Cafe au lait with chicory
Photo: Tim Boyd from Brooklyn · CC BY 2.0

History

Roasted-chicory coffee took hold in New Orleans during the Civil War, when Union blockades cut off coffee imports and locals stretched their grounds with chicory root (the practice was already common in Napoleonic France). Cafe du Monde opened in 1862 as a coffee stand in the French Market and made the chicory-cafe-au-lait-with-beignets format the city's defining cheap breakfast. It still pours the same Cafe du Monde Dark Roast and Chicory blend, mixed with steamed milk and served 24 hours a day. Cafe Beignet on Royal Street and Mojo Coffee on Magazine carry the tradition forward with their own chicory-blended pours.

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Common allergens: Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 5 minTotal 10 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 heaped tbsp coffee-and-chicory blend (Cafe du Monde, Community Coffee with chicory, or 2 tbsp medium-dark coffee plus 1 tsp roasted chicory granules)
  • 300ml just-boiled water (90C / just off the boil)
  • 300ml whole milk
  • Caster sugar, to taste

Method

  1. Bring water to the boil; rest 30 seconds off the heat so it drops to 90C.
  2. Brew the coffee-chicory blend in a French press, drip filter or moka pot to your usual strength; the brew should be strong and dark.
  3. Steam, scald or microwave the milk to just under a boil; it should be hot enough to steam but not actively boil (the foam should be airy, not large bubbles).
  4. Warm two heavy mugs by filling with hot water; tip out.
  5. Pour half-coffee and half-hot-milk into each mug simultaneously, holding both jugs at the same height so the streams meet at the rim. This is the Cafe du Monde signature pour.
  6. Sweeten to taste at the table. Serve with three powdered-sugar-dusted beignets if you are doing it right.

Tip from the editors. Roasted chicory is the bitter floral note that separates a New Orleans cafe au lait from a Parisian one. Cafe du Monde Dark Roast and Chicory ships in red cans.

Where to eat cafe au lait with chicory

Cafe au lait with chicory in New Orleans

Cafe du Monde ★ 4.4

$$ CafeUntil Open 24 hours daily

Cafe du Monde in New Orleans is the 1862 French Market coffee stand on Decatur Street opposite Jackson Square, with beignets and chicory cafe au lait around.

TryBeignets and cafe au lait

TipThe original stand is open 24 hours; visit 03:00-07:00 to skip the queue entirely.

Directions

Cafe Beignet on Royal Street ★ 4.0

$ CaféWork-friendlyWifi

Cafe Beignet on Royal Street in New Orleans is the 1990 French Quarter beignet cafe at 334 Royal, with sit-down service, a small courtyard and a Cafe du.

DrinkCafe au lait

TipThe Royal Street courtyard is the most-pleasant of the chain's locations; live jazz on weekends.

Directions

Mojo Coffee House ★ 4.3

$ CaféWork-friendlyWifi

Mojo Coffee House in New Orleans is the Lower Garden District corner cafe at Magazine and Race, a 2007 indie shop with house espresso and cold brew on tap.

DrinkCold brew

TipThe Race-side window seats run quietest for laptop sessions; outlets at the counter side.

Directions

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