it’s an institution, a cultural necessity, and treated as a staple food. Freely flowing carafes of brown liquid are in every church, workplace, and restaurant, and if they were to run dry … well, the outrage would border on insanity. Kitchy shops and cafes are full of snarky sayings to purchase for the self-proclaimed addict, declaring that they are not to be interacted with before imbibing their favorite roasty brew or that the foundation of their version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is built on something caffeinated in a cup.
As sarcastic as I may currently sound about my country’s unhealthy obsession with an addictive plant product they can’t grow themselves, it’s only because I’ve relatively recently been forced to give up my own dependence on the stuff. Though I drank my fair share of it in college and through my early career, coffee makes me uncomfortable and drugged feeling as I have gotten older. So I called it quits but found I still had a hankering for something roasted and comforting.
Thus began a long quest for a coffee substitute that I could either grow or forage myself. I not only wanted to free myself from the uncomfortable java-jitters but also to cut down on the purchased packaging I personally produced, to stop buying something that had to be shipped thousands of miles to reach me, and, most importantly, to be free from an unnecessary addiction. I’ve since made decent caffeine-free cuppas from acorns, chicory and dandelion roots, wheat, carrots, parsnips, and barley, but the one that has been the most consistently satisfying has been the one I’ve developed from the humble garbanzo bean.
Rather than being restricted to growing in the consistent, sultry warmth near the equator like real coffee shrubs, garbanzo beans can be grown in most growing zones, and they grow pretty much as easily as garden peas. With a bushy habit, they form beautifully ferny, low-growing foliage, as well as pleasantly plump little pods that are edible, either green or mature. Forget the fair trade or locally-roasted stickers: you can’t get much more locally produced than your own backyard!
How to Transform Garbanzo Beans into Coffee
The following recipe starts with raw, dry, unsoaked garbanzo beans as they might come out of a bag or a mature pod, but will end with a roasty, dark liquid that looks very much like the “real thing.” These instructions are for a stovetop method that doesn’t require a coffee maker. I have never tried garbanzo coffee in an electric coffee machine (our off-grid kitchen doesn’t have one!), but as long as you don’t expect any guaranteed outcome from me, you are welcome to experiment and see how it works.
Tools Needed
- Baking tray
- Coffee grinder
- Medium-sized saucepan
- French press or strainer
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry garbanzo beans
- Fresh water
Process
1 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2 Spread dry garbanzo beans in an even, single layer on a baking tray (or two, if needed).
3 Roast for 1 hour, 15 minutes (Note: this roasting time should give you a nice, fragrant, medium-dark roast with a full body but no charred flavor. As you roast your coffee more and more, you can adjust the times to create a lighter or darker roast according to your preferences)
4 Remove hot beans from oven and allow to cool. If you use a cast-iron baking pan, as I did in the photos, remove hot beans from the pan (carefully!) so that they don’t continue to roast beyond the point you wanted.
5 Once cool, grind your beans in a coffee grinder.
6 Place 2½ tablespoons of grounds into a saucepan, pour in 3½ cups of fresh water, and bring to a boil. The mixture will froth once it reaches boiling, so be attentive! Douse with a splash of cool water, if necessary, to stop an overflow.
7 Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and leave on the heat for 2 to 4 more minutes.
8 Pour the resulting dark, fragrant liquid through a strainer into mugs or transfer to a French press and slowly strain.
9 Enjoy black or flavored as you would “normal” coffee! I enjoy mine with milk and a dash of vanilla extract or a bit of maple syrup if I’m feeling extra indulgent.
But Does It Taste or Smell Like Coffee?
I’m no coffee aficionado, but I believe that the aroma and flavor are close enough to be somewhat indistinguishable. As such, you can use garbanzo coffee in exactly the same way you would traditional coffee, and I would even suggest serving it unannounced to a good friend to see if they can tell the difference (they might not be able to). The only difference is, of course, that this beverage is caffeine-free. That wonderful detail means that you can enjoy garbanzo coffee at any hour of the day and that kids can drink it as well.
I hope that this unusual seeming but accessible recipe opens up a new world of beverages to you and your family. And if you are looking to call it quits with caffeine, this roasty, toasty brew may be exactly the comforting, less-waste alternative you’ve been looking for.
Originally published in the May/June 2023 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.