Freshly roasted by Gray Cup, our roasting partner — ships across India.
What each is
- Coffee — the roasted seed of the coffee fruit. Contains caffeine and hundreds of aromatic compounds.
- Chicory — the roasted, ground taproot of the chicory plant (a relative of the dandelion). No caffeine, no coffee compounds.
How they compare
| | Coffee | Chicory | |---|---|---| | Caffeine | yes | none | | Taste | acidic, aromatic, complex | woody, bitter-sweet, earthy | | Body | varies by process | thick, syrupy | | Cost | higher | lower | | In the cup | the flavour | body, colour, "stretch" |
Why Indian filter coffee uses chicory
It started as a cost measure — chicory is cheaper and stretches the coffee. Over generations the taste became the expected flavour of South Indian filter coffee, especially in Tamil Nadu. A common blend is 70% coffee / 30% chicory.
Which should you buy?
Want caffeine and coffee flavour only? Pure Arabica, no chicory. Want the traditional South Indian cup? A coffee/chicory blend.
Gray Cup sells both a pure Arabica filter and a 70/30 Arabica/chicory blend.